Floor Scales - What Does Heavy Duty Really Mean

By Author: Steve Swall
Total Articles: 9
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We know floor scales have to be able to withstand tough conditions to be able to deliver a strong performance for a long time. And so industrial floor scales have to be heavy duty so that they are tough enough to last.

A floor scale is typically used to weigh heavy to very heavy objects which are difficult to lift and place on the scale's platform. Each time the heavy object is placed, its loads cell must endure the stress caused by it, produce the same strain each time for an object of equal weight and have the strain measured by the strain gauges on the load cells.

If the material of the load cell is not of great quality the constant bending and unbending will take its toll and the strain will not be reliably related to the amount of weight placed on the platform. Initially you may need to calibrate the scale again and again at brief intervals and later the scale may break down altogether. On the other hand a truly heavy duty scale will have a load cell made of high quality stainless steel or a similar alloy that can take the constant bending and unbending in its stride. Since you cannot see a load cell you will ...
... not be able to visually judge whether the key components of the scale are heavy duty or not. And if you judge whether the scale is heavy duty by the appearance of what can be seen such as the platform then you can be easily misled. But if you choose a respected quality manufacturer you can be sure heavy duty load cells have been used.

Besides the material that flexes the load cell should also have high quality strain gauges and also use a great adhesive to fix the strain gauge on to the metal component that flexes. Once the load cell is heavy duty that is a great start but not quite enough. The electronic circuits, the mountings of the load cells and the platform all need to be tough enough to last even when heavy objects knock them about a bit. A great design based on years of making floor scales is important as well. You can see the latest heavy duty floor scales at http://scalesf4u.insanejournal.com/467.html.