Types Of Scales

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There are several different types of scales that are available for the measurement of weight, meeting the needs of different industries, commercial purposes and applications in the process. These different types of scales are available in a variety of unique capacities, sizes, styles, makes and models and each is capable of offering different levels of accuracy and precision, durability and other necessary qualities depending on what the scale will be used for. There is no end to the types of scales that are available or the myriad of purposes that they can serve.

Bench Scales are suited ideally for portion control, parcel weighing and counting parts. Bench scales are available in a number of different models, and they generally have a weight capacity range that falls between 150 g and 300 kg, although custom options are also often available. Platform sizes may range from a 3” diameter for the gram units up to 24” x 24” and even larger for the higher capacity bench scales.

Pocket Scales are a type of handheld scale that is designed with portability in mind. Pocket scales ...
... are generally only capable of weighing in grams, and they are typically developed to weigh up to a capacity of 500 grams. Pocket scales are used for many different purposes, including weighing food components, chemical components and materials in jewelry making.

Jewelry Scales are designed specifically to measure in units that a jeweler would use such as grams, ounces and troy ounces. Carat bench scales and analytical scales are two examples of jewelry scales. Many jewelry scales are also available in pocket versions as portability is often demanded.

Industrial Scales come in a wide range of different sizes, shapes and styles, and they are best suited to be used in industrial environments such as trucking and automotive industries, food processing, hospitality, retail, aircraft, agriculture, engineering, construction and railroad. Industrial scales can be developed to weigh semi trucks and aircraft, easily capable of accurately weighing hundreds of tons, or they can be designed to weigh precise quantities of very small chemicals and additives, often weighing in fractions of a gram. Industrial scales may come in the format of a platform scale, pallet scale, floor scale, drum scale or tank scale.

Laboratory Scales are also a type of industrial scale. They are used in the scientific community as well as in medical and pharmaceutical industries. Laboratory scales can weigh in small fractions of a gram. A type of laboratory scale known as an analytical scale can often measure to even a fraction of a milligram. Generally, the higher the resolution and precision, the higher the cost of the laboratory scale.

Some scales have their intended purpose in their name. There is no mystery behind what a truck scale or a crane scale is designed for. Other types of scales are named based on their basic structure, such as counter-top scales, platform scales and floor scales. Hanging scales is a term used to describe any scale that has a measuring bowl or hook that hangs below the weighing mechanism. Retail scales are typically utilized for retail industry purposes, but they can actually more closely resemble any of a number of other types of scales, including bench, counter-top and floor models depending on the intended application.