Weighing scales are a must for running an efficient operation in retail, food processing, scientific research, and a bunch of other commercial sectors. A high-quality weighing scale guarantees better product quality, cost control, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction.
Digital weighing scales come in various shapes and sizes, and you need to find one that meets your very specific weight capacity, space, and budget requirements. It is unwise to invest in a large floor scale or a bigger platform scale when your application only involves weighing very small items, boxes, or samples for research.
In such applications, you need to go for table top scales that offer you high accuracy, compact design, greater portability, and space saving. This blog covers tabletop scales in detail, highlighting their working principle, types, and uses across different sectors, so keep on reading till the end.
- What is a Table Top Scale?
- Working Principle of a Table Top Scale
- Types of a Table Top Scale
- Applications of Table Top Scales
What is a Table Top Scale?
Table top scales are very compact and highly portable weighing solutions that are designed so that they can be easily placed on a counter, bench, or table. Unlike larger commercial scales, tabletop scales are more suitable for small to medium loads that may range from a few grams to about 30-35 Kg.
These scales utilize sophisticated load cell technologies and processing systems to give you a reliable and error-free weight reading every single time.
Table Top scales are sensitive to very small weight readings, which is exactly what makes them ideal for sectors like research, pharmaceutical, food processing, and retail, to name just a few.
Key Features of a Table Top Scale
- These scales have a compact and portable design.
- These are made from stainless steel, which leads to greater durability.
- Table top scales give you tare, unit conversion, external calibration, zero tracking, and overload protection features.
- These come with rechargeable batteries.
- These scales give you auto sleep and power down buttons to enhance battery life.
- The readability of these scales is typically between 0.1g-1g.
- These come with backlit LCD or LED displays.
- Some versions also come with USB, Bluetooth, WIFI, and printer connectivity.
Working Principle of a Table Top Scale
A tabletop scale works on the principle of conversion of force into an electrical signal with the help of strain gauge load cell technology. When the object is placed on the scale’s platform, it applies force to the load cells attached to its base.
Load cells contain strain gauges, which are resistive sensors. When these strain gauges deform under the applied force, their resistance varies. This change in resistance generates an electrical current that is sent to the microcontroller. This system processes the signal and shows the value of the weight in numerical form on an LCD display.
More sophisticated table-top scales used in research and labs use Electromagnetic Force Restoration (EMFR) technology. In this case, the object applies force to the platform, causing displacement. A coil placed in a magnetic field restores the position of the pan by applying an electromagnetic force. The total restoring force is, in fact, equal to the mass of the item you need to weigh.
Types of a Table Top Scale
The following are some common types of a table top scale.
- Mechanical Scales
These are older and relatively less common tabletop scales. Mechanical tabletop scales rely on spring or lever mechanisms to calculate the weight of an object. Most scales feature a dial or pointer that shows you the current value of the weight.
Mechanical scales give you greater durability and ease of use, and that makes them perfect for rugged use in rural markets, small food outlets, and smaller warehouses.
- Digital Table Top Scales
Unlike mechanical table top scales, digital weighing machines offer greater measurement accuracy and portability. These scales contain load cell technology, a digital display, a stable and flat platform, and an easy-to-use keypad.
These table-top scales give you several advanced features such as autocalibration, tare, unit conversion, etc.
Most digital scales give you a readability of about 1g, 0.1g, and even 0.01g, based on the product you pick.
- Precision or Analytical Table Top Scales
These table top scales find applications in laboratories and research centers where you need to detect even the smallest changes in weight to ensure consistent results.
These tabletop scales often come with draft shields to protect the samples from external factors like air or dust. Analytical scales give you a readability in the range of 0.1 milligram to several micrograms.
- Weighing and Counting Table Top Scales
These table top scales can not only weigh items but also determine the total number of items placed on the scale. They do this by weighing a single item from a known sample and then dividing the total weight of all items by the average weight.
These scales are widely used in manufacturing, retail, distribution, and warehousing sectors.
- Kitchen and Portion Control Table Top Scales
These are lightweight and small table top scales that are used in domestic kitchens, commercial kitchens, cafeterias, and bakeries. These scales allow you to accurately calculate portion sizes, which is vital for ensuring consistent taste, cost management, and regulatory compliance.
These scales have a readability of about 0.5g-1g, and they come in easy-to-use and low-maintenance designs.
Applications of Table Top Scales
Tabletop scales find countless applications both in domestic and commercial settings. The ease of use, high precision, greater portability, and low-maintenance features make these scales a perfect fit for most industries where you need to weigh smaller objects or items regularly.
The following are some common uses of these scales across different industries.
- Retail
This sector uses tabletop scales to weigh fruits, vegetables, and groceries. They facilitate accurate price computation to ensure complete customer satisfaction.
- Research Laboratories
These are used in labs to ensure accurate weight measurement of samples and chemicals, to ensure quality control and regulatory compliance.
- Food and Beverages
These are used in this sector to facilitate portion control, flavor consistency, and better weight-based costing.
- Jewelry Shops
This sector uses tabletop scales to weigh precious metals and finished jewellery.
- Pharmaceutical
These scales are used in the pharmaceutical sector to ensure accurate capsule filling and drug formulation.
- Warehouses
Warehouses use tabletop scales for small part counting, ensuring price transparency, and for production line support.
- Households
In households, these scales are used for portion counting, diet planning, baking, and daily cooking.
Conclusion
Table Top scales are a more practical weighing solution in applications where you do not need to measure very heavy loads. These compact scales can measure smaller objects and samples with high accuracy, and their greater portability makes them easy to use, move around, and store.
No matter whether you are a retailer who needs to weigh small items, a researcher who deals with small samples, a jeweller who weighs precious metals, or a chef who needs to measure ingredients accurately, you can use a tabletop scale for all of these and many other applications.
Table top scales, when selected carefully after considering your specific operational needs, can enhance productivity by reducing errors and enhancing measurement reliability, which is exactly what makes them a perfect fit for most commercial settings.
Visit us at Accurate Meezan today to order our top-quality table top scales take your retail and commercial operations to a whole new level.