POWERCELL PDX Load Cells Protect Your Profits

Oct. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- In 1988, METTLER TOLEDO introduced the POWERCELL load cell, the digital load cell for vehicle scale applications. It was a huge innovation for an industry that was still in analog mode. By providing unmatched accuracy and reliability, the POWERCELL load cell set the standard for vehicle weighing.

With nearly one million in service worldwide, the METTLER TOLEDO line of POWERCELL load cells continues to demonstrate the ability to perform in the toughest environments and the most unforgiving climates. From the frozen polar regions to the scorching heat of the desert and the wet conditions of the tropics, POWERCELL load cells have a proven history of accurate and reliable weighing.

METTLER TOLEDO is changing the game again with the new POWERCELL PDX load cell. In addition to providing the most accurate vehicle weighing in the industry, the POWERCELL PDX load cell offers innovations that add to your bottom line. It is the load cell system that provides a fully protected network, built-in predictive diagnostics, and unmatched lightning protection. These innovations signal a revolution in vehicle scale reliability.

No More Junction Boxes
Until now, all load cell systems required some type of junction boxes to sum individual weight signals and transmit them to a scale terminal. The boxes are wired on site and are difficult to seal against moisture and dust. Because these high- maintenance boxes contain sensitive electronics, they are the single most common cause of vehicle scale failures and unplanned expenses.

POWERCELL PDX load cells dramatically change vehicle scale reliability by eliminating junction boxes. Electronic components are protected inside the hermetically sealed load cell enclosures. There are no junction boxes to fail and cause costly weighing errors.

The load cells are linked by heavy-duty cables with quick-locking connectors. Both the cables and connectors are watertight, effectively sealing the entire load cell network against moisture to IP68 (submersible) standards. Designed to guarantee the integrity of the weight signal, these cables protect against damage from moisture, machinery, and rodents.

Predictive Diagnostics
With all other load cell technologies, weighing errors and load cell failures can go undetected for long periods. The errors can continue until your scale’s next calibration check, causing you to lose money and customers.

The POWERCELL PDX load cell’s innovative predictive diagnostics system constantly monitors the load cell’s performance and environment. If there is a potential problem, the system detects it instantly and alerts your scale operator before weighing errors and downtime affect your profits.

In addition to diagnosing problems, the system actually keeps your scale weighing accurately. It monitors environmental factors such as temperature and vibration. As conditions change, the POWERCELL PDX load cell compensates for the changes.

While other load cells lose accuracy in extreme conditions, the POWERCELL PDX load cell delivers the same weight in all environments.

Predictive diagnostic tools eliminate the guesswork that makes other systems hard to service. They do more than tell you when service is needed. They provide information that pinpoints what repair is needed and helps the service technician make the repair quickly.

Lightning Protection
A lightning strike or power surge can put a typical vehicle scale out of commission in an instant. Today’s scales include electronic components that can be seriously damaged by lightning. In many cases, unprotected equipment will need to be repaired or replaced. Even if a warranty covers the repair costs, you still face the cost of the business that you lose every day your scale is not operating.

StrikeShield™ lightning protection keeps your weighing operation running even when lightning knocks out other systems. It is the main line of defense for an entire vehicle scale system: load cells, cables, and terminal. All scale components are protected from electrical damage, preventing costly downtime, repairs, and parts replacement.

Additional lightning protection is built into the POWERCELL PDX load cell. If a voltage surge occurs in the cables, the load cell’s surge protection circuitry redirects the current to ground. All internal electronic components are protected from
damage.

No other lightning protection system is as complete or as thoroughly tested. Independent laboratory tests have verified the POWERCELL PDX load cell system’s ability to meet the toughest lightning protection standards. The tests have proven that the system can survive multiple lightning strikes up to 80 000 amperes. That is more than twice the strength of the average lightning strike (30 000 amperes).

Protect Your Profits
The POWERCELL PDX load cell takes vehicle weighing to the next level. Why rely on analog systems with their inherent accuracy and maintenance problems? Protect your profits by ensuring that your vehicle scale weighs accurately day in and day out with POWERCELL PDX load cells.


POWERCELL PDX Load Cell: Accuracy and Reliability
The POWERCELL PDX load cell’s internal diagnostics system constantly monitors environmental conditions and load cell performance. It uses this wealth of information to provide unmatched weighing accuracy and reliability.

The load cell keeps your scale weighing accurately by digitally correcting for environmental conditions:

•Temperature change
•Zero change
•Hysteresis
•Linearity
•Creep
•Vibration

The load cell keeps your scale operating reliably by monitoring system performance:

•Supply voltage
•CAN voltage levels
•COM errors
•Scale overload
•Enclosure integrity
•Number of cycles
•Symmetry and drift

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METTLER TOLEDO specializes in the area of precision instruments for professional use. METTLER TOLEDO laboratory instruments are used in research, scientific, drug discovery, and quality control labs, amongst many others in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food and cosmetics industries. METTLER TOLEDO comprehensive industrial solutions cover the various steps in a host of manufacturing processes at many of the same customers that laboratory serves. Solutions range from receiving raw materials through various manufacturing processes, in-line process control and end-of-line packaging control, to logistics and shipping. Increasingly, these solutions are fully integrated into the customer's IT environment, helping automate their workflows. In food retail, our offering for fresh food management ranges from receiving and pre-packaging, to in-store solutions for self-service departments, deli counters, and checkout terminals.