Cardinal Pit-Mounted Truck Scales Provide Port of Miami Ability to Weigh Greater Volume of Freight

Two Additional Cardinal Scale Pit-Mounted EPR Truck Scales Provide Terminal the Ability to Weigh Greater Volumes of Freight. Major ocean transport company adds more Cardinal EPR truck scales and 210 indicators to expedite traffic flow for 600 truck weighments per day at busy Port of Miami.

Traffic congestion was becoming a major issue at the Port of Miami with a steady increase in export freight volumes over the last several years and the completion of a new underground truck tunnel leading into the port. A lengthy line of trucks were typically waiting to be weighed before entering the freight terminals at the port.

It became apparent that a solution was needed to be able to move this increased traffic through the port more quickly and efficiently.

 

Cardinal Scale Pit Type Truck Scale

One of the largest ocean transport companies at the Port of Miami rearranged their container yard and came to Cardinal Scale seeking a solution for its truck scale needs.

Cardinal Scale had several meetings with Port of Miami officials and the ocean transport company’s personnel during which various yard and scale layouts were considered, including above or below ground scales, steel or concrete decks, network connectivity, and weight documentation.

It was ultimately decided that there would be two new inbound steel deck truck scales installed below grade in deep pits. The deep pit request presented an important challenge: How to ensure that a 4 1/2 foot deep pit would remain dry at just above sea level on an island?

Cardinal Scale had stressed the importance of keeping the pit dry during the design process.

Therefore, the ocean transport company contracted with an engineering company that designed and built an elaborate self-contained underground pump station, which was built adjacent to both scale pits to prevent the pits from flooding.

The ocean transport company decided to purchase two new 13570-EPR truck scales from Cardinal Scale, which were slightly modified to be installed in the pits. The pit design was chosen to save yard space, as well as, producing an easier and safer method for drivers and other personnel to move in and around the trucks. A steel deck was chosen over a concrete deck to avoid delays associated with the curing time of a concrete deck.

The scales were connected to Cardinal Scale model 210 weight indicators fitted with 10/100 Ethernet cards and attached to P500 receipt printers, which were installed in two separate scale houses. The Ethernet cards allow them to communicate the weight data to their remote server and the ticket printers allow them to produce a hard copy for the truck drivers, which not only includes their truck ID, but the time and date of weighment as well.

The ocean transport company’s freight terminal at the Port of Miami operates 24/7, 365 days a year.

It can now weigh more than 600 trucks per day with the addition of the two pit-mounted Cardinal truck scales. The ocean transport company has substantially reduced the weigh-in time for each truck, which in turn allows them to load the freight containers on the cargo ships more efficiently.

The additional truck weighing scales have led to shorter lines of trucks, thus improving the overall traffic congestion at the Port of Miami as well.

You can read more about the case study by clicking the link.

Why is My Scale Printer Not Working With My Weight Indicator?

Often end users will ask about adding a printer to their existing scale or perhaps to a new system they are requesting. And quite often the end user is under the impression that adding a printer to a scale is as simple as going to the electronics store and buying a computer printer and plugging it into the scale via USB. Unfortunately, adding a printer to a scale system is not usually a plug and play application.

So to answer the question, why is my label or ticket printer not working with my indicator? Let’s take a look at the answer provided by Cardinal Scale. Label printers come from the factory set in a graphics mode (called page mode) while Cardinal indicators send data in a line mode from the print tab setup. It is often possible to set the label printers to line mode, but this can be difficult and is ultimately the less effective option. We recommend creating a graphic-type ticket using Cardinal’s nControl software that can be used to create custom headers and set font sizes. This has been proven to work well with the label printers that Cardinal sells. Works great when designing print outs for indicators such as the 190, 205, 210, or 225.

New Satellite Unattended Truck Weighing Kiosks

Cardinal Scale’s New Unattended Weighing Terminals are Loaded with Valuable Features. Cardinal Scale’s new USA-made Satellite series unattended weighing kiosks provide the ultimate experience in unmanned truck scale efficiency and streamlined data integration. The lockable, weather-proof enclosure features a modern design aesthetic with optional rainhood/sun deflector. Select a Satellite model with the features you need including a high-speed thermal cutbar tape printer, proximity badge reader (AWID and HID), 240 x 64 pixel blue backlit LCD or 640 x 480 pixel backlit color touch screen LCD, and with or without a rainhood. True to its name, the Satellite offers independent remote control over your weighing operations and connects the truck scale to SB500 remote displays with integrated traffic signals, existing computer networks, other digital weight indicators, and WinVRS vehicle recording software.

The weatherproof QWERTY keyboard with navigation arrow keys and main soft keys provides driver input prompting controls. Fast, accurate, and easy to operate, the Satellite series offers models with a brilliant full-color graphics LCD touch-screen display and 10/100 Base-T Ethernet standard (TCP/IP or EIP). The Satellite may be mounted on a wall or pole (complete mounting bracket included), and the unique articulating arm allows the kiosk to be pulled toward the truck driver while weighing and then retracted away from the truck when not in use.

These unattended weighing terminals allow the driver to remain in their vehicle while weighing which reduces the risk associated with walking across truck scale platforms and traffic lanes. Not only is this a safer method of receiving truck weights, but it also speeds the weighing process for optimal efficiency and reduces overall operating costs.The Satellite kiosk may be interfaced via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet to Cardinal’s WinVRS Vehicle Recording System for seamless acquisition and integration of weight data to generate versatile reports of transactions. Truck ID storage comes standard in the Satellite series, and versatile connectivity ports allow weight data to be sent directly into record-keeping software.

Printing unattended truck weight tickets has never been easier than with the Satellite’s high-speed thermal cutbar tape printer. The printer with silkscreened sign on the front of the enclosure easily identifies for drivers where they are to retrieve their ticket. To easily refill paper rolls, simply swing out the articulating arm and unlock the cabinet from the back for internal printer access. An interior heater with thermostat comes standard in all Satellite printer cabinets for year-round, weather-proof usage.

Features:
•Articulating Arm Allows Kiosk to be Retracted When Not in Use
•Kiosk May be Pole or Wall-Mounted
•640 x 480 pixel Full-Color LCD Touch-Screen Display Available
•Full QWERTY Keyboard and Navigation Arrow Keys
•Main Soft Keys Provide Driver Input Prompting Controls
•High-Speed Thermal Printer Easy to Refill Paper Rolls
•Fast, Accurate, and Easy to Operate
•Lockable, Weather-Proof, Outdoor-Grade Enclosure
•Rainhood/Sun Deflector Available on Some Models
•AWID and HID Proximity Badge Readers Available
•Allows the Driver to Remain in the Vehicle While Weighing
•Reduces Risk Associated with Drivers Walking Across Platforms
•Modern Product Design Aesthetics
•Wi-Fi or Wired Ethernet Connectivity Available
•USB-B Connectivity Standard
•May be Interfaced with WinVRS Record-Keeping Software
•Internal Heater with Thermostat
•USA-Made Quality Construction

Scale Tickets

Truck scales may be equipped with many different options to increase their efficiency for both the operator and the truck driver. One of those areas that can improve efficiency is scale tickets.

Scale tickets that are placed in the printer when a driver goes over the scale and then the printer prints the weight on the ticket.  Stock and custom scale tickets for most major scale manufacturers in the United States are available. These are great for various markets like agricultural commodity, livestock, timber, petroleum, aggregate or any other industry.

Whether carbonized bond or carbonless, numbered or un-numbered, blank or pre-printed with your company name and contact info, don’t forget to look at ticket printers and scale tickets when purchasing a truck scale.

Programmable Digital Weight Indicator for Truck Scales

HMI Digital Weight Indicators from Rice Lake Weighing Systems, offer a complete line of weight indicators to fit any application. The revolutionary Rice Lake 920i programmable HMI Indicator/Controller takes charge of process applications and provides open connectivity to the most popular networking interfaces. When used in batching / mixing applications, one 920i indicator is capable of handling multiple scales, flow, temperature and pulse. It can control hundreds of I/O set points, queue gates and conveyors, perform yield management functions and store, Continue reading

Truck Scale Digital Weight Indicator Cardinal 225

Truck Scale Indicator

Truck Scale Indicator

Cardinal’s 225 Navigator features transflective technology which allows the display to be viewed under any lighting conditions from direct sunlight to total darkness. One-inch-high (25 mm) weight characters make viewing easy. View up to 3 scales with total weight simultaneously with the optional dual scale input board; no special software is needed with Cardinal 225 Navigator digital weight indicator.

Entering, viewing, and storing truck names is easy with the 225 Navigator’s convenient Truck ID menu.  Complete alphanumeric descriptions for truck and material prompts make storing and recalling tare weight values quick and simple.