Mechanical balance expert? Help please!

[Froggman]

I recently acquired a beautiful piece of equipment- a Sartorius 2462 mechanical balance. I got it from someone who purchased it direct from a government lab. It got a bit shaken up while shipping and came with no manual. He couldn't figure the thing out so he sold it to me.

It appears to be in great working condition. I replaced all the mg weights and played around with the tare- all the knobs work and the lights are aligned- everything seems to be in order. Only one problem- it still doesn't work. I am in the process of getting a copy of the manual mailed to me- but in the meantime I am eagerly trying to figure out what I have wrong.

When you flip the switch, the fixture holdig the pan lowers and SHOULD be resting on the arm. However, this doesn't happen. It appears as if a part may be missing from between 2 sharp metal points at the top of the handle supporting the pan.

I have a digital picture but apparently I can't post it in this forum. If anyone thinks they can help, if you have a place I can post the pics or email them, they provide a much better idea of what I am trying to say than my piss poor description.

I feel sooo close, yet so far!

[nanobrain]

yes, and fixing analytical balances is not an easy ask. your best bet, short of calling the Sartorius tech support which you probably already did, would be to find a seller on Ebay, one who knows calibration, and contact them.

[Froggman]

I just wanted to update that between me reading the manual and the assistance of Sartorius technical support, I now have my balance up and running, accurate to 1/10 mg.

If any sartorius owners ever run into any problems, EMAIL CUSTOMER SUPPORT! My unit is 30 years old and discontinued, I am not the original buyer, yet they were as attentive and helpful as if I had just forked out a few grand for one of thier new units.

THANK YOU SARTORIUS!!

[nanobrain]

^whos' da man! ;-)

y'all read an learn.

[dirk]

Sorry I missed the original post frogman.

I was going to suggest that some sort of transit protection device had been activated perhaps.

what was the problem in the end?

[Froggman]

Turned out I was missing a small piece where the arm connects to the u-bracket (supporting the pan). Its called the stirrup plate and it got shaken loose in transit and was lodged behind the weight carrier.

Once I got this part in, it was just a matter of calibrating and adjusting sensitivity.

This will make my life much easier.

[Stimulants]

http://www.drugs-forum.com/photopost...rn_Balance.jpg

Here's a break down of how mechanical analytical balances work. It's critical that a beam arrest is activated prior to moving the balance. If it is shipped without activating the beam arrest, the knife edge pivot can break and that's the end of it. The knife edge is made of ruby or sapphire and it's very hard, yet brittle.