Germany-based Sartorius Combics said its new industrial scale for the food industry meets the requirements on cleanability and accuracy.

New regulations on the frequency of cleaning has mean manufacturers need more rugged equipment to stand up to jets of water and being sprayed with disinfectants.

The company's Combics Food Scale range is manufactured to meet guidelines set out by the European Hygienic Equipment Design Group (EHEDG), said Sartorius Combics. The guidelines set the standards for equipment designed for easy cleaning and disinfecting.

All models in the complete Combics Food Scale series are made entirely of high-alloy 304 stainless steel (grade 1.4301). The platform is available in electropolished AISI type 316 Ti stainless steel (1.4571).

The surface roughness of all components that can come into contact with food is lower than 0.8 µm, the company claimed.

"The Combics food scale has been developed specially for applications in which openness and product contact are the order of the day, where the strictest standards for sterility reign, and where intensive cleaning with large amounts of water is the norm," the company stated.

Sartorius Combics said it has positioned the hermetically sealed load cell between two sandwich elements, which has IP69K protection for high-pressure, high-temperature wash-down.

The load cell is also dust-tight and suitable for continuous immersion in water.

"The open design helps to prevent contamination - even the smallest particles of dirt and deposits have no place to hide," the company claimed.

A metrological cable gland also provides for the best possible seal while maintaining easy cleanability, the company claimed.

The leveling elements have a rugged mechanical overload protection, designed to keep the weighing system safe from vertical and horizontal impact.

The complete Sartorius Combics food scale series has weighing capacities from 6 kg to 150 kg.

The scales have 20-mm, high-contrast display segments with amber backlighting to aid in readability. The display and control unit design allows it to be read from almost any angle of view.

The keys are large, with a positive "click" action. The board allows operators to carry out three important functions at the press of a single key. They can get information on gross/net-toggling, increase resolution 10-fold, and convert mass units with a single key.

Built-in application programs can give operators more data, including average weight control of prepackages, counting, weighing in percent or animal weighing.