Most laboratory balances are made of stainless steel, which is a robust and hygienic material. The most important attribute that they have is their accuracy and resolution. In modern laboratory balances all necessary features, such as piece counting, formulation and tare function are available. These scales can be additionally operated with a set of batteries, which makes them independent from an external power supply. Of course the possibility of connecting them to a normal power supply is integrated, too.
Some models also have an integrated, automatic calibration, which fulfill the action of adjusting the balance. Models with an extendeable functionality are also available. Connecting the scales with an additional software package and interface offer the solution of editing the scale's collected data on the computer.
Laboratory balances appear in many different forms like hanging scales, digital scales and other sophisticated constructions. Sometimes laboratory scales are named diamond scales, which is correct, because the weighing range of some laboratory scales weighs in steps of 0,001 grams, and so it is possible to weigh a really lightweight diamond with this instrument.