The first spring balance wheel was widely used in the 18th century. In Bilston, England, Richard Salter began making what today is known as a fisherman's scale, which used a spring balance to measure weight. Modern household scales have evolved from these early industrial prototypes. Today, the scale is based on the same spring-balanced philosophy.

The housing of the spring scale is made of stainless steel or aluminum. The interior consists of metal springs, pins, gears, and plastic. Gears can be made of aluminum, copper, brass, bronze, stainless steel, steel, nickel silver, monel, zinc, iron, or plastic. Anti-skid pads are made of a mixture of polyvinyl chloride and rubber.

There are many different types of scales; solar scale, electronic scale, digital scale, and spring scale, to name a few. These scales may also differ in what they measure. Some scales are able to measure a person's body fat percentage. Scales vary widely in color and size to suit all customer needs.

A typical spring scale consists of a weight transfer rod, a weight sensing mechanism, and a dial enclosed in a metal housing. Generally, the scale platform is equipped with non-slip pads, so that people will not slip off the scale platform.

As technology advances, so does the accuracy and application of scales. Today, scales can measure not only body weight but also body fat. These scales send gentle electrical currents through a person's feet and other parts of the body. The faster the signal travels through the body, the less fat there is. Software is also being developed to allow scales to track a person's weight loss or gain. Some are even able to track the weight of more than one person. These systems will be able to connect to software on home computers to better track weight loss or gain.

Xiangshan Chint Electric Co., Ltd. is an electronic scale factory in China. The company designs, processes and sells personal care scales, bathroom electronic scales, and other electronic scale products.