High capacity weighbridges help Komatsu engineers put tracked vehicles through their paces.

Twin, high capacity concrete weighbridges, designed and installed by Weightron Bilanciai, are playing an important test and development role for Komatsu UK Limited* at their Test Centre in Birtley, County Durham.

The weighbridges, installed side-by-side in a single pit, each measure 7.5 metres long by 3.0 metres wide, with an individual capacity of 80 tonnes and a measuring precision of 10 kg.

The combination weighing system is being used for measuring the stability of Komatsu tracked vehicles under different loading conditions. The vehicle under test is driven onto the weighbridges, with one track on each. This allows the measurement of individual load values for the left and right tracks as the cab and loaded bucket arm are rotated through 360 degrees. The system will be used to test vehicles up to 75 tonnes gross weight and depending on the extension and rotational positon of the bucket arm, the full 75 tonnes can be transmitted through one set of tracks to a single weighbridge.

Komatsu’s Development Engineer Andy Lincoln is very pleased with the installation: “We used to have a single weighbridge and stability tests were carried out with one track on the weighbridge and the other on the solid concrete at the side. This limited the tests we could carry out and results were sometimes inconsistent. The new installation will give us much more testing flexibility and provide improved load distribution accuracy. The new weighbridges needed to be compact yet have sufficiently high capacity and Weightron designers were able to supply exactly what we needed. The weighing system will also be used for testing our high capacity dumper trucks.”

The pre-stressed concrete design of the weighbridge decks provides superior strength and durability, whilst the accuracy of the stainless steel, C5 grade, CPD digital load cells ensures the required performance and repeatability. The proprietary load cell mounting assemblies ensure optimum load introduction and the concrete surface finish gives a self-draining, non-slip surface.

The load cells are connected via individual junction boxes to a single Weightron Flynet touch screen weight terminal, fitted with a dual scale input card. Outputs from the Flynet unit to three large outdoor weight displays allow the driver to view the different loads during the tests.

Weightron’s Sales Director Nick Burley is clear on his company’s philosophy: “Unlike many of our competitors, we have the in-house design experience and manufacturing versatility to meet the challenges of such out-of-the-ordinary projects. The Komatsu application required a combination of robust structural design with exceptional accuracy.

“Our civil contractors worked closely with Komatsu engineers to ensure the pit foundations were strong enough for the loads involved. Full calibration of the weighbridges was carried out using our in-house weight calibration truck.”  

*Komatsu UK Limited manufactures medium-size and large crawler excavators (17 to 70 tonnes) and working gear excavators. The 50 acre plant in County Durham produces over 1100 units per annum.