Industrial Scales Usage In Uncommon Places

By Author: John Tang
Total Articles: 512
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Industrial scales are, of course, used is a wide variety of industrial applications. They are used in factories to weigh drums of chemicals, boxes of materials, and ingoing and outgoing shipments. They are used to count electronic parts, screws, nuts, bolts, washers and all types of hardware. Bench scales may be used to formulate ingredients or to weigh materials for inks and dyes. Scales are used in batching equipment, automatic feeders, and packaging feeders.

But some of the most interesting uses for industrial scales are not within an industrial environment. Arlyn Scales has provided scales for professional football teams and professional hockey teams to weigh the team members. They have also been used to weigh wrestlers before a match. Racetracks have used the highly accurate Arlyn Scales to weigh jockeys before a horse race.

Perhaps some of the most unusual uses for these electronic scales has been for weighing a wide variety of animals at zoos across the country and across the world. It is often very important for zoo keepers to keep accurate weight measurements on their animals. The amount of feed for an ...
... animal may be directly dependent on its weight. Wild animals are used to obtaining the proper amount of nutrients within the environments within which they generally live. But at a zoo, it is the responsibility of those who care for the animals to determine the appropriate amount of calories that an animal needs to thrive. At the same time, it is important that the animal is not overfed.

Medication and dietary supplements are another reason why the weight of an animal must be accurately measured. Dosages for humans are typically standard. When a doctor prescribes two aspirin, that is generally appropriate for almost any size adult within the normal range. But some animals of the same species may be weigh a multiple of others of that same species. And certainly between different types of animals, there can be major discrepancies. A standard dose for a small animal may be completely ineffective for a larger one. And an appropriate dosage for a large animal may be toxic for a much smaller one. Therefore, industrial digital scales are often employed within a zoo for accurate weighing purposes.

The construction of the digital scale chosen for this purpose must have certain characteristics. The scale will often be subject to animal waste. Therefore the material chosen for the platform should be one that is suitable for washdown. The Arlyn platform scales are ideal for this, as they are constructed from welded aluminum. The platform itself should be made from with a non-skid surface, so the animals will feel comfortable walking on them. A diamond pattern or tread plate design on the platform will fulfill this requirement. A rubber mat can also be placed over the platform for comfort.

The material of the load sensor is also critical. The ideal device should be made from stainless steel. Not only will this provide excellent corrosion protection, but it also has excellent overload and shock load characteristics. If the scale is kicked, shoved, or dropped, it is much less likely to be damaged. Many industrial scales use aluminum for the load sensor, which would not be optimal. Arlyn Scales uses only stainless steel for their complete line of scales, including the floor scales, platform scales, drum scales, bench scales and crane scales. This will provide for many years of trouble free use.

Scales in the zoos may be used for a wide variety of animals. These may include seals and sea lions, large cats such as lions and tigers, very heavy animals such as elephants, and a wide variety of smaller zoo animals. Often these animals will not be willing to step up onto a scale platform. A very low profile platform will make it much easier to persuade the animal to position itself to get weighed. The Arlyn line of scales are once again quite suitable for this. Because the load sensors are made from stainless steel, they can often be much smaller than other types. Furthermore, these sensors are embedded into the body of the scale. This has multiple advantages of protecting the sensor from animal wastes, protecting the electronic wires on these sensors, and allowing the scale to have a lower profile.