Clever design cuts costs on weighbridges

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 22, 2002

A new design of weighbridge standardises the design of the end sections and uses a modular construction for the main decks, resulting in lower prices and better delivery times

It would be easy to presume that there was little or no room left to significantly improve the structural design concepts and manufacturing costs of weighbridges.

However, Chesterfield based Weightron Bilanciai are confident they have taken the design of their weighbridges to the next dimension and the company's technical director, Nick Catt, is very upbeat about their new Eurodeck design.

As he emphasises "We tended to presume that the design of our bridges could not be improved and that we had more or less exhausted the possibilities for cost saving.

One limiting factor has always been the diverse requirements from the marketplace.

Our customers call for both surface and pit mounted bridges in varying lengths from 9-18 metres which makes our forward planning very difficult.

Even though we have streamlined our production over the past three years through a planned program of steel buying and preparation, we were still not in a position where we could reliably build products for stock." During a recent routine costing exercise a nagging doubt in the back of his mind prompted Nick to delve deeper into the design and manufacturing procedure.

One underlying factor emerged.

The differing bridge end sections were taking too long to fabricate, despite the fact that all the steel components were supplied ready cut.

Added to this, the bridges required turning over to finish welding, adding additional cost.

He was confident that dramatic savings could be made without compromising strength and quality.

He believed that the key lay in standardising the design of the end sections and using a modular construction for the main decks that was common for both pit and surface mount bridges, irrespective of length.

At this point Weightron turned to their Italian parent company, Bilanciai, for help.

Bilanciai is Europe's leading manufacturer of weighbridges and the company has invested heavily in automated robotic welding equipment.

Working closely with the Italian engineers, Nick's concept soon became a reality and it became clear that standard end sections could be manufactured and transported to the UK at considerably lower costs than those to produce them in house.

The new end design, coupled with that of the modular main deck, is already providing Weightron with savings of over 60%.

In addition, there is no longer any need to turn the bridges over during manufacture.

There are two distinct benefits for the customer, lower prices and better delivery times.

Weightron can now build modules for stock, knowing that whatever the customer orders, the constituent parts will be available.

The Eurodeck range is available in standard lengths of 9, 15 and 18 metres with capacities up to 80 tonnes.

Bespoke bridges with lengths up to 24 metres and 100 tonnes capacity are available on request.

Weightron are keen to emphasise that there has certainly been no reduction in build quality with the new design and the 18 metre bridge utilises over 10 tonnes of steel.

The structural beams, which support a 10 mm deck, run length ways, consistent with traffic flow and have sufficient depth so that they do not need stiffening plates.

This gives a consistent, well-drained weighing surface, avoiding a condensation build up.

The unsupported span between beams is only 165 mm which means that with a load of 25 tonnes in the centre of a standard 7.5 metre module, there is a maximum deflection of only 9 mm.

Special attention is paid to the paint finish and hot dip galvanised steel work can be supplied for applications in particularly harsh environments As Nick Catt concludes; "We have used our strength as part of a leading international company, together with our local expertise, to produce a radical new concept in weighbridge design.

No compromise whatsoever has been made with the new design in terms of strength and performance; the completed Eurodeck weighbridges still incorporate our highly successful restraint system and fully welded stainless steel load cells.

We can now react to our ever-changing customer needs and this will further strengthen our position as the UK's leading high quality weighbridge supplier.".