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A bending beam load cell is a transducer that converts force or weight into an electrical signal, usually by using four or more strain gauges in a Wheatsone bridge formation.

The bending beam load cell often takes the form of a dual cantilever design, which gives it the important properties of moment insensitivity.

This property is sometimes known as "off-centre loading" capability or "single-point" capability, and makes the load cell very useful for weighing platforms that are supported in the centre by one load cell only. Most retail scales (shop scales) are made by using this type of load cell.

In the case where bending beams are not of the dual cantilever single point type, it is usually necessary to use several load cells, supporting a platform or a framework that distributes the load evenly amongst the load cells.

Multiple load cell outputs are wired in parallel and their outputs are then summed to give the total load result. In the case of floor scales and other applications where the load can be positioned off-center, then it may be necessary to trim the outputs of the individual load cells so that the load result is the same, regardless of load position on the scale. Such devices are known as summing junction boxes or trimming boxes, and can be found in the OTHER PRODUCTS selection on the Mantracourt website.

The output of such load cells is usually in the region of 2 mV/V at full load, which makes them suitable for use with any of Mantracourt's strain gauge amplifiers, digitisers and controllers.