Thayer Scale is pleased to announce that they have added STRAIN GAUGE technology to their line of Conveyor Scales and Weigh Feeders. This is in response to inquiries from a growing number of customers who have expressed interest in:
– Substituting THAYER feeders and conveyor scales into existing processing lines that are
– already wired and satisfactorily instrumented with strain gauge based control equipment.
– Purchasing “bare bones” THAYER feeders and conveyor scales that they can
– directly interface with a growing list of “open source” instrumentation options.
– Obtaining lower cost THAYER solutions for their routine, less demanding applications.
– Purchasing THAYER ”Feature-Packed” controllers and instrumentation for upgrading and
– improving the performance of competitors’ equipment.
LVDT weighing technology remains proprietary in nature. It is often referred to as “non-load cell” weighing, and is noted for its inherent ruggedness and its ability to provide highly intelligible signal levels. It is the technology of choice where long term survival in physically abusive environments is required, or where more responsive controller action is of critical importance. Applications include: very low density belt weighing, high turndown loss-in-weight feeding, extended runtime loss-in-weight feeding, high multiple micro batching on a per refill basis, and ratio (“slave”) feeding under dynamic demand conditions. Excellent performance characteristics, such as high linearity and immunity to changes in temperature, are achieved through proprietary manufacturing methods, specialized front-end circuitry, and follow-up compensating adjustments on a unit to unit basis, all of which account for a higher initial cost.
STRAIN GAUGE weighing technology on the other hand has reached commodity status thanks to the full evolution of the strain gauge load cell in its various “standardized” capacities and configurations. Numerous competitors worldwide, utilizing highly automated production and testing facilities, have made strain gauge load cells the most cost effective scale building block available today. Excellent performance characteristics, such as high linearity and immunity to changes in temperature, are readily achieved in a volume production environment. The vast offerings of off-the-shelf instrumentation in support of this technology is also of growing importance. Lower un-amplified signal levels and a lower tolerance for shocks and overloading are distinguishing drawbacks in some of the aforementioned applications.
Also of interest, THAYER LC-174 Strain Gauge Load Cells and LC-137 LVDT Load Cells are field interchangeable on most of the company’s proprietary Force Measurement Suspension Systems (FMSS’s), providing flexibility in meeting future upgrades or sourcing needs.
