Frequently Asked Questions

A load cell is an electronic component (or transducer) to which a weight/force is applied.

It converts the weight/force applied to the load cell into an electrical signal (in units of millivolt or mV) that is proportional to the mechanical deformation (stresses and strains) caused by that weight/force.

A high quality load cell is able to deform under that weight/force in an extremely repeatable manner, just like a good mechanical spring.

Typical applications:

• Scales
• Packaging machinery
• Dosing and filling machinery
• Level/Inventory Control on Tanks and Silos
• Test Machinery
• Quality Control

Typical materials used to manufacture load cells are special alloys with high strength, high fatigue life, high repeatability, high linearity and low hysteresis. For example steel alloys, stainless steels, aluminium alloys, beryllium-copper and others.

A load cell consists of a metal body (usually stainless steel or aluminium) that behaves in a linear elastic fashion, an electrical circuit and a protective housing (cover).

Strain gauges are applied to the elastic metal body (also called an element). The strain gauges each consist of a grid of thin metal wire (constantan) applied to a support of insulating material and carefully glued into specific areas inside the load cell that are designed to concentrate the mechanical stress and strain in that area.

As the weight/force is applied to the metal body, the strain gauges follow the deformations of the surface of the metal body to which they are bonded, increasing and decreasing in length as the metal body does; these dimensional changes create a variation in the electrical resistance (in Ohms or Ω) of the strain gauge.

Inside the load cell is a “Wheatstone Bridge” electrical circuit, which magnifies the small changes in resistance of the strain gauges and generates an electrical signal. This is normally expressed in mV (millivolts, or thousandths of a Volt) per Volt of excitation supplied to the load cell. During load cell manufacture, small adjustments in resistance are made for calibration purposes and to compensate for thermal effects in the material.

Load cells must be protected from dust, moisture and electromagnetic interference.

• Dust and moisture can be expelled by the use of silicone sealants, or better still fully welded and hermetically sealed, plasma welded metal bellows or covers/shields; high quality cable glands are also very important.
• Electromagnetic interference can be eliminated with the use of shielded cable and high quality cable glands.

Thames Side can offer you a comprehensive range of load cells, consisting of all the following types:

• Single point/off-centre/platform – load cells that are placed underneath the centre of a plane surface, they are capable of correctly measuring the force applied at any point on the surface. They are usually employed in all single cell platforms and small weighing scales.
• Bending beams – load cells that are commonly used in small weighing systems, dosing machines, bagging and filling machines, big-bag (FIBC) filling and emptying systems, small multi-cell platform scales
• Shear beams – load cells that are commonly used in larger, multi-cell platforms. They are suitable for weighing small and medium-sized hoppers, tanks or silos and transport (conveyor) systems with belts, rollers, etc.
• Double shear beams – robust load cells that are typically used with a corresponding mechanical accessory to create a complete weighing assembly for larger tanks, silos and reactors, especially those installed outside or in demanding applications
• Low profile compression – load cells that are robust and simple to install, together with a corresponding mechanical accessory to create a complete weighing assembly for weighing silos, tanks, hoppers, mixers and reactors
• Compression columns (rocker columns) – load cells that are typically used in weighbridges, or even in a weighing assembly for silos of very large capacity installed outside (or in remote areas with a risk of lightning damage)
• S-type (tension) – load cells used to create suspended weighing systems, concrete/asphalt batching plants; also for installation onto tie rods to transform old mechanical scales into electronic scales
• S-type (tension and compression) – for materials testing machines, special test rigs and fixtures, including field testing and R&D etc.
• Pin type (load pins) – loading pins used in in lifting systems with ropes or pulleys, or load monitoring systems on cranes/rigging systems. They are usually custom made according to the customer’s specifications.
• Pre-amplified type – load cells with an internal signal amplifier that provides a pre-amplified analogue output (usually in the form of a 0-10V or 4-20mA signal). These load cells can be any of the above types.

Please refer to our Troubleshooting Guide for further information about this.

General points

Some load cells have a cable with 4 wires and a screen; others have a cable with 6 wires and a screen. Those with 6 wires, in addition to the +input, -input, +signal and -signal terminations, have 2 wires called +Sense and -Sense. These are sometimes called +Reference (or +Ref) and -Reference (or -Ref).

The main difference in function of these 2 types is that load cells with a 6 wire cable can compensate for variations in the actual excitation voltage they receive from the amplifier/indicator. The resistance of an electrical cable (conductor) varies according to its length and any temperature changes, resulting in variations in the excitation voltage at the load cells. With long cables, there will be a drop in voltage from the original value supplied by the amplifier/indicator and the advantage of a 6 wire load cell is that this drop in voltage can be quickly and effectively compensated without it affecting the weight measurement.

4 wire load cells

4 wire load cells are already calibrated and thermally compensated together with the permanent length of cable supplied during their manufacture.  We recommend that you do not shorten the cable of a 4 wire load cell if it is too long; it is better to coil up the cable.  This is because the factory calibration and compensation of a 4 wire load cell will be compromised if you shorten the cable.  There are no sense wires to compensate for the new cable length.

When connecting 4 wire load cells together into a junction box before the weight indicator/transmitter, we recommend using a dedicated 6 wire load cell cable (for example the Thames Side polyurethane cable CA-PU-5.7MM-6C) to connect the junction box to the indicator/transmitter.  This will compensate for any voltage drops over the length of cable between them. In any event, the cable should be well shielded and have sufficient cross section (at least 0.2 mm2) to limit the voltage drop along its length.

6 wire load cells

The above precaution about cutting the cables does not apply to load cells with a 6 wire cable.  The two sense wires are capable of measuring the actual excitation voltage seen at the Wheatstone bridge inside the load cell, therefore the mV signal from the load cell can be adjusted according to the actual excitation it experiences. If an installation engineer wants to shorten the cables, they can do so without compromising the load cell performance.

The Sense (reference) wires are connected to the sense terminals of the weight indicator, so that this can measure and adjust the amplifier on the actual voltage that arrives to the load cells. The 6-wire load cells are therefore preferred over those with 4 wires, also on these load cells there are no limitations in the event the installer wants to shorten the cables.

• The cable connections between the load cells and the junction box, and from the junction box to the indicator/electronics, must not be located close to conduit, channelling or trunking containing other cables (especially any other signal or power cables).
• The installer of the load cells, junction box and indicator/electronics is responsible for ensuring the electrical safety of all items.
• It is good practice to always leave the indicator switched on, to prevent the formation of condensation inside by keeping the internal components slightly warmer than the outside ambient temperature.

A company operating with a Quality System certified according to ISO 9001 must verify all weighing instruments at their disposal on a periodic basis, the frequency of which is to be determined at the discretion of the company in combination with their Quality Inspector and depends on the use for which the instrument is intended.

If the weighing instrument is crucial to the major activities of the company and is used with high frequency, the required verification period may even be monthly or half-yearly, but if the weighing instrument is used rarely, e.g. for minor activities within the company, inspections should be less frequent, for example every 2-3 years.

The verification can be carried out using certified weights traceable to national standards, following a properly documented procedure.

An initial verification will be required when the weighing system is used in applications for legal use with third parties, in accordance with EN 45501 – OIML R76:2006 

According to the law, subsequent periodic verifications must be carried out with a frequency dictated by the the individual state / national regulations of the relevant Legal Metrology Department, or by a nearby accredited Metrology Laboratory.