Case Study: Wireless connectivity for weigh scale

Issue:

We were recently contacted by a large fruit growing and packing company that wanted a wireless scale to transmit their weight data. The scale needed to be used in their packing shed line to check weights for QA control of their packages. The weight data needed to be sent to a PC in another area of the business operations to process the outputted data as required.

Other requirements included:

• High resolution bench type scale, 30kg x 2g
• Internal rechargeable battery
• Wireless communication from scale to a PC
• Portability

Solution offered:

As there were no off the shelf products that would do the job a custom solution was designed to meet the client’s needs. The Rinstrum R320 digital indicator with Bluetooth option was selected, along with a mild steel 30kg weighing base, platform scales. The scale base also had the option to be waterproof but was not required in this client’s environment.

The weighing system was set up to automatically send out data streams when the Bluetooth was paired. The weight data was setup to be outputted to a spreadsheet or own software package, to process the data as required.

Using the internal setpoints of the indicator the scale was also set up for battery saving to optimize the battery life. This setpoint meant that when the Bluetooth wasn’t paired it would power down the Bluetooth function in the scale indicator to preserve the battery life, enabling the scale to be portable for extended lengths of time before recharging was needed.