Whether you're in the food, livestock, industrial or pharmaceutical industries, platform scales give you a convenient way to accurately weigh and measure your products and materials. In fact, for many businesses, high-quality digital platform scales are a vital component of their quality assurance and production processes.

Finding platform scales for sale is relatively easy; many distributors offer their full range of products over the Internet. However, choosing a specific scale for your business requires some careful research and forethought. Before purchasing industrial or commercial platform scales, keep the following facts in mind:

1. Platform scales are available in different sizes suited for specific industrial and commercial uses.

2. A platform scale's resolution determines how accurately it can weigh materials.

3. Scale manufacturers also sell precise test weights to help you calibrate your scales.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a platform scale that suits the size and quantity of the materials you wish to measure

Choosing a scale designed to measure your materials is the most important part of the selection process. Scales range in size and intended use from small laboratory balances to massive industrial truck scales. In order to select the right one, remember to consider not only the average weight of the materials you must measure, but also their overall bulk and volume.

I recommend: Alliance Scale has one of the largest selections of platform scales on the web, including livestock platform scales and portable platform scales. For larger scales, including floor scales, truck scales and even aircraft scales, check out the products at Sonich Industrial Sales.

Ensure the platform scale has a high enough resolution for your measuring tasks

As the size of a platform scale varies, so does its resolution, or weighing accuracy. High-resolution scales are capable of producing measurements with more decimal places than low-resolution scales. Although knowing an object's weight to the nearest thousandth of a gram is impractical in many industrial applications, it is vital in food science and laboratory settings.

I recommend: Rite-Weight offers a wide range of small and large scales, and their selection of micro-scales with resolutions into the micrograms is perfect for industries that require this information. If you need larger industrial platform scales, consider the Rough Deck HP floor scale from American Scale. The company also offers smaller balance scales, larger truck scales and even counting and retail scales.

Calibrate your platform scales with test weights before using them

Although digital and electronic platform scales have increased the reliability and accuracy of industrial weighing, they must still be calibrated before being used. To remove the guesswork from the calibration procedure, suppliers of platform scales sell test weights in varying increments. These weights are formed to exacting standards and should outlast the lifetime of the scale.

I recommend: Troemner makes test weights for scale calibration in almost any size imaginable. Denver Instrument also offers a large selection of precision weights in each of the four ASTM specification classes.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask manufacturers if they sell refurbished or used platform scales. As long as they are properly calibrated, used scales provide excellent value for your money.