digital scale for composite work

Steve W, I just had a thought: can you make a cradle out of, say, half round guttering to weigh fabric on a scale with small cradle? That might solve half your problem but not the resolution.

 

The platform scale I already have is adequate for weighing glass with a 12"x 12" platform and remote readout and at least it does read in kg so i can convert to grams easily, its just not suitable for weighing resin hence the Ohaus scale. I just think I'm going to stick with 2 scales rather than one that does both jobs so I will probably get the CS6000 as it is exactly the same physical size but goes to 6kg in 1g increments. I don't think I need any finer than that and then tape over the readout to protect it. I know what you mean by the mess but it is a lot less with infusion. We typically infuse with VE so the metering pumps make less sense but since you are using epoxy it may be worthwhile. We use the sticky stuff dispenser pumps at work that is good for fairly small batches but pretty slow if you are doing bigger ones so we typically just use graduated buckets then. I actually have the larger West systems gear pumps which I havn't used in years because I don't use their resin (except at work). I have dismantled the pumps and cleaned them and started converting to a 2:1 ratio but have never gotten around to finishing, it requires different sprockets and chain. Again it is better suited to smaller batches imho as I believe it only pumps 1.5 quarts /min so buckets work better for me. I believe it is was made by Michael Engineering. I know you can order the sticky stuff dispenser with static mixer but I'm sure they told me I couldn't retrofit the gear pump but I could be wrong on that as its been a few years since I talked to them. I also use the scales to weigh finished parts which is why a larger capacity is nice.

 

While looking around I found this very cool sample cutter and scale made specifically for the textile industry that allows you to cut a precise 113mm sample of any textile and then the scale converts it to gsm. Its on the Summit measurement site but I couldn't post it as its copyrighted. Bit out of my price range though.