Handling and lifting

Load cell and load limiter

You want to know what you are lifting, to be warned before a limit, or to be unable to exceed it.
Three points decide:
the function wanted, where the device sits, how it is connected to the machine.
A photo of the machine and of its lifting point is enough to start.

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Describe my need

Three side-by-side views of the same lifting chain: on the left and on the right a shackle joining the chain to flat slings, in the centre a dynamometer load cell fitted between two shackles, its needle dial reading 8.7 t. — It fits in line in the chain, between two shackles:
the suspended load passes through it, and it displays it.
Synthetic image.

Three functions not to be confused:
measuring the load, warning when a limit approaches, preventing the manoeuvre that would exceed it.
The load cell measures;
only a device designed and connected for it can prevent.

Other names for this tool: lifting load cell, dynamometer, load indicator, load limiter.

The essentials

Family: Handling and lifting
Machines concerned: All
Fitting: Fitted in line, or installed on the machine
Power supply: Depending on the device; the machine's 12 or 24 V on-board electrical system for an installed limiter; power: we calculate it with you for your machine

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01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the load cell, fitted at the hook, displays the weight of the suspended load. On the right, the limiter cuts the movement at the threshold and the arm stops by itself. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** the load cell, fitted at the hook, displays the weight of the suspended load.
**Right:** the limiter cuts the movement at the threshold and the arm stops by itself.
What sets them apart:
the load cell informs and assumes that someone looks at the right moment; the limiter is a safety device.
Computer-generated image.

**Left:** the load cell, fitted at the hook, displays the weight of the suspended load.
**Right:** the limiter cuts the movement at the threshold and the arm stops by itself.
What sets them apart:
the load cell informs and assumes that someone looks at the right moment; the limiter is a safety device.
Computer-generated image.

Electronic load cell hanging from an overhead crane hook, its red display lit, a metal load hooked beneath it above foundry flames. — The load cell fits between the hook and the load and displays its weight during lifting.
Here under an overhead crane; on an excavator, it is placed in the same way between the lifting point and the load.
Photo:
Friedmannskalle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Green mechanical hanging scale with a large dial graduated up to 2000 kg, hung from a shackle, with a lifting hook underneath. — A 2 t dial scale:
ring at the top, hook at the bottom, the reading is taken from the needle.
Photo:
Fst76 at German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, badge and markings removed.

A load cell is placed between the hitching point and the load, or is built into the lifting chain.
It displays what the suspended load weighs.
It is information:
it informs the driver, it does not stop them.

A load limiter monitors the loading of the machine.
Depending on the device and how it is connected, it warns the driver when the limit approaches, or it inhibits the movements that would make the situation worse.
Inhibition only exists if the device is designed for it and connected to the machine's controls:
it is checked in its instructions, it is not assumed.
On a machine used for lifting, this kind of device is not a matter of comfort.

Weighing is not limiting. A load cell well read by an attentive driver replaces no safety device, because it assumes that someone looks and decides at the right moment.
Lifting with an earthmoving machine assumes suitable devices and a periodic inspection:
we supply the part and the information, the conformity of your organisation is yours.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

A load cell or a load limiter suits all machines.
It fits in at the hook, or is installed on the machine.
The lifting capacity at the working reach: we calculate it with you for your machine, to be checked in your machine's handbook.

What the tool does

Depending on the device and its connection, it measures the load, gives a warning, or blocks the movements.
The working load limit, the weight and the chosen function: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It runs on electricity, depending on the device.
A fitted limiter connects to the machine's 12 or 24 V on-board electrical system.
It can also have its own battery.
The voltage and the power: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Figures taken from our models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Tell us whether you want to know what you are lifting, to be warned before a limit, or to be unable to exceed it.
These three requests do not lead to the same equipment.

What we need to answer you

Your machine Its exact make and model.
What is fitted What equips the machine today.
The on-board electrical system Its voltage: 12 or 24 V.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

04 Choice

What determines the choice

Each point says what changes the choice.
The values, we check them in your carrier's instructions and in the tool's.

01 — Measure, warn or prevent The question to settle first:
each function calls for a different device and a different connection.
02 — The intended use Invoicing a load, recording a loading operation or making a lift safe:
these are not the same instruments.
03 — The place in the chain Between the hitch and the load, or built into the machine:
the accuracy and the robustness are not the same.
04 — Legibility from the cab A displayed value that the driver cannot see is of no use.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

The exact use expected Information, traceability or safety:
say it clearly, that is where everything is decided.
The connection A device that acts on the movements is connected to the machine, not only to the tool.
Checking and calibration A measuring instrument drifts;
a safety device is checked and recorded.
The requirements specific to your activity They depend on what you do and they bind you:
we supply the part, not the conformity.

Weighing the load

The hitching points

The safety of the machine

To go further

Family: Handling and lifting
Trade: Pipelayer and services
Trade: Railways
Compatibility: The seven criteria in detail →