What Are Main Types of Weighing Scales?

There are various kinds of weighing scales in the market. The oldest are the analog scales. Today weighing scales have evolved into digital scales, high tech scales, high capacity scales and design minded scales.

 The first type is the weighing scale analog. It is the perfect answer for a wide range of manual applications. They are popular because of their accuracy and low price.

The earliest analog scales were called as balances. These were made of four parts: lever, fulcrum and two pans. The central beam consisted of the fulcrum to which is attached middle of the lever, allowing it to pivot. At each end of the lever are placed, the two pans. When you want to measure weight of an object, it would be kept on one pan and known weights would be placed on the other pan. When lever reached horizontal position, it meant that items in both pans were of equal weight.

Analog scales developed into triple beam balances, double beam balances and hand scales. Another popular development is the analog spring scale. Variants of this type are bathroom floor scales, hanging scales and top loaders. These scales work on the principle that when you impose force on a constant, known spring, it will stretch to a notable, known distance.

To measure using the analog spring machine, one can attach a weight to the spring. When this weight is applied, an indicator will move up and down, along a pre-marked weight measurement. On using the spring concept in the weighing scales, anything from one to four springs can be used. Springs are placed in the corners and on application of force, the springs are stretched and they cause a pre-marked measurement wheel to spin.

Digital scales are an improvement over the analog scales and are simple and accurate. They are operated by batteries and are easily available in stores and online. Some have the capacity to store previous ten readings.

High tech scales are able to delve deeper into the composition of the body than analog or digital scales. 

Several models calculate percentage of body fat by using a tiny electric pulse to distinguish between muscle tissue and fat. Some scales sync readings with one’s smart phones or tablets, updating readings of BMI index and digital weight. Then there are talking weighing scales which suit the visually impaired.

High capacity scales are suited to those with excessive weights of more than standard amounts. Designer scales match the aesthetics of your room like bathrooms. These include teak wood, mirrored and bamboo digital scales.