New Development Directions of Electronic Belt Scale Instruments: Simple, Efficient, and Intelligent

With the development of social economy and modern technology, the industrial sector is also rapidly evolving, increasingly leaning towards intelligence, unmanned operation, informatization, and automation. This has driven the development of industrial smart and information equipment. Industrial production, manufacturing, and trade cannot do without the measurement of materials or products. The electronic belt scale industry is also growing rapidly, and instruments, as the calculation and processing centers of electronic belt scales, are developing quickly as well. The main characteristics and development directions are mainly reflected in the increasingly humanized and technologically advanced instrument structure and performance. Summarizing from the aspects of design structure, manufacturing process, and performance quality of electronic belt scale instruments, the new development directions of instruments can be mainly summarized as the following aspects.

(1) Simpler Panels and More Humanized Operations

Previous belt scale instruments had complex operation panels with buttons and indicators, such as reset, self-test, time calibration, etc., making operations complicated, slow for users to learn, and prone to human error. Modern belt scale instruments have greatly simplified buttons, featuring matrix keyboard operations with clear labeling, eliminating the need for operators to memorize the function of each button. Additionally, the instruments use color displays with clear and understandable Chinese human-machine interaction interfaces. Furthermore, many belt scale instruments adopt a combination of buttons and touchscreen operations, offering sensitive touch response and simple operation.

(2) More Comprehensive and Intuitive Data Display

Traditional belt scale instruments had incomplete and non-intuitive data displays, making it cumbersome to query information. Modern instruments utilize industrial-grade LCD screens to display cumulative amount, instantaneous flow rate, belt speed, alarm information, and other data in real-time. Flow information is intuitively displayed in graph form, and data can be queried by day, month, year, or set date. With large data storage capacity, the data display is both comprehensive and intuitive.

(3) Increasingly Intelligent Instrument Functions

Modern electronic belt scale instruments not only provide touchscreens and user-friendly operation interfaces but also offer intelligent functions such as fault self-diagnosis and automatic online calibration. When an abnormality occurs in the electronic belt scale, the instrument can automatically send alarm information and record the fault, facilitating prompt and rapid troubleshooting. The automatic calibration function improves the accuracy and stability of belt scale measurements.

(4) Integration with Control Systems for Intelligence

Intelligent instruments can be connected to the network and integrated with host computers to configure control systems, enabling control functions such as controlled material feeding. They also allow for shift settings and management tailored to production, enhancing the scientific production and management level of enterprises.

(5) Fieldbus Integration for Belt Scale Instruments

Modern belt scale instruments continuously enhance their communication capabilities, enabling networking of multiple belt scales through communication methods such as RS232, RS485, and MODBUS, as well as communication with computer monitoring systems. For example, the instrument paired with Guonuo Technology's high-precision matrix belt scale features a motherboard with multiple digital input ports to receive various contact switch signals and provides multiple programmable output ports. It has stronger anti-interference capabilities, contributing to improved measurement accuracy, and its interfaces meet the matching requirements of various signals in industrial environments.

(6) Wireless Signal Transmission

Belt scales are mostly used in industrial settings with dispersed installations and significant distances from the main control room. Conventional cable layouts are cumbersome and difficult to maintain. With the development of internet and network communication technologies, wireless communication of instrument information is becoming a trend.

In summary, belt scale instruments are becoming simpler, more efficient, and more intelligent, significantly enhancing the overall performance of belt scales.