Portable, mobile or modular weighbridge?

Short answer: “portable”, “mobile” and “modular” are often used for the same thing, but buyers are usually offered one of two very different products. A modular weighbridge is a full-size steel weighbridge that weighs the whole truck at once, needs no foundation, installs within hours on a hard, level surface and can be taken up and installed again at the next site. Portable axle pads (weigh pads or wheel weighers) weigh one axle at a time and add the readings up: they are light and quick to carry, but less accurate, so they suit spot checks rather than trade weighing. If you buy, sell or bill by weight, choose a full-size weighbridge.

This guide explains what each word usually means, where each option works, and the questions to ask before you pay for something called “portable”. For a fixed site with long-term traffic, a pit-less or concrete (RCC) weighbridge on a foundation is usually the better choice; the weighbridge types guide compares all of them.

What the three words usually mean

The words matter less than one question: does the truck stand on the weighbridge as a whole, or is it weighed axle by axle? That single point decides accuracy, whether the weighbridge can be stamped for trade, and what it is fit to do.

Modular weighbridge vs portable axle pads

Internationally, static weighing instruments, including weighbridges and static axle weighers, are covered by OIML R76, and weighing of vehicles in motion by OIML R134. Axle weighers are often approved in a lower accuracy class than a Class III weighbridge. In India, a weighing instrument used for trade must be verified by the State Legal Metrology department, so ask any supplier of axle pads in writing whether their product can be stamped for your use.

When a modular weighbridge makes sense

• Short or medium-term sitesHighway, rail, dam and canal projects, and construction sites where the weighbridge must leave when the work ends.
• Quarries and crushers that shiftA new face or a new lease can mean a new gate. The weighbridge moves with the work instead of being left behind on a foundation.
• Fast startNo pit or pedestal foundation to build and cure. Once the surface is ready, the weighbridge installs within hours and is calibrated on site.
• Rented or leased landNo permanent civil structure to leave behind when the lease ends.
• Export and remote sitesModules travel by truck or container. For export, Symphony builds modular weighbridges of 24 m and longer.

When a fixed weighbridge is the better choice

• The site will run for many yearsA factory gate, a public weighbridge (dharam kanta) or a mandi: the foundation is a one-time job, and a pit-less or RCC weighbridge is built for years of heavy traffic.
• Very heavy, constant trafficTipper and trailer queues all day are better on a weighbridge fixed to engineered pedestals.
• Corrosive sitesSalt works, chemical plants and coastal sites often suit a concrete (RCC) weighbridge, which carries a 25-year structural warranty on the RCC concrete (T&C apply).
• Space is tightA pit-type weighbridge sits flush with the ground and needs no ramps. The pit vs pit-less guide explains the choice.

What a modular weighbridge still needs

“No foundation” does not mean “no preparation”. The surface decides how well the weighbridge weighs.

• A hard, level surfaceConcrete is ideal, or a steel base frame. Loose soil, fresh fill or a slope will make readings drift. Ask us for the base drawing for your size.
• Straight approachTrucks must drive on and off straight, not turn on the weighbridge.
• DrainageWater must run away from the load cells, not stand under the weighbridge.
• Power and earthingStable power for the indicator and computer, and earthing to protect the load cells from lightning.
• Calibration and stamping at every siteAfter each installation the weighbridge is calibrated again, and if you weigh for trade there it needs verification by Legal Metrology. Re-verification is every 12 months.

Questions to ask before you buy “portable”

Our free supplier questions checklist covers these and more, and the weighing error cost tool shows what a small error costs over a year.

Symphony modular weighbridge

Our modular weighbridge is a full-size, bolt-together steel weighbridge with ramps, built in our Ahmedabad workshop to OIML R76 Class III. It needs no foundation, installs within hours on a hard, level surface such as concrete, and moves with your project.

• 10 – 100 MTLengths 7 to 18 m in India; 24 m and longer for export. We have supplied Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique and Rwanda.
• Same electronics as a fixed weighbridgeAnalog or digital load cells (IP67/IP68), indicator, printer and the SMFW weighment software.
• Licensed and certifiedLegal Metrology model approval certificate and manufacturer licence held; ISO 9001:2015 certified.
• 9,780+ installations since 1998Fixed and modular weighbridges working across India and in Africa.
• SupportFree civil consultation, GSM modem and installation, a 1-year warranty, and dispatch in about 2 weeks from a commercially cleared order with PO.

We supply sites across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and all of India. To size it, see choosing capacity and size.

पोर्टेबल, मोबाइल या मॉड्यूलर वेटब्रिज: सही चयन

Modular weighbridge details Base drawing for your size