In an age where constant email checking is becoming a necessity, Wi-Fi is all the rage. Besides being important in the home and the office, it is found in airports, at train stations, and on moving buses. Now, it is also found in industrial scales.

A few higher-quality electronic scale manufacturers, such as Arlyn Scales, are now providing wi-fi connectivity as an option in much of their industrial scale lines. Previous to wireless, there were several methods for linking digital platform scales, bench scales, and floor scales to computers. RS-232 allows one scale to be linked to a computer. RS-485 allows several electronic scales at a time to be linked to a computer. For both of these protocols, RS-232 and RS-485 to USB converters are available. In these cases, the computer linkage can be used to store precise digital weight information in databases and spreadsheets.

More recently, Ethernet connectivity has become a common protocol for connecting digital scales into a Local Area Network. Besides allowing an industrial scale to be controlled and monitored from any computer on the network, this method also allows access to a scale controller from anywhere in the world, over the internet. Arlyn Scales even provides Remote Indicator software with its network electronic scales, which can read scale information on any computer with internet access.

RS-232, RS-485, and Ethernet all pose one typical difficulty-they require cabling. Often, an industrial scale may be found on a factory work floor that is several hundred feet away from a monitoring room or office. Particularly with RS-232 and RS-485, cabling becomes very expensive. Ethernet is much more commonly found built into many modern buildings for the purpose of having a Local Access Network, so very often, a building does not have to be retrofitted. Wireless connectivity, however, has the same benefits as Ethernet, when built into industrial scales, without requiring the cabling. Electronic scales can still be accessed from any computer on the network as well as from any computer in the world using the Remote Indicator software.

When we are heading out on a long drive, planning an outdoor party, or planning to go for a walk outside, we like to know whether it will rain, when, and how much. However, in many situations, it is important to know whether it rained in the past, when, and how much. Farmers, for example, depend on rain for their crops. If it does not rain the right amount and a drought is expected, they must choose another plant variety to grow or suffer crop failure. Cities rely on rain collected in reservoirs for their yearly supply of water for showering, drinking, watering plants, and other activities. If it does not rain enough, these activities must be restricted. If it rains too much, or at the wrong time, a city may flood, causing long-term damage.  Environmental researchers are interested in precipitation data to track trends in the climate on the local and global levels.

There are several ways of measuring precipitation. Cylinders may be placed in different areas, and as it rains or snows, this precipitation falls into the cylinders. A person must then drive around to each cylinder and record the current measurement. This may cause problems as the cylinders may overflow. In addition, it is not efficient to travel to every cylinder and this method gives no data on when and how quickly the precipitation fell.

A much more accurate method of determining how much precipitation has fallen in any area is with a rain gauge scale. A bucket is placed on the electronic scale, and the rain gauge scale measures the total amount of water in the bucket. Since electronic rain gauge scales must be kept outdoors, they must be able to survive extreme temperature and precipitation. High-quality scale manufacturers like Arlyn Scales use stainless steel load sensors rather than aluminum load sensors in order to prevent corrosion. In addition, these high-quality rain gauge scales can be built with USB ports to allow for detailed record-keeping, including time data, on a high capacity flash drive.

Although the internet is becoming the media of choice for sending out advertisements and bulk mailings, traditional postal service is still often used to send out advertising fliers, glossy postcards, or product samples. When a company chooses to send out a bulk mailing, it can pay a special bulk postage rate to the United States Postal Service. However, in order to get this special price, the company has certain responsibilities. It must sort the mail according to postal rules, report the weight of one single piece of mail and a batch of mail, and then report the total number of pieces that are being sent out.

Digital parts counting scales are the perfect solution to a business’s mailing needs. This electronic scale first calculates the weight of each piece of mail. The operator places a known number of pieces on the scale and enters the number of pieces that are being weighed. This industrial scale then divides the total weight by the number of pieces to calculate a piece weight. The scale is then switched into counting mode. When all of the pieces of mail are placed on it, the electronic scale divides the total weight by the weight of a single piece to calculate the total number of pieces being mailed.

When sending out particularly large bulk mailings, it is important to have a scale that has a large capacity while also having a high enough resolution to be able to accurately determine the weight of one single piece of mail. Ultra-precision SAW scales, a new technology developed and manufactured by Arlyn Scales, are a good example of a large-capacity, high resolution digital scale. A SAW scale with a 100 lb. capacity has a resolution of .001, allowing for a very precise count of a very large number of pieces of mail.

The weight values that are shown on the indicator of an industrial scale are of critical importance to the scale operator. A bench scale may be weighing small packages. Or a parts counting scale may be determining the number of parts in a container. Larger drum scales and platform scales may be determining the amount of liquid in a tank or dewar or drum. And large floor scales will be weighing totes, pallets and large tanks. Besides reading the weight information, the operator of the electronic scale can also perform certain control functions, such as applying a tare weight, zeroing the weight on the scale, and choosing the units of measurement, such as pounds or kilos.

While it is required and expected that all digital scales provide all of this functionality locally, it is often desired to be able to also perform all of these functions from another location. In these cases, the most common requirement is to read weight data and control the scale from a local computer. Arlyn Scales provides optional Remote Indicator software that can be operated from any Windows based computer. The electronic scale must be connected to the computer. Typically, this connection would be an industrial standard RS-232 communication line. Alternatively, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection may be used.

Now, the computer operator can read weight data directly on the computer screen. They can also save this data in some other computer format, including spreadsheets and databases. Furthermore, the industrial scale can also be controlled directly from the computer. If the scale must be switched from the Net mode to the Gross mode, or the weight of a container must be subtracted, this may be accomplished from the computer keyboard.

But not all industrial applications are created equally. Just being tough will be sufficient for most situations. But certain uses require an electronic scale to be able to withstand harsh chemical environments. One of the most common of these is found in municipal water treatment facilities, both for the municipal water supply itself, and for the treatment of waste water. A wide variety of very corrosive materials are metered in very small amounts into the treatment process. The drum scales that hold these drums must not get damaged by chemical spills or even the vapor from these chemicals. Floor scales that are used to hold tanks or totes must be similarly protected.

Arlyn Scales offers cylinder scales, platform scales and floor scales with stainless steel construction and a unique coating for excellent protection. The coating on these industrial scales is comprised of a special anti corrosive epoxy. Even the best coatings will only protect the electronic scale if it has not been scratched or abraded. Ultra hard garnet particles are mixed into the epoxy to protect the scale platform from wear.

Factories and warehouses are not known for being kind and gentle with the equipment they are using. This includes their electronic scales. If they are loaded by hand, heavy weights may be dropped directly onto the platform scale. Alternatively, they may be loaded using pallet jacks or forklifts which may bang against the digital scale. It may be necessary to move the platform scale around the factory floor, generally without any consideration for its well being. So it is very important for the industrial scale to be constructed with industrial strength.

The proverbial weak link in any electronic scale are its sensors. These devices are designed to develop an electrical signal that is precisely proportional to the amount of weight on the platform scale. Arlyn Scales produces these sensors from special alloys of stainless steel that are post processed for exceptional strength and ruggedness. Most other digital scales use aluminum or plated steel for their sensors. These are more susceptible to shock load damage.

While the platform scale must be strong, or it will quickly be destroyed, it must also be easy to use, or it will quickly be abandoned. Lifting heavy objects onto a high scale platform is not fun. The lower the profile of the scale, the easier it will be to use. Arlyn Scales takes advantage of the strength of the stainless steel material used to fabricate their sensors by designing a particularly low profile device. They then fabricate pockets directly into the frame of the industrial scale where the sensors are mounted. These two innovations result in a platform scale with one of the lowest profiles available anywhere. This makes them particularly popular with the people who have to lift their products onto or off of the scale platform.