Digital Scales - What Materials Do They Need?

By Author: Jonathan Charles
Total Articles: 12
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In the time of mechanical scales the key ingredient required to make a great scale was good iron or steel which could be shaped suitably and would be able to stand the test of time. Today a high quality digital scale needs several different materials.

A key part in the load cell does continue to be metal. This is the part of the load cell that actually gets bent when a weight is placed on the scale. This material is often stainless steel in high quality scales though some quality load cells are also made using specialized alloys. The key quality of the material are that it should consistently bend to the same extent when a load is placed on it and that it should be able to withstand the constant placement and removal of loads without getting fatigued. To have these properties the material needs to be chosen wisely and it should be of very high purity. If there are impurities in the material then sooner or later these will show up as a negative impact on the performance of the scale.

Another key material is a hard wearing material that will protect the platform of the digital scale specially those used to measure ...
... the weight of heavy abrasive objects. One option is that the platform is made of stainless steel which is a very popular choice since stainless steel is a great material for withstanding tough conditions. If there is a risk of corrosion then specialized coatings can be used as well.

A much smaller but as critical a material is used to make the strain gauge. This is what helps to calculate the weight of the object. The strain gauge material is a highly specialized one since its resistance changes due its change in shape. The material bonding the strain gauge to the metal component of the load cell is an important one as well. This adhesive needs to retain its properties over time even with the regular flexing and unflexing for the scale to deliver a consistently accurate performance.