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A Swinging Stage to Continuously Level a Platform Balance for Field Use
Author(s) -
Springer T. L.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2007.0359n
Subject(s) - truck , stage (stratigraphy) , balance (ability) , terrain , simulation , marine engineering , engineering , automotive engineering , computer science , geology , geography , physical medicine and rehabilitation , cartography , medicine , paleontology
Subsample wet weight is usually taken with a portable platform balance often times situated on the tailgate of a truck. Each time the vehicle is moved, the balance must be re‐leveled, and depending on the terrain, it may have to be shimmed. A “Swinging Stage” was designed, built, and tested to determine its usefulness in weighing subsamples. The Swinging Stage was constructed from common materials and takes about an hour to build. After the parts are cut and preassembled, the support hanger can be secured to a truck's stake rack and the stage suspended from it. Next, a platform balance can be placed onto the stage and initially leveled. To test the Swinging Stage performance, the vehicle was moved several times onto varying slopes and each time the balance remained level. The Swinging Stage eliminated the time and frustration of leveling a platform balance each time the vehicle was moved.