WB-X400F Steel-Reinforced Concrete Truck Scale

How does the concrete deck work?

The WB-X400F platform relies on two materials working together. A welded steel frame forms the outer shell; pre-stressed steel reinforcement is placed inside it and the remaining volume is filled with C50 concrete. The resulting deck is a scaled-down application of the pre-stressed girder principle used in road bridges and viaducts: steel takes the tension, concrete takes the compression.

On site this translates into mass and stiffness. A heavy deck damps the oscillation caused by a braking or fast-entering vehicle more quickly, so the indicator settles on a stable value sooner. The concrete surface spreads the load under each tyre into the surrounding area, so a concentrated load from a single axle does not cause local sagging or surface rippling. The steel frame protects the deck edges against impact and turns the deck into a single body that can be lifted as a unit.

The deck rests on compression load cells placed underneath. Each cell has a nominal capacity of 30 t, belongs to accuracy class OIML R60 C4, and has a stainless steel body with IP68 protection. The mounting hardware supplied with the cells limits horizontal movement of the platform and keeps the side force generated when a vehicle enters at an angle or brakes on the deck out of the measurement.

Surface installation and ramps

WB-X400F is delivered with its own ramps. There is no need to cast concrete ramps on site; the civil work comes down to preparing a flat surface with enough bearing capacity for the scale to sit on. Once that surface is ready, mechanical assembly of the platform can be finished in about an hour. Cabling, calibration and commissioning come on top of that and are planned separately.

Keeping the scale above ground has two practical consequences. First, because the underside stays open, the load cells, cables and junction box are easy to reach; nobody has to climb into a pit to clean or check them. Second, as the scale is not tied to permanent construction, it can be dismantled and set up at a new point if the plant layout changes. For businesses on leased land, contractors setting up a works site, or plants whose layout may change within a few years, this flexibility protects the value of the investment.

The trade-off of a surface installation is space. Ramps are needed at both ends of the platform, together with an area where vehicles can approach in a straight line. Where the gate is narrow and turning space is limited, the pit-type WB-X400P, which offers the same concrete construction flush with the ground, is the better option.

Choosing size, number of load cells and capacity

WB-X400F is built 3 m wide in lengths of 8, 12, 14, 16 and 20 m. The longer the platform, the more support points carry the deck: an 8 m platform rests on 6 load cells, a 12 m one on 8, the 14 and 16 m versions on 10, and the 20 m platform on 12. Capacity is set between 60 and 80 t for every size.

Length is decided by the longest vehicle using the site. Where only rigid trucks and short tippers come in, 8 or 12 m may be enough, whereas a factory gate handling articulated lorries needs 16 m or more. For drawbar combinations or long special vehicles, the 20 m platform is worth considering.

Choosing between 60 and 80 t depends on the real weight of the heaviest loaded vehicle. For example, if vehicles reach the site at around 52–55 t at most, 60 t leaves an adequate margin; if overloaded trips or heavy tippers go beyond 65 t, 80 t is the sounder choice. The scale interval can be set in two ranges, either 10/20 kg or 20/50 kg. The finer setting reads in smaller steps across the lower load range and shows differences more clearly when weighing empty vehicles and part loads.

A simple sum shows what the cell count means: the 10 cells under a 16 m platform, at 30 t each, add up to 300 t of nominal cell capacity. That figure is not the weighing capacity of the scale; it describes the structural reserve kept for an axle bearing on one corner, for impact and for dynamic effects.

Indicator, software and site integration

The signal from the load cells is processed by a weighing indicator with a 24-bit sigma-delta converter and a conversion resolution of 1/30000. Vibration filtering software strips out fluctuations caused by a running engine or by wind and brings a steady value to the display. The dual-range function allows legal-for-trade weighing with a smaller interval in the lower range. The backlit LCD with 26 mm characters is easy to read both in daylight and on the night shift.

The indicator connects to weighbridge software running on a PC. The software stores every weighing with vehicle, company and product details, and exports and reports records in XML, PDF, HTML, TXT and spreadsheet formats. With the optional web-based database, weighings can be followed from head office or another branch. When traffic light control and plate recognition are added to the software, the vehicle’s entry, the opening of the record and the exit release are tied into a single flow that needs less operator input.

Which sites is it suited to?

WB-X400F is used at haulage and cargo yards, factory raw material gates and in general truck weighing applications. The impact resistance of the concrete deck makes it particularly strong in these conditions:

• Tipper trucks carrying bulk material: vehicles whose short wheelbase puts the load on a narrow area
• Heavy traffic following the same track all day: gates where the surface takes load along the same strip
• Ground where excavation is difficult or costly: high groundwater or rocky terrain
• Plants that may relocate within a few years: leased sites, works compounds, temporary stockyards

If traffic is lighter and installation speed and platform weight matter more, compare it with the V-beam steel WB-X600; if continuous heavy duty and a top-segment load-bearing structure are wanted, compare it with the I-beam WB-X800F.