Updated White Paper Describes Weighing

Precision balances are mainly used in open environments of laboratories and production sites where the user has only limited possibilities to shield his equipment against air drafts. In general, modern precision balances provide a high weighing performance. This means fast and reliable weighing results coupled with a level of security that meets the demands of regulatory bodies.

The external environmental conditions can have a significant impact on precision weighing. Air drafts from various sources, such as open doors or windows, heating radiators, air conditioning units or fans, nearby computers or laboratory equipment, and even movement of people around the balance, can influence weighing performance. When working with hazardous substances, air turbulence in a fume hood or safety cabinet should also be considered.

Drafts cause longer settling times and drift of measurements, resulting in slow and unrepeatable results. There are many solutions currently available to support weighing on an analytical balance, but what measures can be taken to optimize weighing on precision balances?

Using SmartPan™ − a new design of weighing pan with a quadruped structure − has proved to have a dramatic effect on the optimization of balance performance, in terms of speed and precision, compared to using a standard weighing pan. The result is shorter settling times and faster availability of the results. An outstanding 86% improvement in precision and 50% increase in speed was recorded under the most extreme conditions tested – with a 1 mg readability balance inside a safety cabinet.