How to Use Lorry Weighbridges Correctly to Avoid Economic Losses?
The accuracy of weighing is crucial in various industries and applications. Lorry weighbridges, as precision instruments, require careful handling and maintenance to ensure reliable results. Bincen wrote down this article to highlight essential practices for scale usage, focusing on key factors that can significantly impact weighing accuracy and the overall lifespan of the equipment. By following these guidelines, users can optimize scale performance, prevent costly errors, and prolong the equipment’s life.
1. Pay Attention to the Rated Range of the Lorry Weighbridge.
The rated range of the lorry weighbridge is like the weighing range of a balance, which represents the maximum weight that the scale can accurately measure. Weighing beyond this range will not only affect the accuracy of weighing, but also damage the weighbridge itself. The scale weighs several tons or even more than ten tons and is often overloaded. If the weighing frequency is too high, it will damage the weighing sensor, the core component of the scale. Therefore, you must remember not to exceed the rated range when weighing.
Ensure weighing accuracy
- Increase in linear error: If the rated range is exceeded, the sensor of the scale will exceed the linear working range, resulting in a sharp increase in weighing error and unreliable measurement results.
- Nonlinear influence: The sensor of the lorry weighbridge works in the nonlinear area, which will cause the weighing result to jump or be unstable.
Protect the scale equipment
- Sensor damage: Overload will cause permanent deformation or even damage to the sensor, causing the scale to fail to work properly.
- Damage to other components: Overload will also damage other components of the lorry weighbridge, such as load beams and connectors, shortening the service life of the scale.
Ensure safe production
- Overload accidents: Weighing beyond the rated range may lead to insufficient local load-bearing capacity of the lorry weighbridge, causing collapse and other safety accidents.
- Affect other equipment: Overload may also cause damage to other equipment connected to the scale, affecting the normal operation of the entire production line.
2. After the Instrument Is Reset to Zero, It Will Be Weighed Again and Stop Accurately.
The lorry weighbridge staff should note that when weighing a car, they should wait until the meter is turned on and the value shows zero before signaling the vehicle to weigh to prevent damage to the meter. After the truck is weighed, the scale staff should confirm that the vehicle is parked in the center for weighing. During the use of the lorry weighbridge, the accuracy of the meter showing zero and the stop position of the weighing is crucial to the accuracy of the weighing result. The meter showing zero and the correct stop position of the weighing are the basic requirements for ensuring the accuracy of the weighing of the scale. Only when the meter shows zero can the weight of the object being weighed be accurately measured; only when the vehicle is parked in the correct position can overloading and weighing errors be avoided.
The importance of the meter showing zero
- Eliminate the impact of the initial value: Before the lorry weighbridge weighs the object, the value displayed on the meter is not really zero, and there may be a slight deviation. If this deviation is not eliminated during the weighing process, it will affect the final weighing result.
- Ensure consistency in the starting point of weighing: Zeroing the meter before each weighing can ensure that the starting point of each weighing is consistent, thereby improving the comparability of the weighing results.
Importance of correct stop position for weighing
- Avoid overloading: When weighing, the vehicle should be parked in the center of the scale and evenly distributed. If the vehicle is parked in an improper position, it may cause partial overloading, damage the scale sensor, and affect the weighing accuracy.
- Reduce weighing errors: Incorrect parking position of the vehicle will cause deformation of the lorry weighbridge platform, resulting in errors in the weighing results.
- Extend the service life of the scale: Correct weighing operation can effectively reduce the wear of the scale and extend its service life.
3. Regular Verification and Calibration.
The weighbridge personnel need to self-calibrate, test, and record daily. It is best to maintain self-inspection at least twice a week. If the weighbridge is found to be out of tolerance, it should be reported to the metrology technical organization for maintenance and verification in a timely manner. As a precision measuring instrument, the weighbridge’s weighing accuracy directly affects many links such as production and trade. Regular verification and calibration is an important means to ensure the weighing accuracy of the weighbridge. The reasons are as follows:
Instrument aging
- Zero drift: As time goes by, the electronic components and sensors of the weighbridge will age, resulting in zero drift and affecting the accuracy of the weighing results.
- Decrease in sensitivity: The sensitivity of the weighbridge will gradually decrease with the increase in usage time, resulting in smaller weighing results.
Environmental factors
- Temperature changes: Temperature changes will affect the material properties of the weighbridge and cause weighing errors.
- Humidity changes: A high-humidity environment may cause the electronic components of the weighbridge to become damp, affecting its performance.
- Vibration and shock: If the weighbridge is in a vibration and shock environment for a long time, it will accelerate its aging and affect the weighing accuracy.
Overloading and abuse
- Sensor damage: Overloading can damage the sensor of the weighbridge, resulting in inaccurate weighing results.
- Structural deformation: Abuse of the lorry weighbridge can cause structural deformation of the scale, affecting the weighing accuracy.
- Legal and regulatory requirements
- Metrology Law: The “Measurement Law of the People’s Republic of China” and other laws and regulations clearly stipulate that lorry weighbridges used for trade settlement must be calibrated regularly.
Economic benefits
- Avoid economic losses: Regular calibration can promptly detect and correct the errors of the weighbridge, avoiding economic losses caused by inaccurate weighing.
- Improve production efficiency: Accurate weighing data can improve production efficiency and reduce production costs.
The significance of regular calibration
- Ensure weighing accuracy: Regular calibration can ensure that the weighing results of the weighbridge are accurate and reliable.
- Discover and eliminate faults: Through calibration, faults in the scale can be discovered and eliminated in a timely manner to avoid greater losses.
- Extend the service life of the lorry weighbridge: Regular calibration can extend the service life of the weighbridge and reduce maintenance costs.
- Comply with legal and regulatory requirements: Regular calibration is a requirement of laws and regulations and is also a manifestation of corporate integrity.
4. Clean up Debris Regularly.
The weighbridge operator should clean up debris around and on both sides of the lorry weighbridge to avoid affecting the weighing accuracy of the weighbridge. In case of rain or snow, promptly handle the weighbridge and the surrounding rain and snow to prevent ice or rainwater from corroding the weighbridge. During the use of the weighbridge, it is very important to clean up debris regularly, mainly for the following reasons:
- Affecting weighing accuracy: Debris on the weighbridge will increase the weighing value and lead to inaccurate weighing results. Debris may also get stuck under or around the sensor, affecting the sensitivity of the sensor and causing weighing errors.
- Safety hazards: Debris on the weighbridge may cause people to trip and cause safety accidents. Flammable and explosive debris may cause fires.
- Affecting the life of the weighbridge: The presence of debris will accelerate the aging of the weighbridge and shorten its service life. Failures caused by debris will increase the maintenance cost of the weighbridge.
Specific measures for regular cleaning of debris
- Cleaning frequency: Clean the scale regularly according to the frequency of use of the lorry weighbridge and the environment, generally at least once a week.
- Cleaning tools: Use a soft brush or vacuum cleaner to clean the weighbridge to avoid damaging the surface of the scale.
- Inspection focus: When cleaning, focus on the four corners of the scale, the area around the sensor and the joints of the lorry weighbridge.
- Remove accumulated water: Clean the accumulated water on the scale regularly to prevent water stains from corroding the lorry weighbridge.
- Check the drainage system: Check the drainage system of the scale regularly to ensure smooth drainage.
Conclusion
By reading this article written by Bincen, you should already know that the correct use of lorry weighbridges is essential to maintain accuracy and extend the life of the equipment. By adhering to basic principles, such as respecting the rated range, ensuring correct zeroing, regular calibration, and keeping the lorry weighbridge clean, users can significantly improve the reliability and efficiency of weighing operations. Implementing these practices will not only prevent costly mistakes but also promote overall operational success. As a trusted lorry weighbridge manufacturer in China, we can not only provide you with more professional guidance but also provide products directly to you. In addition to providing a wide range of ready-made scales, such as pit weighbridges, mobile weighbridges, weighbridges with slopes, etc., BINCEN can also provide customized lorry weighbridges according to your specific needs. Our company’s scales have been sold all over the world for the past 20 years and are widely praised for their excellent quality.