DEVELOPMENT AND CALIBRATION

OF A MECHANICAL SCALE
A Laboratory Activity 5 Presented to
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Don Bosco Technical College

Submitted by:
Scott Louis G. Robles, 3 – ME

Submitted on:
April 29, 2021

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements:

ME LAB 1

ME LAB 1 Professor:
Engr. Paul M. Catalan
 INTRODUCTION

The main goal of this laboratory experiment is to create a calibrated

mechanical scale using an elastic element, in which, a spring is used for this experiment. A

calibration will be performed for the created mechanical scale against a commercial scale. And

using LibreOffice Calc to compute for the static characteristics of the mechanical scale, such as

the instrument’s accuracy, resolution, sensitivity, range, and repeatability. The experiment aims

to provide a practical mechanical scale that can be of use in everyday life.

OBJECTIVES

1) Create a mechanical scale that will measure mass using an elastic element

2) Perform calibration on the mechanical scale against a commercial scale

3) Determine the static characteristics of the mechanical scale

 BACKGROUND

I. Spring Scale

A spring scale or spring balance is a weighing device that utilizes the relation between

the applied load and the deformation of a spring, the relationship between the two

parameters is usually linear. When a load is applied to the end of the string, the spring is

stretched and can be recorded through deflection. Spring scales usually have two units of

measurement: Newtons which measure the downward pull due to Earth’s gravity and the

other one is grams which measures the mass of objects.

II. Calibration

Calibration is the comparison of a measuring device to be calibrated against a standard

or a reference measuring device. It is a process where an instrument or device is to meet

the standard manufacturer’s specifications. A proper and thorough calibration will provide

an improvement in terms of quality and productivity.

III. Range

Range defines the minimum and maximum values of a quantity that the instrument is

designed to measure.

IV. Resolution

Resolution is the smallest increment that the instrument can detect or display. It is the

smallest amount of a variable that an instrument can resolve, i.e., the smallest change in a

variable to which the instrument will respond.

 V. Accuracy and Precision

Accuracy is the measure of how close the output reading is to the correct value. It is

determined by comparing a measured reading to a standard reading, the resulting

discrepancy is stated as a ± deviation from the true value. Precision is the instrument’s

degree of freedom from random errors. It refers to how close two or more measurements

are to each other, regardless of whether those measurements are accurate or not.

VI. Sensitivity

Sensitivity of measurement is a measure of the change in instrument output that occurs

when the quantity being measured changes by a given amount. High sensitivity in an

instrument is preferred as this gives higher output amplitudes, but this may have to be

weighed against linearity, range, and accuracy.

VII. Repeatability

Repeatability describes the closeness of output readings when the same input is applied

repeatedly over a short period of time, with the same measurement conditions, same

instrument and observer, same location, and same conditions of use.

VIII. Threshold

If the input to an instrument is gradually increased from zero, the input will have to

reach a certain minimum level before the change in the instrument output reading is of a

large enough magnitude to be detectable. The minimum level of input reached before an

output reading is detectable is known as the threshold.

 METHODOLOGY

Materials

• Coins

• Spring

• Paper Cup

• Scissor

• Ruler

• Yarn or String

• Tape

• Commercial Scale

• Staple

• Paper

• Ballpen
Data Gathering Procedure

Determining the standard mass of the coin:

1. Using the commercial scale, measure the mass of the coin that will be used for the

experiment. For this experiment, the student used a new P1.00 coin.

2. Measure at least five coins

Creating the mechanical scale using an elastic element:

1. Attach both ends of the string to the sides of the paper cup using the tape, ensure that the

tape is securely holding the string to avoid any problems while measuring for the

experiment.

2. For this experiment, the student used a spring as an elastic element. It is attached to the

string using a metal staple.

3. Place the mechanical scale into an elevated hook.

Determining the scale model for the calibration:

Increasing Mass:

1. Using the coins with the determined standard mass, place one inside the paper cup, and

record the deflection of the string from its initial length using a ruler. For the succeeding

trials, increase the number of coins one by one for each record. Repeat for at least 2 trials.

Decreasing Mass:

1. After the last deflection in the increasing mass is recorded, remove the coins one by one,

and record the deflection of the string using the ruler, each time a coin is removed from the

paper cup. Repeat for at least 2 trials.

Calibration of the mechanical scale:

1. Use the mechanical scale as an instrument to measure the mass of the coins with the

determined standard mass, record the deflection of the spring using a ruler for each coin

added or removed.

2. Repeat for at least 2 trials.

Data Processing Method

Computation of data:

1. Transfer all the recorded data of the scale model and the calibration to LibreOffice

Spreadsheet.

2. For the scale model, the increasing and decreasing mass data is used to determine standard

error of the model, the resolution, the sensitivity, and the regression equation, which will

be used for the calibration of the instrument.

3. For the calibration of the instrument, the average of the trials is taken with the

corresponding standard mass for each deflection. The actual mass is determined using the

regression equation of the model, where deflection is the independent variable of the

equation. Then, the difference of actual and standard mass is computed which is used to

determine the root mean square, or the accuracy of the mechanical scale.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Presentation of Data

Table 1.1 Standard Mass

Table 2.1 Trial 1 (Scale model)

Table 2.2 Trial 2 (Scale Model)
Table 3.1 Increasing Mass Average
Table 3.2 Decreasing Mass Average
Table 4.1 Mechanical Scale Model

Fig. 4.1 Mechanical Scale Model

Table 5.1 Calibration of the instrument

Table 6.1 Computed Static Characteristics

Static Characteristics of Mechanical Scale

Range 0 to 100 g 0 to 15 mm
Accuracy ± 0.63 g

Sensitivity 5.764 g/mm

Resolution 5.764 g
Threshold 17.73 g

%FSD 0.05764 %

The determination of the scale model data is performed for two trials, with each trial having

an increasing and decreasing mass. The gathered data from the scale model is used to determine

the regression equation of the instrument, where the slope corresponds to the sensitivity and the

resolution of the mechanical scale.

 The mechanical scale uses an 18 mm long spring as an elastic element, a 5.2 g paper cup

is selected by the student for the scale because even with the paper cup and the string attached to

the spring, the spring didn’t show any deflection and maintain its initial length of 18 mm.

From Figure 4.1, it can be observed that the increasing, decreasing, and average mass are

closely linear with each other, because the relationship of the load and deflection of a spring is

usually linear. The values started to differ when the paper cup accumulated 21 of the new P1.00

coin, about 124.11 g.

The same P1.00 coin with the determined standard mass is used for the calibration of the

mechanical scale, with a range of 0 to 100 grams, the testing is done for two trials in order to obtain

the average deflection of the spring. The spring started to show deflection once three new P1.00

coins are placed into the paper cup. The regression equation of the scale model is used to compute

for the computed mass of instrument, where the independent variable in the equation is the average

deflection of the spring. After the computed mass is determined, the difference in square of the

computed and standard mass is determined, which is used for the calculation of the root mean

𝟏
square or the accuracy of the instrument, using the formula: RMS = √𝒏 ∑𝒊 𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝟐 . And

the instrument’s %FSD is determined by using the formula [%FSD = (Sensitivity)/(Max. range

– Min. range)].
 CONCLUSION

A mechanical scale using an 18 mm long spring with a 3mm diameter as an elastic element

is created with a resolution of 5.764 g. A calibration is performed to determine how accurate the

mechanical scale is, a range of 0 g to 100 g resulted to an accuracy of ±0.63g. The mechanical

scale starts to show deflection once it reaches a threshold of about 17.73 g, with a sensitivity of

5.764 g/mm and a %FSD accuracy of ±0.05764 %.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For the elastic element of the mechanical scale, aside from spring, a rubber can also be

used, which can present a curvilinear relationship between the load and the deflection of the spring,

compared to a linear relationship of a spring. Also, for the mass, aside from a coin, water or sand

can also be used for testing.

When testing the mechanical scale, it is recommended to not overstretched the spring

because there is a tendency that the spring will exceed its elastic deformation and transition to a

plastic deformation, and when this happens, the spring will deform irreversibly and will not return

to its original shape and length even when the load is removed.
 APPENDIX

A. Measuring the mass of the new P1.00 coin

B. Mechanical Scale
C. Initial Length of Spring (18 mm)

D. Measuring the deflection of the spring using a ruler