» » » Intercomp Customizes On-Board Scale System for Scale-Ready Installation on Clark
Clarks Ag Supply, an innovator in the design of seed tender systems since 2000, was searching for a better option for installing on-board weighing systems on Easiload seed tenders. The system they were previously using increased the height and weight of the Easiload system, and its complex design could take an entire day for customers to retrofit into their seed tender after purchase.
Clarks Ag Supply listens to its customers, and through the past 22 years, has gone through an evolution of what works and what doesn’t. It was critical to find a better on-board weighing option that was easier to install and would not increase the height of the seed tender. Intercomp designed that solution.
The original scale system Clarks had been using required an existing seed tender to be heavily disassembled before it could be installed, requiring the fabrication of multiple parts and hours of labor. It was difficult to field install if purchased by a Clarks dealer or customer after the tender sale and wasn’t much easier to install in the Clarks factory before delivery. It also used a large subframe with multiple custom mounts and hex bolts to hold the load cells in place, which increased the height and weight of the Easiload system—a significant drawback when the low-profile design was one of its major selling points.
After examining the equipment, Intercomp’s engineering team developed an inventive solution: a scale system designed to replace the spacer in the existing mounting bracket of the Easiload seed tenders. Originally, the design included a round-bar hitch load cell that still required a small amount of fabrication. Over time, however, it was improved and eventually replaced with a ladder hitch load cell, making it easier to adjust hitch height while decreasing installation time even further. Through these design improvements, Clarks saved hours of manufacturing time whenever a customer added a scale package to an order. Additionally, previous Easiload customers could now install a scale system that was a true drop-in replacement for the mounting brackets on their existing machine with no fabrication required.
Hours of labor savings were not the only benefits Clarks and their customers experienced after switching to an Intercomp On-Board Scale System. Included in the package is an Intercomp 720 Series indicator that streamlines the installation of auto-dispense functionality, increasing operational efficiency by ensuring accurate weights for every load. Additionally, the 720 Series indicators feature a bright 1.5-inch (35.1 mm) LED screen that provides clear visibility in all lighting conditions, an important advantage when operations sometimes run around the clock.
Intercomp’s design reduced the time required to install the scale system by 50% while maintaining the low-profile design of the Clarks Easiload seed tender. Customers also benefited from a highly accurate auto-dispense feature and enhanced indicator visibility after upgrading to an Intercomp On-Board Scale System.
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