Testing & Quality Inspection
Maintaining a competitive edge New equipment is being introduced to improve productivity, speed up processing and maintain quality.
Controlling quality with portable system Portable measurement and imaging solutions p r o v i d e r F a r o Te c h n o l o g i e s , h a s i n t r o d u c e d a portable measurement arm for quality control through inspections, tool certifications, CAD-to-part analysis and reverse engineering. Built based on customers’ input, it incorporates existing benefits of a FaroArm, plus it is integrated with a personal measurement assistant. With its built-in touchscreen and on-board operating system, it provides stand-alone basic measurement capability and does not require a laptop to perform simple checks. O t h e r i m p r o v e m e n t s include connectivity via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, US B a n d E t h e r n e t while a smart sensor technology provides warnings against e x c e s s i v e external loads, corrects thermal variations and detects possible The portable Edge arm set-up problems. from Faro allows for The weight quality control distribution has also been improved with a patented internal counterbalancing; and a multi-function handle port allows interchangeable accessory integration. Sterilisation technology extended to bottles Electron beam technology supplier Advanced Electron Beams (AEB)’s e16ITB emitter, an “in-thebottle” product for sterilising PET and HDPE bottles, is designed specifically for the Asian market where bottles require a narrow nozzle emitter.
30
PRA
JUNE/JULY 2011
Derived from AEB’s e25ITB emitter platform, which is in use in FFS packaging applications, the emitter features a 16 mm diameter and 350 mm length nozzle, compatible with narrow neck bottles of up to 2 l. It is able to sterilise a single-serve bottle in 2 seconds, to support high-speed aseptic filling systems. The US company also says that electron beam-based bottle sterilisation offers a low cost of ownership and smaller footprint compared to traditional chemical-based sterilisation systems. Meanwhile, AEB has entered into an agreement with a major equipment OEM based in Japan. Pinpointing extrusion faults Italian company Gefran has expanded its Impact series of melt-pressure sensors with new versions designed to increase the safety of extruders in compliance with new international regulations. According to the company, the sensors were designed for greater strength (parts in contact with the process are reportedly up to 35 times stronger than normal probes), simplicity of installation (designed with floating mechanics) and reliability (a three-year warranty is offered), compared with standard melt-pressure sensors. The series complies with the latest revision of European Standard EN1114 concerning safety requirements of extruders with the new Performance Level C version. This version features smart electronics with auto-diagnostics to detect all possible fault conditions. NDC Infrared Engineering’s OptiMike meets the need for a measuring tool for thicker foamed sheet that would otherwise require nuclear gauges. Measuring across the crown of a roller, OptiMike measures the shadow cast on detectors from an array of LEDs, while an integral eddy-current sensor measures the proximity of the roller surface to calculate the exact caliper thickness of the product, without influence from the product density. OptiMike also offers an economic advantage through its single-sided configuration, reducing hardware requirements and easing installation. Another US company, Processing Technologies (PTi), is making available a real-time IV monitoring system to complement the HVTSE (high-vacuum twin-screw extrusion) system developed by Italian company Luigi Bandera for “dryerless” production of PET sheet. Bandera has installed more than 80 of these “dryerless” systems worldwide. The IV monitoring system is based on precise measurement of melt temperature and capillary piping pressures. These results are benchmarked against the ASTM D4603 Solution Test Method for measuring IV and possess an accuracy of ±0.02 dl/g. The test data are continuously fed into PTi’s flagship Titan control system. With the new Bluehill 3 materials testing software, Instron says it has an updated version of its software for measurement, test control and report generation. This enhanced software package is compatible with all its 3300, 5500 and 5900 series testing systems and has a number of tailored solutions, such as fully programmed application modules for testing, along with supporting documentation covering the relevant testing standards.