An Englishman named Richard Salter revolutionized the world of weighing scales in 1770 by inventing the spring scale. Before Salter’s spring scale, the balance scale, which was invented in approximately 4000 BC, had been the longtime standard in weight measurement. He and his nephews John and George went on to open a very successful business selling scales and balances and patent the spring balance in 1838.

The hanging spring scale can be as simple as a hook attached to a spring, which is fixed at the opposite end, and has a variety of possible applications. It can perhaps most commonly be found in the grocery stores in the produce section. The suspended scales which people use to weigh their produce are perfect examples of hanging scales. They can also sometimes be found in the deli section of the supermarket.

Hanging scales are often used on farm and in factories, and can easily be purchased with up to a 10,000 pound capacity. Hanging scales are also used in more industrial settings. Cranes can be equipped with hanging scales in order to building materials at construction sites or other very large objects.

One of the advantages of using a hanging scale over other types of weighing machines is their portability. A small hanging scale can be attached to a variety of surfaces. Additionally, especially in the case of crane scales, hanging scales can be maneuvered in to weigh things that could not otherwise be reached or are difficult to move. For example, hanging scales are often used by medical facilities to weigh handicapped and bedridden patients.

One of the disadvantages of using a spring scale, in particular, is that they are sensitive to the gravity of the place in which they are used. This is because the spring scale measures the force an object exerts on the spring inside the mechanism. This means that because gravitational force varies in different parts of the world, spring scales can give different readings of the weight of the same object when placed in different locations. Because of this if the user wants an accurate reading many spring scales must be recalibrated taking into consideration the gravitational pull of their current location before using their scale.

Fortunately today digital scales are available for purchase that offers the user the option to have their scales automatically calibrate themselves. Digital hanging scales in particular have become quite popular and can be found in every industry from food stores to construction sites. Digital hanging scales with stainless steel load sensors are ideal for industry, as they are more rugged and durable.

Aggregates are everywhere we look in the world around us. These materials, which are made up of an aggregate of different other materials, including various types of stones, clay, silt, and sand, include the asphalt that paves our roads, the concrete that is used for the foundations of our skyscrapers, or the cement that makes up the bricks of our homes. There is no single aggregate-each one is made differently for a different purpose. One aggregate that uses a certain mixture of stones, silt, and petroleum-based binding may have very different characteristics than one that uses another mixture of pebbles, clay, and a different binding. One aggregate may be more suitable for roads while another may be more suitable for sidewalks.

On any construction site, construction managers must ensure that the aggregate they are using, whether concrete or asphalt, meets the specifications necessary for the job. Therefore, at set intervals of time, the team must carry out a compositional analysis of the aggregate. The aggregate is poured into a sieve with large holes that will only block the largest pieces of stone from falling through. Following this, it is poured into sieves with consecutively smaller and smaller holes until each component of the aggregate is in its own sieve. Then, the sieves and their contents must be weighed with an electronic scale. The total percentage of each material is calculated and compared with the necessary standards.

It is necessary to measure the composition of each aggregate very accurately. This becomes particularly difficult when each component may weigh up to 100 pounds. A standard digital scale may only be able to weigh each component to .01 pounds, which is not precise enough. One scale company, Arlyn Scales, has developed ultra-precision electronic scales that use Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology for aggregate testing. These industrial scales are rugged enough to withstand the force of aggregate components while being able to weigh each component to .001 pounds.

Recycling programs have become widespread in many industries for several different reasons. Economically, it is extremely viable for companies to sell any unused materials, including steel, iron, glass, plastic, rubber, wood, paper, and precious metals, to recycling companies. Environmentally, any products that are reused rather than placed in landfills help protect valuable land and nature. Legally, it is becoming more and more common for states and municipalities to pass legislation required industrial entities to create these recycling programs.

When recycled products are brought to recycling plants, these plants must first sort out the different products, and then must weigh them in order to determine how much to pay the donator. Digital platform scales are ideal for weighing this recycled material. These digital scales usually have a capacity of about 1000 pounds, which is a reasonable capacity for the expected loads in a recycling plant. They can range in sizes. Arlyn Scales platform scales are offered in a 20″x27″ size for smaller packages of recycled material, a 36″x36″ size for larger boxes, and a 48″x48″ size for large loads. In addition, these scales are only 1 7/8″ high which make for easy loading and unloading.

Recycling plants may have a corrosive environment that can damage the electrical platform scales. Corrosion resistant scales are beneficial. Therefore, it is often necessary to make the scale components out of materials that won’t corrode. High quality scale manufacturers, like Arlyn Scales, make their load cells out of a special stainless steel alloy. While this alloy is more difficult to machine than steel or aluminum, which is found in lower-quality scales, it is much more resistant to corrosive materials. In addition, stainless steel load cells are more resistant to bending that occurs when they are exposed to heavy shock loads. In recycling plants, where forklifts are often used to place heavy loads on the industrial scale, this extra strength is extremely important.

Industrial scales are often subject to very harsh conditions. A cylinder scale may have to support a 250 pound tilted liquid gas cylinder as it is being loaded on and off. A platform scale may be subject to high shock loads as large pallets are placed on it by a forklift. Parts counting scales may also have to support these shock loads if a large batch of parts are placed on it at one time.

The most important component of any electronic scale is the transducer, which senses force, and outputs an electronic signal. Most often, the transducer is a strain gauge load cell. When force from an object acts on the load cell, it bends in a very controlled manner. When the object is removed, the load cell unbends back to its original position, much like a spring. A strain gauge, a type of electrical resistor, is placed on the load cell. As the load cell bends under the weight of an object, the resistance of the strain gauge changes. The weight of the object is proportional to the change in resistance of the strain gauge, which is affected by the amount of bending of the load cell.

Many industrial scale manufacturers choose to use aluminum alloy load cells in their scales since it is relatively cheap and it is very easy to machine. However, these aluminum load cells are very easy to damage. A shock load may bend the aluminum so much that it will not be able to spring back to its original position. If this happens, the electronic scale is no longer usable. Other manufacturers used nickel-plated steel load cells. However, these devices are susceptible to corrosion. High-quality industrial scale manufacturers, like Arlyn Scales, often choose to use a 17-4 stainless steel alloy. Load cells made from this material are very difficult to damage, and therefore, can sustain larger shock loads and can last longer.

This data recording can be done by humans. However, this opens up the possibility of human error-the data may be recorded incorrectly. Sometimes, digital scales may be connected to a computer using a standard communication protocol such as RS-232. But if the computer is not in the vicinity of the scale, this introduces the issue of running long lengths of wire which is both expensive and time-consuming.

Scale manufacturers that offer the newest technologies, like Arlyn Scales, now make electronic scales with optional built-in Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. Standard USB thumb drives can be plugged into these ports, and weight data from the industrial scale can be recorded on these memory devices. The digital scale can be programmed to automatically load the data on its screen onto the thumb drive at pre-set intervals such as every hour, every minute, or even several times a second. Or, an operator can press a button on the control panel of the scale to record the data at that point.

Once data has been stored onto the USB thumb drive, the device can be removed from the USB port of the electronic scale and the data can be imported into a database or spreadsheet program on any computer that has a USB port. This method of copying data from industrial scale to computer is very cheap, with 4 GB thumb drives costing as little as $10.

For all of these reasons, there are many rules and regulations pertaining to the management of hazardous wastes. Some of these simply define what materials and items are deemed to be hazardous and which are not. Others outline the methods required for physically handling hazardous materials. There are specifications for the types of clear and accurate documentation that must be maintained.

Much of this documentation is associated with the amounts of these materials. Generally, they must be weighed at all steps in the process. Clearly, it is important to know how much material is generated. That can be determined by using a good quality industrial scale. Depending on the amounts and type of hazardous waste, this could be a bench scale with resolution as high as 0.001 lb. If it is a liquid that is stored in a pail, tank or drum, then a drum scale would be considered. Cylinders of hazardous liquids and gasses are weighed on cylinder scales. Platform scales, floor scales and pallet scales are used to weigh larger containers, totes and larger tanks. The weight can be recorded by hand onto the proper form. Alternatively, Arlyn Scales offers computer interfaces for most of their electronic scales. Weights can now be automatically stored in a database file, or can be printed on labels and other types of forms. It is even possible to use a USB memory stick to log the weight information from these digital scales, along with the time and date of the weighing action. This is particularly useful for maintaining high quality records.

An industrial scale is a wonderful instrument for determining the weight of an item. Bench scales accurately weigh small items. Depending on the capacity of the digital scale, the readability of the weight can be as small as 0.0001 lb. Platform scales weigh larger packages and drums up to 1000 lb, whereas floor scales and pallet scales can accepts loads up to 20,000 lb. The accuracy of the electronic scale is dependent on the type of technology used. High quality industrial strain gage scales have an accuracy range of approximately 1/10 of 1%. If greater accuracy is required, alternate ultra precision scales, such as Arlyn Scales Surface Acoustic Wave technology can provide ten or even twenty times better accuracy.

But even an industrial scale with the best accuracy obtainable will not be of value within an industrial process if the user chooses not to use it because it is too difficult. Even if the electronic scale is being used, if the reading cannot be easily read, it is likely that inaccurate results will be obtained. Gross errors will occur if the front panel controls are confusing, potentially resulting in readings of kilograms where pounds are expected.

Good design practices can combine ease of use with excellent accuracy. For example, Arlyn Scales provides a combination of clearly marked front panel controls with a graphics, menu driven digital display. The user is guided through weighing operations by menu prompts which automatically scroll to the next operation. Furthermore, the very low profile of the industrial scales assist the scale operator in placing objects onto and off of the industrial scale platform. High quality stainless steel load cells protect the scale from damage caused by dropping items onto the scale platform, in addition to providing many years of trouble free use.