Hello all! I am not certain if this is the best place to be asking this but im conducting research on the effects of megacephaly on the bite force of native turtles in my area. I have made designs and ordered parts for a functional system to measure the bite force but did not fully think through the calibration process.

If anyone has any experience here or any ideas on how I could generate known forces up to 300 psi (at least) on a 0.75 square inch sensor face it would be a great use for my research. Ideally it won't cost more than around $200. My current thoughts are to use a hydraulic press with a pressure gauge but these devices are far from ideal and made mostly for automotive applications.

Could you adapt a torque wrench and use a pressure/torque conversion table? Convert torque on the wrench to pressure from the pressing face of a bolt which is of appropriate surface area?

11 hours ago, timeElf24 said:

Hello all! I am not certain if this is the best place to be asking this but im conducting research on the effects of megacephaly on the bite force of native turtles in my area. I have made designs and ordered parts for a functional system to measure the bite force but did not fully think through the calibration process.

If anyone has any experience here or any ideas on how I could generate known forces up to 300 psi (at least) on a 0.75 square inch sensor face it would be a great use for my research. Ideally it won't cost more than around $200. My current thoughts are to use a hydraulic press with a pressure gauge but these devices are far from ideal and made mostly for automotive applications.

I suggest speaking to your local (scuba) diving community.

You should be able to reach your target pressures easily and controllably with a tank and some adapted hose.

Cylinders used for scuba typically have an internal volume (known as water capacity) of between 3 and 18 litres (0.11 and 0.64 cu ft) and a maximum working pressure rating from 184 to 300 bars (2,670 to 4,350 psi).

Put as a marine conservation project they may even offer practical help with equipment and air tank refills.

On 10/16/2025 at 8:02 PM, timeElf24 said:

any ideas on how I could generate known forces up to 300 psi (at least) on a 0.75 square inch sensor face it would be a great use for my research

Put a 225 lb weight on it