English - Rice Lake Weighing Systems

Read this before you buy a cut-rate load cell
continued from page 13
The last alloy I will talk about is
42CrMo. It is gaining popularity by
some foreign manufacturers but is suitable
to make high quality load cells. It
is used because it is cheap, and as the
performance is slightly better than 40Cr,
manufacturers can say they are not using
40Cr.
Three types of stainless steel are used
overseas to manufacture load cells. 17-
4PH is the Mercedes of stainless alloys
when it comes to load cell manufacturing.
0Cr17N4Cu4Nb is the Asian
equivalent to 17-4PH. At this time, there
is only one mill in Asia that has the
expertise to manufacture this stainless
for load cell production. 2Cr13 is the
designation of a type of alloy sometimes
referred to as “stainless iron” or
“imitation stainless steel.” It has slightly
better corrosion resistance than 40Cr,
but it certainly cannot be compared to
17-4PH or 0Cr17N4Cu4Nb and is used
because of cost.
SURVIVOR® goes on a
ferry ride
Roy Hotchkiss, service manager at Badger Scale, Inc., Fond du Lac, Green Bay,
Madison, Milwaukee and Wisconsin Rapids, WI, sent us these pictures. A 40 ft x 10 ft
SURVIVOR truck scale is loaded on a ferry headed for Madeline Island, where it is
being used for a project to lengthen the airport runway.
There are currently two mills in Asia that
extrude their aluminum close to a 2024
grade. Their designation code is Y12, and
this is an acceptable product. There are a
large number of manufacturers that use
recycled aluminum and, although commendable
from an environmental and
economic standpoint, this makes a poor
load cell because of the impurities inherent
in recycled aluminum.
We have, on our shelf, ready to send, the largest selection
of load cells in the world. NTEP, washdown, corrosive resistant,
high temperature, high capacity. We stock over 50,000 load
cells and can probably ship the one you need the same day
you order it. Service, selection, and speed; they all work here.
For more information go to www.ricelake.com/lcwm
The metal used in manufacturing load
cells is critical for a high quality load cell
but the other processes and materials
used are important as well and can also
be “cheapened up” to make a load cell’s
price almost irresistible. Proper heat
treating, close tolerance machining and
finishing, quality cable and strain gauges
as well as a top notch quality control
program and engineers with years of
load cell design experience are all necessary
in making a quality product. ▪
800-472-6703
www.ricelake.com
mobile: m.ricelake.com