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.

One of the most common types of industrial scales is the bench scale. Generally, they are available in capacities ranging from about 10 pounds up to approximately 150 lbs. As a rule of thumb, the lighter the capacity of the scale, the higher the resolution of the display. For example, a ten pound capacity scale may be able to display increments as small as 0.001 lb. Whereas a one hundred pound scale has ten times the capacity, it may have only one tenth of the readability, resulting in display increments of 0.01 lb.

Although the readability of the bench scale is important, the overall accuracy is a defining value. Arlyn Scales produces bench scales that provide levels of accuracy that are suitable for industrial measurement. Many of the important design elements that result in good accuracy can be traced to the electronic sensors of the digital scale. These sensors must be very rugged, or they will be quickly damaged in an industrial environment. But they must also be very sensitive. Additional characteristics include the ability to produce correct results over a wide range of temperature. For these reasons, Arlyn Scales uses a special stainless steel alloy in the production of their weight sensors. Additional electronics are built into the sensor to detect the ambient temperature of the bench scale, and to adjust the electronic output of the sensor to compensate for temperature variations.

Of course, the bench scale must also include accurate digitizing circuitry to convert the sensor output into a digital value for the display. These circuits must react quickly to any change in weight on the scale platform, while also filtering out the results of air movement and vibration.