Quality Scales Unlimited offers a variety of general purpose heavy duty industrial floor scales as well as custom floor scales tailored to your specific business applications.
Floor scales, as the name suggests, are scales which sit on a flooring surface or are incorporated into the flooring with a pit frame, making the scale level with the flooring. We offer floor scales with 1,000 to 80,000 lb load capacities with Legal-for-Trade applications. The weighing surface, or platform of the scale, is available in many dimensions and surface materials depending on your needs.
Image Credit: Rice Lake
A system we find popular is Rice Lake Weighing System’s Rough-n-Ready package which is a 5,000 or 10,000 lb capacity RoughDeck 4’ x 4’ floor scale and a choice of Rice Lake indicator. Since most floor scales will use an indicator, this complete package makes the purchase easy and cost-effective. Another popular floor scale, which we have in our warehouse for immediate delivery, is the painted steel, diamond plate 4’ X 4’ Rice Lake Weighing Systems, general purpose RoughDeck.
Some warehouse floor scales are built specifically for use in extreme or harsh environments or to weigh awkward or unusually shaped loads. Below are some of the common types, along with the options and features that are generally available:
Portable Floor Scales
Image Credit: Rice Lake
For some operations, a portable weighing system is more practical and cost-effective than setting up multiple stationary scales at different points. There are many portable floor scale variations, each with features created for ease of use and overcoming limitations.
Common Portable Options:
Mobility – The wheels will typically be either heavy-duty castors, solid rubber wheels, or a combination.
Battery Powered – For areas without a power source or where wires may impede ongoing work, you can opt for models with built-in rechargeable batteries.
Mechanical – If you require a 1000 lb or 500 kg capacity scale that operates without a power source, you could use an economical all-mechanical beam scale.
Base – Some portable scales are designed with wheels which hover while weighing, providing a stable platform that won’t move or shift, even on uneven surfaces.
Additional Equipment – Optional equipment like mounting brackets, ramps and clamshells can be added to improve usability.
Mobility Kits – If you already have a floor scale, but need a mobility feature, we may be able to source a portability kit designed to work with your model.
Washdown Scales
Image Credit: Rice Lake
Scales are used in many different environments, including where they are prone to getting dirty or exposed to corrosives. Washdown scales are built to be easily cleaned and their surfaces resist the corrosive and damaging effects of frequent exposure to water and cleaning compounds. Most feature a removable or liftable section which allows easy access to the interior parts for thorough cleaning.
Common Washdown Options:
Autolift –An autolift washdown floor scale has an automated mechanism for lifting, usually hydraulic. Sensitive equipment and electronics are protected by installing them in a junction box rated for the surroundings.
Quick Clean –These floor scales have a mechanism, generally a pressurized gas-shock, with a manual support bar that can be used to prop the platform open for extended periods during an underdeck cleaning.
Sanitary Deck –Some washdown scales are available with a completely removable top cover for making sanitizing the surface easy. For installations that are in highly stressed environments, you can opt for additional features such as protected load-cells and stainless steel channel frames.
Hostile Environment Floor Scales –These systems are built using materials that are particularly resistant to corrosion, such as stainless steel. They are highly durable and are made to withstand harsh chemicals and very frequent washdowns.
Barrel, Drum and Pallet Scales
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Barrels, drums and palletized items can be particularly difficult to load and keep steady while weighing because of their awkward size and shape. Barrel, Drum and Pallet Scales (BDP) make weighing these items easier and safer with customized weighing platforms for securing these materials. The customized platforms also address the challenge of weighing drums or barrels of liquid items that slosh with movement, affecting the accuracy of the weight. BDP scales provide a stable and balanced measuring platform for these items.
Common Barrel, Drum and Pallet Scale Options:
Low Profile Floor Scales – Since BDP scales have a very low profile, loading items to be weighed is much simpler. Combined with options like a hinged ramp, loads can be loaded and unloaded smoothly, quickly and with little manpower or specialized equipment.
Live Side Rails – These are durable rails that run along the sides of the load cell. With live side rails, items that are larger in size than the scale can still be weighed accurately.
Sealed Load Cells – Barrels and drums are used for storing liquid, toxic and corrosive substances, and can occasionally leak. To prevent damage and corrosion, you can opt for scales with welded-seal or environmentally sealed load cells.
Coil Scale
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Dense coils of steel can be weighed with a special floor scale designed to withstand the heavier weights associated with weighing steel coils. These scales are reinforced and built with a heavy duty construction. Load capacities of coil scales are 40,000 to 80,000 lbs and can be pit-mounted.
High-Precision Scale
If your business requires precision weighing, we offer large floor scales with high resolution. These “Cadillac” of floor scales have a low profile, drive-on ramp and a weighing range of 150 kg up to 3000 kg. The scale is offered in a painted or stainless steel finish. Due to the price tag, this scale isn’t for all customers, but we find this high-precision scale a perfect choice for pharmaceutical and chemical applications.
Flexure Lever Scales
Image Credit: Rice Lake
In weighing situations when the scale is likely to be under stress from heavy impact or sudden movement, you need a system that can cope. Flexure scales have heavy-duty S-beam load cells made from rugged metals made to withstand shock loading.
Floor Scale Accessories
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Industrial floor scales are used in a wide range of locations, both indoors and outdoors. Additionally, the type of items they may need to weigh can also vary, so to increase their versatility you can invest in accessories to get the job done without needing to invest in multiple scales or additional weighing equipment:
Pit Riser Stand – These are sturdy frames which can be used to anchor a floor scale to an existing pit which is deeper than the standard depth for a particular scale. It is installed under the scale using anchor bolts and increases the height of the system.
Portability Frames – With a portability frame, you can convert a fixed floor scale into a portable one. Portability frames are available with different mobility options, like castor wheels or for use with forklifts.
Access Ramps – To provide a maneuverable approach for loading and unloading items to be weighed, you can install an access ramp. These are especially useful for floor scales with a high profile and for loading barrels, drums wheeled trolleys and similar loads.
Pit Frames – You can use these when you need a very low profile, by installing the floor scale in a pit with the existing deck.
Bumper Guards – To keep your floor scales protected against damage caused by accidental contact and impacts, you can line them on some or all sides with bumper guards. These can absorb and deflect the force of a collision, and some types have a reflective surface for high-visibility.
Objective of Preventative Maintenance of Floor Scales
Prevent costly downtime – Preventive maintenance helps in avoiding unforeseen repair costs and equipment breakdowns, which helps in saving money. Moreover, it also ensures reliable performance and maintains compliance with requirements.
Maintain Quality and Accuracy – By offering safe and reliable operations, preventive maintenance provides accurate and quality results. It also extends the equipment life and provides the best performance possible. Therefore, pre-planned and periodic maintenance is necessary for your scale’s accuracy and longevity.
Enhanced operational safety – Preventive maintenance ensures that all parts of the equipment are functioning properly and that all the operations run without a glitch, therefore ensuring increased safety.
Reduction of failures – The probability of an equipment failing also goes down if the equipment is well maintained and the possible problems are preempted before they actually occur. Thus, we can safely say that preventive maintenance reduces the number of equipment failures in a facility.
Steps to preventive maintenance
At Quality Scales Unlimited, we offer
Visual inspection and a thorough clean-out
Testing and Documentation
Necessary Calibration and Repairs
Improvement recommendations and installation of new parts
Data backup and storage
Placement of signed inspection sticker with date of service
Post-inspection report
Factors To Consider Before Buying Industrial Floor Scales
Platform size – We recommend that you buy floor scales by Quality Scales Unlimited that are easy to maneuver. Choose the size that suits for requirements, however, they should be of a size where you can load and unload easily.
Platform capacity – We offer scales that are capable of handling standard capacities at 2500 lb, 10,000 lb, 20,000 lb, but larger scales are also available.
Accuracy – Our floor scale have load cells made of stainless steel alloys that give you highly accurate results while sustaining pressure. You won’t have to worry about erroneous readings during measuring loads of different weights.
Durability – The floor scales we offer are made with high-quality materials that assure durability as well as longevity. They can be used in rugged conditions. Let us know the kind of environment the floor scales would be exposed to and we will suggest the best scales for the required purpose.
Flexibility – Some of our floor scales have flexible foot pads that allow the machine to work efficiently even on uneven surfaces. The adjustable foot pads make it easy to operate and convenient to use.
At Quality Scales Unlimited, we have numerous floor scales for sale for different purposes as well as industries. If you are looking to get floor scales installed, do give us a call.
