What Is the Unit of Strain Measurement in NI‑DAQmx?

Updated Mar 11, 2026

Reported In

Hardware

  • NI-9235
  • NI-9236
  • NI-9237

Driver

  • NI-DAQmx

Issue Details

I am using an NI‑9236 with the Strain – Continuous Input.vi example, but I do not see an option to change the strain measurement unit. I want to know what unit NI‑DAQmx uses for strain measurements.

Solution

The AI Strain Gage DAQmx Create Virtual Channel.vi includes a Unit input. By default, NI‑DAQmx reports strain in strain units (ε, m/m).


If you want to use a different unit, set Unit to From Custom Scale, and wire a Custom Scale Name to that input.

Additional Information

Strain is dimensionless, but it is sometimes expressed as in/in or mm/mm. Because measured strain is usually very small, it is often represented in microstrain (µε), which equals ε × 10⁻⁶. LabVIEW and NI‑DAQmx use ε (m/m) as the default strain unit.

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