Our example works with both A&D Weighing HR Series and Mettler Toledo AE Series balances. You will need the balance's technical documentation, identifying its communication commands and returned data formats. You also need a balance with a bi-directional serial (RS-232C) communication interface and the proper cable to connect the instrument to your workstation. You will also need the free XMComm communication control (see download and installation instructions below) and WinZip or other software capable of extracting ZIP archives. To follow the example, you will need Excel 97 or a newer version. This article provides step-by-step instructions to create a new Excel workbook with the infrastructure required to read weighing data directly from your balance. Since then, Mountain States Consulting LLC (Jackson, Wyo.) has used Excel extensively to help users of its laboratory information management system, MSC-LIMS, integrate their existing Excel reports, instrument data, and data entry spreadsheets with their LIMS software. When Microsoft made Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) the standard development environment in its Office 97 product line, Excel 97 gained significant developer features, resulting in a powerful general purpose programming platform.

A single button click or keystroke retrieves the balance's weighing results and places it directly into an Excel cell using only Excel and a free communications control. However, on its own, Microsoft Excel offers a simple solution. Some balance vendors provide software tools to retrieve the data, and third parties also sell software for this purpose. Reading the balance's data directly into the Excel(tm) spreadsheet program, manufactured by Microsoft (Redmond, Wash.), eliminates manual data entry and associated errors.īut you may have avoided interfacing the instrument because of the extra software required and the perceived complexities. You probably know that your lab's balance has a communication interface that can transmit data to a computer. This article originally appeared in the June/July 2004 issue of Water Environment Laboratory Solutions published by the Water Environment Federation® (Alexandria, Virginia), Do-It-Yourself Automated Mass Readings How to transfer analytical balance readings directly into an Excel worksheet Home / Articles / Articles and Case Studies / Do-It-Yourself

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