The weight in grams is held on a pulley and pulls on a rotating pulley that is 1.125″ in diameter. That pulley rotates some gears or belts at a ratio of 11:1 (1 rotation of the pulley = 11 rotations of the spindle). Taking the torque applied on the main pulley and dividing it by 11 results in the actual torque to the spindle.

Simply because I use it in these cases, here is the conversion ratio for grams hung on the instrument to oz-inches. Also, one should keep in mind that there is some loss of torque due to mechanical limitations.

oz-inches == .00367056 * grams

therefore, using this formula, a KU meter ranging from 32 grams to 1099 grams ranges from .1174 oz-in to 4.0339 oz-in.

yay! Hopefully someone finds this useful as well.

Optical, high sensitivity sensor, ~$6000
Magneto-elastic sensor, ~$2000
Strain gage based, ~$4300

While this is expected, it’s still quite a cost on a per-unit basis. interesting.

Another little tid-bit I picked up is this.
Magneto-Elastic sensor document

Anyways, I’ll keep looking for a cheaper unit, though, I doubt I’ll find one cheaper than the unit I developed. Perhaps I’ll machine a small enclosure with precision bearings and develop a more robust and practical design. I have some conductive graphite for the brushes in order to reduce noise and the brushes could be replaceable. Might try it.