Mobile weighing: weighing pallet trucks and forklift forks

The weighing point disappears from the route

With a fixed scale, you drive the pallet to it, put it down, read the weight and drive on. With mobile weighing, the scale is in the transport equipment itself: the load cells are in the lifting frame or in the forks, and the weight is on the display as soon as the load is off the ground. The action you were doing anyway, picking up the pallet, is also the weighing. That saves the walk to the weighing point, the wait when someone is ahead of you, and the risk of a pallet going through unweighed because it was busy. The fuller the warehouse and the further away the weighing point, the bigger that difference.

Two forms: the pallet truck and the forks

The pallet truck with weighing system is an ordinary hand pallet truck with load cells built in. You pump up the pallet and read the weight; nothing else changes in the way you work. All the series we carry weigh up to 2,000 kg. That is where the range lies: versions from Baxtran, KERN, Adam and Gram: from a simple truck with a readout window to a verified stainless steel version with printer and Wi-Fi on board.

The weighing system on the forks of a forklift weighs the load on the truck's forks. The Gram Bull weighs up to 2,500 kg and reads from 1 kg. That is the form for loads you move with a forklift anyway and for pallets that need to go higher than a hand truck can lift. Whether it fits your truck depends on the type and the fork size; send us the type of your forklift and we will look it up.

What it costs in accuracy

A load cell that travels has a harder time than a load cell under a floor plate: it carries a lifting mechanism, it tilts as soon as the floor is uneven and it feels every threshold. You can see that in the step in which it reads. Most pallet trucks read in steps of 0.5 kg, the finest versions in 0.2 kg, and a weighing system on the forks in 1 kg. For a shipping weight, a consignment note or a stock check that is more than enough. For weighing out raw materials or a portion by weight it is not: that calls for a pallet scale or a floor scale that stands still. Which step you need is explained on what accuracy and capacity do I need. And weigh well within the capacity: a 2,000 kg truck that lifts 1,900 kg every day will not last as long.

Verified weighing on the move

As soon as the weight is the basis for an invoice, a consignment note or a settlement with someone else, the scale must be verified, even if it moves. Of the pallet trucks we carry, the green M mark is recorded in our data for the Baxtran TP410, the TP410i and the TP XBAT; verified versions of these are available. For the other series it is not recorded by us, and that is not the same as it not being possible: if you want a particular model verified, ask us and we will check with the manufacturer. The verification scale interval (e) is 0.5 kg at a capacity of 2,000 kg. Note the difference between d and e. Two TP410 versions show 0.2 kg on the display while being approved at 0.5 kg; for legal purposes e counts, not what the display shows. What else the green M mark tells you is explained on what is a verified scale. All verifiable models in the shop are listed under verified scales. If a verified truck has been repaired or the seal has been broken, it must be inspected again; re-verification is arranged through the manufacturer, including for a truck you did not buy from us.

Euro pallet or wide pallet

The forks of a standard truck are made for the euro pallet of 800 by 1,200 mm. If you work with wider pallets, that truck will not fit underneath, and you only find out on the warehouse floor. For this, Baxtran supplies the Wide versions, made for the wider American pallet: the ARX Wide, the ARX LCD Wide and the TP410i Wide. If you are not sure what you need, tell us which pallet size you work with most and we will tell you which version fits.

Wet, cold or hygienic: what it has to withstand

A pallet truck rarely stands in a clean corner. The protection rating therefore varies: from IP54 on the basic ARX to IP68 on the TP410, the TP410i and the TP XBAT; the KERN VHB is rated IP65 and the Adam PTSplus IP67. What those figures mean is explained on which IP rating does my scale need. If you work in the food industry or in cold storage, or you hose the truck down afterwards, choose a stainless steel version: available for the ARX, the TP410, the TP410i and the TP XBAT. More on that choice on stainless steel scales for wet and hygienic areas.

Recording the weight instead of copying it

A weight that is shown on a display and copied by hand is a weight that can go wrong, and afterwards nobody can check which of the two was right. Several versions therefore have a printer on board, so that the weight stays with the pallet on paper. The TP XBAT is available with Wi-Fi and with a removable battery, so the truck keeps working while the spare battery charges. How to connect the weighing data to a PC, PLC or ERP is explained on connecting a scale to a PC, PLC or ERP.

Commissioning, maintenance and re-verification on site

We do not just deliver the truck, we commission it at your premises: aligning, setting up and connecting it to a printer or system. For maintenance, repair and calibration, our engineers come to your warehouse, so a truck is not out of the process for days; re-verification is arranged through the manufacturer. What we do is described on verification, calibration and repair.