The Strength to Weigh a Million Trucks
Will your truck scale give you the 20 years of service that you expect? Most truck scale manufacturers answer that question with promises they cannot back up. Only one manufacturer gives you real proof that your truck scale can handle more than a million vehicles.
When you buy a scale that has not passed life-cycle testing, you risk having to pay to replace a weighbridge due to premature failure
A truck scale is a big investment that will affect your business for decades. If the weighbridge fails after a few years of use, your budget will be hit with replacement costs both unexpected and expensive. To get the best return on your investment, demand a weighbridge with proven longevity.
Like many weighbridge manufacturers, METTLER TOLEDO uses computer calculations and finite-element analysis to evaluate weighbridge designs. While this testing can provide valuable information about areas of high stress, it is strictly theoretical. It does not indicate how well a weighbridge will meet the real-world demands of vehicle weighing.
When other manufacturers talk about the longevity or durability of their weighbridges, they are using guesswork. They have no data to back up their guesses. With a new weighbridge design, the best they can do is install it at a customer’s site and wait years to see how long it survives. Their customers test weighbridges for them.
Proven performance
METTLER TOLEDO is the only manufacturer that tests the performance of its weighbridges. Every design is subjected to the weight of 1 to 2 million fully loaded trucks. For each new design, an actual module undergoes accelerated-life-cycle testing on our “module masher” test stand. The first “module masher” was designed and built in 1992 by the engineering and manufacturing teams at our heavy-capacity manufacturing plant in the United States. No other manufacturer has anything like it.
The test stand uses hydraulically operated feet to apply forces up to 120,000 pounds (54,430 kilograms). Attached to the bottom of each foot are two rubber pads that approximate the footprint of a pair of truck tires. For a typical test, the hydraulic feet are positioned to simulate the load applied by a dual-tandem truck axle. Each time the feet press down on the weighbridge, they exert the same force as a fully loaded truck.
Real-world testing
The standard procedure involves two stages: stress testing and life-cycle testing. During stage one, strain gauges are attached at key locations on the weighbridge. Then loads are applied in different locations to check the stress levels across the entire module.
Stage two simulates the amount of traffic that would pass over a weighbridge during its expected service life. The “module masher” repeatedly applies the maximum load for which the scale is rated. One load/unload cycle requires 3 seconds.
It takes about 2 months to complete 2 million cycles, the equivalent of 2 million fully loaded trucks driving across the weighbridge. The size of the load and the number of times it is applied will depend on which weighbridge model is being tested.
No weighbridge leaves our plant unless the design has passed a rigorous life-cycle testing program. Using the “module masher,” we verify that each weighbridge we make meets design standards. It is your assurance that your truck scale is durable enough to stand up to the real-world demands of vehicle weighing for a full-service life.
From the METTLER TOLEDO Vehicle Weighing News 13 – www.mt.com/ind-ve
