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September 25th, 2006, 03:51 AM #1

Strain Guage Summing

svn
Member
For hopper weighing, if more than one load cell is mounted then a summing circuit
is used and output of this circuit is given to indicator or controller. I am not clear
about the working of the summing circuit. How does it exactly work?

SVN

Join Date: Jul 2004

Posts: 71

September 25th, 2006, 07:34 AM #2

curlyandshemp Quote:
Lifetime Supporting
Originally Posted by svn
Member
For hopper weighing, if more than one load cell is mounted then a summing
circuit is used and output of this circuit is given to indicator or controller. I
am not clear about the working of the summing circuit. How does it exactly
work?

SVN

Join Date: Jul 2005 In platform scales that have load cells in all four corners, a summation board is
Location: Toronto required. The purpose of the summation board is to equalize the amount of signal
Posts: 1,856 contributed by each load cell. If you look at the load cell, it will have a mv/V
specifaction stamped on it. Typically this will be 3mv/V but in reality each load cell
may be, as an example, 2.999mv/V , 3.001mv/V etc. The summation board
compensates for the slight difference in load cell ratings.
On a platform scale, the load can be positioned anywhere on the scale, and if the
 load is placed near a load cell that has a 3.001mv/V rating and then the load is
moved closer to a 2.999mv/V rating load cell, two different weight readings will be
observed.
Since the load to measured on a platform scale can be placed anywhere on the
platform, the summation board is essential to compensate for this.

On a hopper scale, a summation board is usually not necessary as the load is

distributed evenly to all 3 or 4 load cells supporting the hopper. Even if the load
cells are not exactly matched mv/V , each load cell contributes the same ratio of
signal from empty weight to full hopper weight. A summation board on a hopper is
usually a convenient method of physically tying all load cells together.

Ian

September 25th, 2006, 01:15 PM #3

Lancie1 For a hopper weight, I have tied all four load cell outputs together with a wire nut
Lifetime Supporting (without a summing board) and run directly to the weight indicator. It worked okay.
Member + Moderator

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Alabama
Posts: 10,000

September 25th, 2006, 02:57 PM #4

Doug-P Replace 'strain gauge' with 'load cell' and Google 'load cell summing', or 'load cell
Member summing box', or 'load cell summing box schematic'.
__________________
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Join Date: Jun 2003

Location: Pa
Posts: 1,216

September 26th, 2006, 02:12 AM #5

Loadcell Summing
svn
Member
curleyandshemp, thanks for the clarification.

Lancie1, thanks for the reply.

DougP, thanks for the reply. I already tried to google, but I was sure somebody on
this forum will be able to give better information. PLCs.net rocks!

Join Date: Jul 2004

Posts: 71

September 26th, 2006, 09:31 AM #6

 Quote:
Tom Jenkins
Lifetime Supporting Originally Posted by Lancie1
Member For a hopper weight, I have tied all four load cell outputs together with a
wire nut (without a summing board) and run directly to the weight
indicator. It worked okay.

I am amazed! I can't see how that would possibly work!

Join Date: Apr 2002

Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 5,733

September 26th, 2006, 10:02 AM #7

bernie_carlton With my quick calculations it looks like tying the load cell outputs together would
Lifetime Supporting average the signals.
Member + Moderator __________________
Controlling outputs is the PLC's way of getting its inputs to change.

www.thePLCguy.com

Join Date: Apr 2002

Location: Yakima, Washington
Posts: 6,096

December 8th, 2006, 10:22 PM #8

keithkyll I read this post with interest because I had a project with Load Cells. This
Member application weighs a 55 gallon drum to check level.
I was confused about Summings boards. Searched the Internet for a schematic
without success. A schematic for an amplifier that worked on 1 or 2 Load Cells had
the cells in parallel, so that's what I did. The results were confusing, so I contacted
Omega Engineering for help.
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Heath, TX Bernie's answer is correct. 2 cells in parallel average. A summing board does the
Posts: 1,818 same thing - average, not add. It has pots to adjust the Excitation output to balance
them, but that's all.

A proper setup for a weighing platform would be a cell on each corner, but this was
expensive and accuracy wasn't important. The platforms are rollers, slightly tilted
back to keep the barrel in place. There wasn't a good way to do it with 1 cell, so we
used 2 - one on each of the rear corners. The front corners are pivot points.

A 55 gallon drum of water is 459 pounds. The Load Cells are rated for 1000 pounds.
2 millivolts per volt with 10 volts Excitation. 20 millivolts full scale.

I was hoping I could set this up to have 10 millivolts at 500 pounds, but Load Cells
don't work that way. With 500 pounds on the platform, each corner has one fourth
the weight - 125 pounds. Quick thinking was a 1000 pound cells gives a 2x safety
margin for a 500 pound weight, but results are actually 8x!

Take a platform with four Load Cells, one on each corner. The millivolt output range
will be the same if you read 1 cell, or 2, 3 or 4 in parallel. From what I understand,
the results will be the same with a Summing box. A platform designed for 1000
pounds should have 250 pound cells on each of the 4 corners. I was only using 2,
but the math is the same - 250 on each corner.
In my case, the 1000 pound cells are too large. I should have used 250 or 500
pound units. With 1000 pound cells, a full barrel outputs only 2.3 millivolts. (459 / 4
= 114.75 pounds per corner. 114.75 x 20 millivolts = 2.295). The meter is scaled 0-
4000 pounds.
Analog output from the meter is 0-10 volts to the PLC. This is where I lucked out. I
can scale the 0-10 volt output in the meter to anything I want. Resolution (millivolts
 per bit) is the only part that suffers.
I knew weight would be distributed across the 4 corners, but worried what would
happen as someone was unloading a full barrel - one corner might see the full
weight. As it is, this could never happen, because cells are only at the rear, and
unloading is from the front.

During my search for an amplifier, I found meters from Omega are cheaper.
CNiS3253 ($240.00) has 10 volt Excitation (60 ma max), 0-10 volt output (for
PLC), and a relay that I used for an alarm.
Last edited by keithkyll; December 8th, 2006 at 10:32 PM.

December 10th, 2006, 04:07 AM #9

parky It's ok to parallel load cells, a lot of weigh suppliers use this method, nobel, Applied
Member weighing etc, most only use a block of 4 terminals (+ex -ex +out -out).

One thing to note if mounting load cells on vessels it's better to use 3 rather than 4
as this gives more even distribution, 4 needs to be located very accurately or you
Join Date: Oct 2004
get what they call stiction i.e. inconsistant weights, think about it a vessel will sit on
Location: Midlands 3 legs & all will have a load bearing on them, however 4 legs & it's like the
Posts: 965 preverbial coffee table you tried to level with a saw.

December 10th, 2006, 10:09 AM #10

DJM [quote=keithkyll]
Member A platform designed for 1000 pounds should have 250 pound cells on each of the 4
corners. I was only using 2, but the math is the same - 250 on each corner.
QUOTE]

This isn't true, Keith. There are some mechanical details that must be considered
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Georgia when sizing loadcells to a scale. The first and foremost is that the scale has weight.
Posts: 111 The loadcells must support the scale (this is deadload). Four 250lb loadcells will not
be adequate for a 1000lb scale. The other thing is that load cells are not completely
linear and have mechanical limits. They are built on a strain gage / wheatstone
bridge format. They are far more accurate in the middle of their range than they are
at the top, which is to say; they have a sweet spot. The deadload will, on average,
put a loadcell up around 25% to 35% of its capacity. The scale capacity will net an
output from the loadcell of 75% signal or less. I.E. 1000lb scale, 3.3 millivolt/volt
with 10 Volts of excitation will probably not exceed 25 millivolts and will have an
offset signal (zero weight applied) of around 10 - 12 millivolts.
Last edited by DJM; December 10th, 2006 at 10:12 AM.

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