A&D FX-123 Breeze Break Setup for Reloading and Lab Benches

A 122 g × 0.001 g balance will chase air. The A&D FX-123 ships with A&D’s standard small breeze break for that reason. On the discontinued FX-120i, the factory shield is the 3.4 in FX-i-10. Fortis uses the same short-shield idea — A&D’s small breeze break, accessory FX-10 if you ever need a spare — and lists the instrument at 176 mm high with that break installed. This post is about seating that shield and setting the bench so the last digit stops wandering.

Buy the A&D FX-123 — $675 → Small breeze break is in the box.

What ships on the FX-123

The live All Scales USA FX-123 page lists a small breeze break in the box. A&D’s Fortis literature calls it the small breeze break and publishes 193 × 262.5 × 176 mm with that break on, versus 85.5 mm high without it. We do not print a Fortis “3.4 inch” callout as an A&D factory spec, because A&D does not print that number on the Fortis datasheet. The 3.4 in figure is the documented FX-i factory shield on the FX-120i (part FX-i-10), with FX-i-11 at 7.9 in as the tall option. If you are coming off a 120i, the FX-123 short shield is the same class of fix: a low draft cover over a Ø130 mm pan, not a full analytical chamber.

A&D also sells FX-11 as the large Fortis breeze break. Do not assume you need the tall one for powder charges or small lab samples. Start with the standard small break. Raise height only if you have tall glassware that will not fit.

Placement that actually matters

Milligram work fails more often from the room than from the sensor. Put the FX-123 on a dedicated, solid surface. A folding table, a shared packing bench, or the same board your press lives on will couple vibration into the pan. Keep the scale away from HVAC registers, open windows, ceiling fans, and the sweep of a door. Do not park it under a shop AC vent that dumps every time the compressor kicks on.

Seat the breeze break fully. A shield that is cocked, resting on a cable, or left half-off is decoration. The pan should sit inside the break, not under a gap that turns the cover into a wind tunnel. Route RS-232 and USB so they do not lift one side of the housing. Level the feet after the cables are in place, not before.

Keep hands, powder tricklers, and compressed-air nozzles from blasting across the pan opening. A trickler that works is still a fan if the motor sits where it can push air through the break. Offset the dispenser so the air path is not a straight shot at the pan.

Reloading bench setup

On a reloading bench the FX-123 is usually doing powder charges, charge checks, and component sorts. Give it its own zone — not between a case feeder and an open garage door. Warm it up. Close the breeze break. Zero, then weigh. AutoTrickler V4 is listed on the live FX-123 page over RS-232; still confirm firmware and adapters with the trickler maker.

Powder and air do not get along. Keep cans closed. Do not set up next to a window fan you use to clear solvent smell. If the last digit hunts only when the AC starts, you found the draft. Move the scale or kill that vent. Do not “average it in your head.” That is how 0.001 g work turns into folklore.

The included 100 g Texan-tested calibration weight belongs in a case, not loose in a primer drawer. After you move the bench or the seasons change, run external calibration with the breeze break on and the room quiet. See our calibration post once it is live, and keep the official A&D Fortis instruction manual bookmarked.

Lab and QC benches

The same physics apply in a lab. The FX-123 is a process milligram balance, not a 0.1 mg analytical with a three-door chamber. Keep it off a hot-plate counter. If your SOP needs a taller chamber or legal-for-trade status, that is a different SKU.

More milligram and toploading options: precision balances. Extra masses: calibration weights. Also listed at MNM Scales.

FAQ

Is the FX-123 breeze break 3.4 inches?

The discontinued FX-120i factory shield is documented as 3.4 in (FX-i-10). The FX-123 ships with A&D’s standard small Fortis breeze break. A&D publishes 176 mm overall height with that small break installed. Same short-shield class, different generation and part numbers (Fortis spare: FX-10).

Do I have to use the breeze break for powder?

Use it. 0.001 g on an open pan next to a ceiling fan is a waste of a Fortis sensor. The break is in the box because A&D expects air movement to be a problem at this readability.

Can I run it without the shield in a glovebox?

A&D notes the Fortis small break is removable for confined spaces. If you remove it, the room or the enclosure has to replace that draft control. Do not pull the shield on an open reloading bench and then blame the scale.

Buy the A&D FX-123 — $675 → All Scales USA, 21249 FM 529 Rd, Cypress, TX 77433. (832) 766-5410 · pete@allscales.com.

Related: FX-123 vs FX-120i · how to calibrate the FX-123 · FX-123 as a lab balance.