Who is the best Load Cell supplier for in process weighing

C

Thread Starter

Chris

Exploring in-process weighing to apply seasoning to a base product.

Needs to connect to a Allen-Bradley PLC.
 
J

James Ingraham

Again and again I say it. There is no "best." What vendors do you have a good relationship with? Is an integrator going to be installing this? Ask THEM what they want to use. Obviously, it must meet the requirements of the application, but beyond that the technical issues are not nearly as important as things like support and availability.

I don't actually know much the load cells themselves, but interfacing them to A-B PLCs is pretty easy. (Although you didn't specify WHICH A-B PLC. You might have a lot harder time if you're trying to get the data into a PLC-2 rather than a ControlLogix.) Mettler-Toledo and Hardy both have plenty of options for talking to A-B. There are probably others.

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.
 
K

Kiran Kumar P

ABB as well as George Kelk, Canada. Out of the both, i feel, kelk is the better one.

we are currently using both types of load cells on Allen-Bradley PLC
 
For industrial tank and hopper weighing (agitated, too), I'll say that there is a best - the Sartorius (formerly GWT) load cells. It is driftless, due to its technology that etches the strain gauge rather than bonding with stability over time that is 2nd to none. There's no tweaking to keep it in calibration, all the load cells are matched outputs. German engineering at its best. I can't speak for the balances and scales, but the industrial load cells are in a class by themselves.

http://www.sartorius-mechatronics.c...gue/tank-and-hopper-weighing-hgob25yubr7.html
(remove spaces inserted by forum)

http://tinyurl.com/3snuvkg
 
My experience with industrial weighing (online)--
Nova Weigh, because of the following points.

1. Excellent technical know-how of process installations, qualified & trained professionals to install the systems at site without any issues.

2. The load cells have an excitation voltage of 2mV / Volt. This is good when compared to others who have 1mV /Volt. This means, more 4-20 mA output.

3. They are integration experts when comes to Modbus protocol with Siemens PLCs (my experience is with siemens PLC with them). However, they have excellent & complete weighing solutions now a days with a direct connectivity to DCS through Modbus / Profibus / OPC.

4. The best point of Nova Weigh is: They are real good structural experts when it comes to online weighing. Structures play an important role for the accuray of tank weighing. They are real experts in advising on how the structures should be for a particular weighing system.

I forgot to mention - Nova Weigh is from UK.
 
Coming from the weighing field and having manufactured and commissioned several such systems, i can say that the supplier or system integrator plays a more critical role then only load cells. The routing of pipes to the vessel and thermal problems should be taken care of

Tank weighing involves installing suitable load cells with a sound structure while isolating vibrations. This also needs to be connected to reasonable and stable electronics that allow easy calibration and troubleshooting.

Correct MOC of load cell and mounting is critical even when using the best brands. Choose load cells with low creep and hysteresis as tanks would be continuously loaded on the cells.

Most major loadcell brands like Tedea/Vishay/HBM/ADI offer good loadcells, cost, MOC and availaibility in your country would be a deceiding factor. [email protected]
 
Top