MB Modular Scale

How modular weighing works

On a conventional floor scale the platform dictates the size: if the load is larger than the platform it either overhangs or cannot be weighed at all. The MB removes that limit, because there is no platform in the middle. The load sits like a bridge across two weighing modules placed parallel on the floor. Each module carries its own side’s share of the load; the signals from all four cells are combined at a single indicator and the display shows the full weight.

The gap between the modules can be reset for every use according to the length of the item being weighed. For a short crate the modules are moved closer together; for a long machine chassis they are spread apart. The same scale can therefore weigh a mould one day and a control cabinet or a tank the next. The user configures the weighing system around whatever load the business has in hand. That flexibility means one system can cover many jobs instead of buying several scales of different sizes, a clear gain for job-shop workshops that turn out work of a different size every month.

Which loads call for the MB?

Within the heavy-duty group, the MB is the model dedicated to jobs without a fixed size. Compared with its siblings, it sits as follows:

• Standard pallets at a fixed weighing point: the CP or TP is a better fit; a flat platform takes every pallet the same way.
• Weighing a pallet by lowering it off the pallet truck: the U-type pallet scale is designed for exactly this.
• Large, rigid loads of varying length: the MB. Machine building, structural steel parts, moulds, electrical cabinets, crated equipment and tanks are typical examples.
• Thin, sagging long material: for loads such as steel bar and sheet bundles, the steel bar and sheet scale, built to a length set at order, is preferred.

For the MB to work properly, the load must be able to bridge the two modules with its own body. A machine chassis, a crate or the skids of a tank meet this condition easily. Piles of sacks or loosely strapped long sections, on the other hand, sag in the middle; for loads like these either a base frame is used or a different model is chosen.

Setting up and placing the load

Using the MB involves no civil works; the modules are simply placed on a level, solid floor. For a correct result, keep these points in mind:

• The two modules should stand parallel to each other on floor at the same level; there must be no slope or hollow under either one.
• The spacing between modules is set so that they sit under the load’s bearing points, meaning its feet, skids or chassis members.
• When the load is lowered, avoid one end striking a module hard first; with crane-lifted loads, set both ends down as nearly together as possible.
• No part of the load may touch the floor, a wall or any support outside the modules.

The load’s centre of gravity does not have to be exactly midway between the two modules. On a machine chassis with its motor at one end, for example, the larger share of the weight lands on the module nearer that end; because the indicator reads the sum of both modules, the result is still correct. What matters is that the share on any single module stays within what that module can carry. For unbalanced loads, telling us the weight distribution at the quotation stage ensures the right capacity is chosen.

Moving, storing and frame options

The carrying handles on each module mean the MB can be lifted away and stored to one side when the job is over. Thanks to its light construction, the modules can be taken from one workshop to another, or even to a customer’s site for dispatch. For manufacturers who only weigh large parts on shipping day, this is a far more efficient answer than a fixed platform that takes up floor space permanently.

Standard MB modules are finished with electrostatic oven-baked paint. If they will be used in wet areas, food or chemical plants or wash-down zones, the version with modules made entirely of stainless steel can be chosen.