Unlike the typical weighing scales that are installed on levelled ground, hanging scales are engineered to work with pull and suspension rather than force and tension. They can be digitally or mechanically designed to weigh objects from a fixed position either suspended by hand or equipment.
Two of the most common kinds of hanging scales are spring and crane scales. Hanging scales are typically for retail, commercial, industrial and manufacturing applications. One of the most important feature of hanging scales is that they can thrive in different conditions including the harsh environments of construction sites or agricultural businesses.
How to Use Hanging Scales
- Clean Your Scale
Before you start using your hanging scales, make sure that it is clean and free from dust and debris as this can affect the reading. It helps to clean your scale before retiring for the day, so it is ready for use the next day.
- Calibrate It
Always check the scale if it’s calibrated after cleaning it. Especially for mechanical hanging scales, it is important to check if the pointer is at zero before its busy day begins. This helps ensure that you will be getting precise readings later on.
- Prepare Your Items
Get your items ready for measurement. If the items need to be packed or secured in a container. Make sure that they are ready and prepared to help manage time and efficiency.
- Secure Your Item’s Handle
After preparing your items, ensure that it has a rope, hoop, chain or any form of “handle” or attachment where the hanging scale will be hooked and latched. Remember to check the handle’s reliability to prevent any untoward incidents from happening.
- Prepare your Item for Lifting
Depending on the size the shape of the item, it can be placed on a table, platform or directly on the ground for easy access. It may be best to place them on any levelled surface before lifting.
- Scale Attachment
Hook and latch the suspension hook of the hanging scale to the handle of the item. Remember to always double-check the hook or latch if it is securely grasping the item. Recheck if the hook, as well as the attachment, are ready for lifting.
- Gradual Lifting
While digital hanging scales can be programmed to lift the item at a certain speed, some mechanical units are manually controlled. It helps to get a highly-skilled and trained personnel to do the lifting to ensure safety, especially for heavy and/or fragile items. For manually controlled lifting, make sure to do it gently and gradually.
- Keep it Steady Then Read
When it has reached the recommended air suspension, keep the lift steady for a moment. Then take the LED monitor and check the weight reading. For mechanical scales, wait for the pointer to reach a good level of stability before taking the reading.
- Return the Item to Ground
In most cases, hanging scales are just for weight reading you can simply put back the item on the ground. However, if you are using a machine that lets you transfer the weighed items to a storage area or delivery trucks or vessels, then you can just maneuver the scale and item toward the designated location.
- Repeat the Procedure
If you have more than one item, package or container to weigh, simply repeat steps 1 to 9 until all units are measured and the readings are recorded.
What industries use hanging scales often?
Generally, big commercial and industrial manufacturers use crane and hanging scales for their day-to-day business activities. Below are three applications where this type of weighing system is widely used.
- Construction Industries
When you are dealing with standardisation such as construction materials and procedures, using a reliable weighing scale is very important. Every pipe, steel bar and other building material should have the exact weight to ensure the sturdiness and steadiness of the building.
In some cases, a slight difference in weight can significantly affect the structure of the building. Thus, a high-quality hanging or crane scale plays an impeccable role to ensure the safety of the future users of the building.
- Agricultural Applications
One of the many advantages of hanging scales is that they can deal with items that are heavy, huge and irregularly shaped.
Whether you need to weigh a freshly butchered whole or packed chopped or sliced meat in big volumes, the best way to measure them is to use a hanging scale. They can also be used to weigh crates or boxes of fruits and vegetables and even sacks of feeds and other farming essentials.
- Logistics
Whether you are weighing a duffle bag full of mail or a container of packages, hanging scales can help you get the accurate readings that you need. Crane scales are also perfect for weighing exported commodities such as bikes, cars and trucks.
Try the Meltrons weighing systems for reliability and ease of use!
