The first step that you’ll need to take in order to calibrate your digital scale is to turn it on, and then let it warm up for a number of minutes. I know this seems obvious, but if you’ve been experiencing problems with your scale, you do want to make sure that the batteries are fresh or that it’s firmly plugged in, and that it has had an opportunity to adjust to the temperature of the environment. The value of this first step should not be underestimated.

After the power source of your scale has checked and your scale has been turned on for some appropriate time, use the on screen menus find and press the calibration button until your scale gives you some sort of visual acknowledgement on its screen. The calibration button or setting will vary from scale to scale, but can most likely be found by pressing the function button, the mode button, or a button that reads “CAL”. Don’t forget that if you’re unsure of which button to choose, there’s no need to panic. The manufacturer manual can provide you with this information.

Once you’ve turned on your scale and held down the calibration button for a sufficient length of time, your scale should automatically go into calibration mode. Once it enters calibration mode, your screen will either display “CAL” and then a number or it will simply display a number in order to let you know that it’s ready to go. More advanced scales will actually give detailed instructions on the screen. When the aforementioned number appears on your screen, place the appropriate calibration weight on the scale, and allow it to be weighed for 3 to 5 seconds.

If you have lost your calibration weight, you can purchase another one either from your digital scale’s manufacturer or from a vendor that sells digital scales. Alternatively, your scale may ask you for a 100 gram weight. If this happens, you can use a standard stainless steel test weight, or a combination of weights that add up to 100 grams.

After the calibration weight has rested on the scale for 3 to 5 seconds, press and hold down the calibration button one more time. Your scale should give you some sort of final visual acknowledgement that will let you know it has finished its calibration. Your screen will likely read “CAL”, “END”, or “0″. Congratulations! After following these steps, your scale should be calibrated and ready to use.

The first step a digital scale owner should take is to locate the instruction manuals that came with the machine and see if the problem can be accessed on site by the owner himself. Often issues can be so simple that a digital scale user will over look them since they seem so commonplace. Many times, the issue is as small as a sensor or load cell connection. If the scale  shows 0.000 after placing some weight on pan, it may mean that a sensor or load cell connection is opened, it is wise to  check sensor connection and try again.

Once the provided instruction manuals have been accessed, assimilated and the problem itself seems beyond the knowledge base of a digital scale owner, a good calibration is the first line of defense. In fact, for optimal use, almost all scale manufacturers recommend some type of periodic calibration and maintenance routine for your digital and mechanical scales and balances.

If your digital balance or scale breaks, a technician trained by the factory is called for. When your scale needs calibration, these technicians can handle it promptly & efficiently with NIST traceable standards and documentation. It is important to find out if emergency loaner and rental scale equipment is available to keep your operation running. Make sure that the company you contact is certified. It is vital that the digital scale owner maintain complete documentation on the machine.

What is scale calibration?
Calibration of a scale is a procedure in which a technician uses known weights certified by the Bureau of Weights and Measures, to adjust the response of a mechanical or electronic weighing system to the following tests; the indicator must show zero when there is no weight on scale. When a known weight is applied the indicator must display the exact amount of applied weight. When weight is applied or removed incrementally the scale must display weight equal to that on the scale.

Finally, if a digital scale seems beyond repair by calibration, it is time to consider that years of wear and tear or an industrial accident could have damaged part or all of your digital scale. In this case, a certified representative can provide you with the information you need to replace the damaged part or give you good advice on a replacement scale.

It seems quite obvious that it is necessary to accurately measure all of the ingredients that must be mixed together to manufacture any formulation. What is not as obvious is the level of accuracy that must be attained. This, of course, is highly dependent on the material being formulated. Some types of mixtures are, by their nature, not very accurate and standard. This may be the case with agricultural products and animal feed mixtures. Others may need higher accuracy, but these levels may be easily achieved by a regular digital scale. Standard industrial scales can provide accuracy as good as 1/10 of 1%. Many chemicals, cleaning solutions, foods, and other mixtures easily fall within this range. This allows the typical bench scales to be used for smaller quantities, or floor scales, platform scales or drum scales to be used for larger batches.

But this level of accuracy is not suitable for certain special formulations. Pharmaceuticals may need greater accuracy. Another field which typically requires extremely high precision weighing is the formulation of paints. While there are no safety issues here, the mixture of pigments and other ingredients must be exceedingly precise in order to satisfy the color sensitivity of the human eye. Even very small discrepancies between two batches of paint can be instantly identified when they are displayed side by side. This type of specialty weighing calls for ultra precision scales with accuracy ranges that are ten to twenty times better than regular industrial scales.

Arlyn Scales offers a range of ultra high precision digital scales known as SAW scales, or Surface Acoustic Wave scales. There is a range of bench scales with capacities ranging from 10 lb up to 100 lb. A second range of high capacity SAW scales range in capacity from 200 lb up to 500 lb. These may be used as bench scales, or alternatively as platform scales or drum scales. Paint mixing becomes a much more accurate process with this type of weighing instrument.