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Uncertainty of Analytical Balances

Quantify the Accuracy of Your Weighing Results

Uncertainty of analytical balances refers to the range of potential errors or deviations that can occur during the weighing process, resulting in uncertainty in the measured weight. It represents the doubt associated with a particular measurement result.

All analytical balances have an inherent measurement uncertainty. To ensure your analytical balance provides you with accurate and precise weighing results, you need to determine the measurement uncertainty of your analytical balance. The smaller the measurement uncertainty of your analytical balance, the better its performance.

Determination of Measurement Uncertainty

To determine the measurement uncertainty of your balance you need to calibrate it in the actual place of use of the instrument. This will allow you to quantify how accurate your weighing results really are by providing you with a plus/minus range over your weighing results. For accurate measurements and quality you can trust, it’s highly important to identify the estimated range of your measurement uncertainty so that you weigh within your allowed measurement uncertainty limits. In the example below, the plus/minus range corresponds to the 0.0001 g in 4 g ± 0.0001 g.

Why Do I Need a Balance or Scale Calibration with a Certificate?

METTLER TOLEDO offers Accuracy Calibration Certificate (ACC) to help you determine the measurement uncertainty of your weighing results. The ACC quantifies the accuracy (measurement uncertainty) of your analytical balance over the entire weighing range. To assess if this balance performance is good enough for you and your needs, the unique GWP® Certificate, as an annex to the ACC, performs the fit-for-purpose check, by comparing your needs to the actual performance.

ACC provides uncertainty of analytical balances shown with a plus/minus weight range (±) as in e.g. 3 kg ± 0.015 kg or ± 0.5%.With ACC you can benefit from:

A globally harmonized method
A calibration procedure set up according to the globally acclaimed EURAMET cg-18 calibration guidelines
Results in an easy-to-understand format
Various annexes to analyze the calibration results, each giving a clear pass/fail statement for certain tolerances applied