Buyer’s Guide: What are the Different Types of Weigh Scales?

With a huge variety of scale types on the market, it can be overwhelming when trying to determine which type of weigh scale your business needs. A number of factors come into play; your industry, working environment, desired capacity, level of portability, maintenance needs, budget….just to name a few.

To help choose the best scale for your business, we have put together a quick and simple guide below explaining the different types of commercial and industrial weigh scales available.

Truck Scales

Truck scales, also referred to as vehicle scales, are designed to weigh trucks and heavy vehicles. A truck scale consists of a foundation, indicator, weighbridge, load cells, junction boxes and any required accessories. Each of these components comes in different types and materials depending on your specific weighing needs and environment.

Truck scales come either in pit mounted or surface mounted models, along with concrete or steel decks. There are pros and cons to each type, and the one that’s best for your facility will ultimately come down to your unique needs.

Active Scale is proud to be a leading vehicle scale manufacturer, with scales in operation longer than some of our competitors have been in business. Check out our Tuff-Deck Series and Modu-Deck Series scales to determine which one will work best for your business.

Portable Truck Scales

Beyond the extensive range of models, sizes, materials and capacities, truck scales are available in both permanent and portable installations.

There are many benefits to selecting a portable truck scale, including accuracy, being quick and easy to set up and the ability to move your scale around your worksite or facility to adapt to evolving needs,

Available for both purchase and rental, Active Scale’s portable truck scales are available in 40 or 80-foot models with precast support pads allowing for quick and easy installation.

Railcar Scales

Another popular type of weigh scale is the railcar scale. Also referred to as railroad track scales, they are a critical part of many aspects of rail operations from monitoring product deliveries to avoiding overloading penalties.

Railcar scales weigh train cars either statically or in motion. The scale is installed directly on the track, either as a permanent fixture or on a temporary basis.

Bench Scales

A bench scale is designed primarily for use on a bench or a tabletop. They are used for weighing, check weighing and counting applications.

Bench scales are generally compact in size, making them highly portable as well as ideal for small spaces. They are found in a wide range of settings from package and chemical handling to pharmaceuticals, factory settings and more.

Designed as an all-in-one unit with built-in weight display, or as a stand-alone bench base accompanied by a weight indicator, our bench scales are available in a range of sizes and capacities, including legal for trade models.

Floor Scales

These large, flat scales sit directly on or are recessed into the floor. Made to withstand tough environments and shock overloading, floor scales are often situated in the middle of a warehouse, allowing loads and forklifts easy access to roll on and off the scale.

Active Scale’s floor scales are available in a range of sizes and capacities, with pit or portable installations and numerous optional features to choose from.

Counting Scales

Counting scales are designed to efficiently count high volumes of identical parts. They have additional features to take sample weights of uniform objects, calculate the average piece of weight and determine total count on either the local platform or remote bulk platform.

Often used in manufacturing processes, counting scales are able to weigh small parts extremely accurately.

Checkweighing Scales

Generally used at the end of a production line to verify that the weight of goods falls within a certain tolerance, checkweighing scales are often used on a food production line. Fast and accurate checkweighing is vital to a company’s bottom line.

Checkweighing scales are great for finding that balance between not giving away free product with overweight packages but also keeping your customers happy by not delivering underweight packages.

Hopper Scales

These scales are generally used to weigh bulk products fed into the hopper scale from above by gravity or by conveyor. Common applications include concrete batching and grain weighing.

Hopper scales are typically built to withstand harsh environments while still providing accurate results. While the price point of a hopper scale can be higher than other weighing options, it is well worth the investment when you consider all its benefits.

Active Scale is proud to offer electronic hopper weighing systems available in many capacities and configurations.

Pallet Truck Scales

Pallet truck scales provide the ability to move palletized products and weigh the product in one operation. This eliminates the additional stage of bringing the product to the floor scale to weigh then onto its destination.

Overhead Rail Scales

Our overhead rail scales can be configured for many different purposes varying from weighing animal quarters in meat processing plants to weighing molten iron steel ladles in foundries.

Built sturdy and for continuous use, they are ideal for use in manufacturing plants that use overhead conveyor systems.

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No matter what kind of scale is needed for your business, Active Scale Manufacturing Inc. has what you are looking for. Get in touch with us today to discuss your different options and find the scale that is best for your industry of work, your business and yourself.