When it comes to precision and durability, no one does it better than Arlyn Scales. As a factory direct manufacturer, we’ve been able to innovative scale designs that can stand up to the toughest industrial environments. Leading the weighing industry for the last 35 years, the secret to our success starts with stainless steel.
Stainless Steel Load Cells
The most important component of our industrial scales is the load cell. Responsible for measuring the weight of items placed on the platform, a load cell is a device that converts force into an electrical signal. The most common type of load cell in the scale industry is the strain gage load cell. A load cell features a spring element that is attached to the underside of the scale platform and the interior floor of the scale. Four thin sections called flexures are incorporated into the spring element. Strain gages, which are a type of resistor, are bonded onto these flexures and wired together in the form of a Wheatstone’s bridge. Any time weight is applied to the platform it is transferred to the load cell, causing the spring element to bend. The flexures bend in proportion with the spring element, which also causes the strain gages to bend. This causes a change in the gages’ resistance, which also causes a change in voltage output of the bridge. This voltage is translated into numeric form by an Analog to Digital Converter. The output value corresponds exactly to the weight on the platform, which means you can read the weight of the item on the platform off of a screen.
Once a load is removed from the platform, the spring element should return to its original position. It is hoped that it returns to the exact same position because if it does not, the scale’s accuracy will be compromised. The spring element’s ability to return to its original position depends on the properties of the metal used in its construction. While other manufacturers use weaker metals to cut costs, we manufacture all of our load cells in our Long Island factory using stainless steel. Stainless steel provides durability and ruggedness in even the most extreme industrial conditions. From large, unwieldy loads to overloading and shock loading, our load cells can stand up to the abuse of your daily operations. Stainless steel load cells not only increase the longevity of your scale, they also provide far more accurate measurements than strain gage load cells that use other materials in their construction. This has a lot to do with the fact that we manufacture our own load cells. The sensitivity characteristics of an individual load cell will inevitably vary from others. This can become a problem when dealing with larger scales, such as platform and floor models. As a standard industry practice, most manufacturers will correct this problem using a summation board, which must be manually adjusted with a screwdriver until all the output signals are identical. However, the summation board is one of the leading causes of failure in a scale as the connectors used are easily damaged by dirt, water, and other substances. It wouldn’t stand a chance in more corrosive environments! The adjustment trimmers are also relatively unreliable, which often means downtime when the board fails as you wait for a dealer to repair it. Arlyn Scales , however, does things a little differently. Rather than adjust each scale individually after the load cells are attached to the summation board, we eliminate the summation board altogether. Instead, we manufacture a series of load cells and measure the output signal of each. We then place them in groups of four based on the identicalness of their outputs. All adjustments are done mechanically, which means that the scale operate can, if need be, adjust the output signal himself. By eliminating the summation board, we’re able to eliminate the expensive need for dealer service and provide a superior, more accurate scale.
Stainless Steel Exteriors
When it comes to work environments where rust and corrosion are all too common, stainless steel construction becomes even more important. If you handle corrosive chemicals on a daily basis, your equipment can really take a beating. Our heavy, welded stainless steel construction prevents rust and other kinds of corrosion, adding years of useful life to any Arlyn Scale you purchase. This is especially true when compared with the sheet metal construction used by other manufacturers, which leaves your scale vulnerable to damage. If your work environment is especially corrosive, Arlyn Scales also offers a triple epoxy infused with garnet particles that prevents the abrasion and scratches in the coating that would destroy another scale. Our competitors will often use standard kinds of enamel paint to coat their scale platforms. However, once this layer of paint is chipped, scratched, or otherwise removed, corrosive agents will not only affect that part of the scale, but can migrate underneath the surface of the paint to other areas of the platform or even interfere with the internal components of your scale and affect your accuracy. This is also why our stainless steel load cells are so important. While many corrosive agents are liquid, some are gaseous. We design our scales to protect the load cell from accidental spills, but gasses are harder to avoid. An extremely thin layer of silicone is painted over the electrical parts of the load cell further protects your equipment from rust and corrosion. Or maybe you work in a medical office or laboratory where all of your instruments must be sterilized? In that case, stainless steel is also the best choice. Washing down these scales won’t affect their construction and will leave you with a streak-free shine that lets you know they’re clean.
For Precision and Durability, Contact Arlyn Scales
For details regarding our industrial scales and for help with the selection process, contact our support staff today . We’ll answer all your questions and make sure you’re purchasing the scale you actually need, with none of the bells and whistles don’t.
