The number of customers asking us to calibrate their axle weighbridges has risen sharply in recent weeks.
And all those customers are telling us versions of the same
story – they don’t believe it is being done correctly by their current provider.
On being given the calibration specification being used, we
were surprised to find that most of these axle weighbridges were only being
calibrated up to 6 tonnes.
Given that most 44t artics have axles weighing 8t or more, calibrating
to only 6t is bluntly, pointless.
There are two parts to getting a dynamic axle weighbridge
calibrated correctly. One is to prove it works as a basic weighing machine. The
other is to check that it does what it was designed to do – weigh axles on
multi-axle vehicles accurately.
Testing a system with a capacity of 20t with only 6t of
weights is far from sufficient to prove the former. And immediately throws into
doubt the results from any dynamic testing.
Calibrating an axle weighbridge is not just a case of
tweaking the indicator with a screwdriver. The concrete approaches and platform
height are vital too.
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| Axtec have the only specialist test vehicle for axle weighbridges |
Yet one customer had documentary evidence that their
weighing platform had not been lifted from the pit for nearly 20 years. So no height
adjustment had been made in all that time.
Little surprise then that the systems are inaccurate. Some
as much as 3t light.
Imagine the consequences of putting an extra 3t on your
vehicle because the axle weighbridge had said it was underweight?
An axle weighbridge is unlike a simple platform scale and
requires specialist equipment and knowledge.
Axtec have invested in a purpose designed test vehicle
allowing us to calibrate systems up to maximum capacity.
But that is only part of the story.
Knowing what the approach levels are and being able to
adjust the platform height are vital.
Maybe we can help you check out your axle weighbridge for
accuracy?
Get in touch and we’ll see what we can do.
