You need to count small electronic components into 100's on a counting scale, so just go onto the internet and pick up an cheap counting scale, right? WRONG! There are some key fundamentals that it is essential to get right, but many business get them wrong when thinking about a counting application. Here we will outline some of the easy mistakes that are made and could easily be avoided with a little knowledge and background reading. 1) Selection of the wrong capacity and resolution. There is a direct correlation between the maximum capacity of the parts counter and its resolution, i.e. the higher the capacity, the lower or worse, the scales accuracy will be toward lighter parts. Therefore it is imperative to understand the minimum piece weight part you have, and select a scale that can accurately count this minimum weight. Then look to select a scale capacity that will count as the desired resolution. It is not sufficient to say, ‘my parts weight 2g and I need to count out a 1000, therefore this 6kg counting scale will suffice. 2) Not understanding how PLU’s make parts counting faster and more efficient. Every business is looking to cut costs, and that usually involves reducing all types of waste, of which time, of course is just one type. If you have say 30 standard parts that you count regularly, and they are uniform and the piece weight never varies then investing in a counting scale with PLU’s or Product Look Ups, will save you the tiresome job of constantly re-sampling prior to counting. A simple press of a button will bring pre configured piece weights and other important parameters into the working memory of the scale, such as SKU and Product Description, perfect for updating a database in real time or printing a receipt label. 3) Missing the advantages of negative sampling When the parts that you count are small and fiddly, its a good idea to use a counting scale which has negative sampling software. This enables you to place a bulk container (up to the capacity of the scale of course ) onto the scale and once the sampling button has been pressed, remove 10 or 20 parts from it, as your sample and the scale will then calculate how much has been removed from the gross weight to calculate the piece weight. This process simply means that the parts are handled less and there is much less risk of spillage and damage, whilst is is also significantly quicker. 4) Not connecting a bulk platform to your parts counter Some, but not all, parts counting scales have a secondary input which allows you to connect a weigh platform of a far larger capacity to it. This enable you to accurately sample on your parts counting terminal and then bulk count in some cases up to 3000 kg of parts in a stillage on a floor platform scale for example. This is a typical application in engineering businesses where for example, car parts can be counted in bulk before being shipped to another business for further processing such as anodising. So, there are just a few considerations when your next counting scale. We hope you enjoyed reading our article and hope to see you very soon at Oneweigh the home of all your weighing scales needs.
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