Controls & Machine Components

DuPont Packaging: Barrier film

A new barrier film, made with nylon and a new grade of DuPont (Wilmington, DE) Surlyn® packaging resin, was developed by Italian converter Alcom Srl (Campogalliano, Italy).

September 30, 1998

Controls & machine components: Page 352

Conveying & accumulation

Robot gains 'eyesight'

Guided by a simple, compact vision system, a robotic depalletizer picks three 65-lb bags of seed at a time, handling even the most irregular loads without failing.

September 30, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Berry Plastics: Square container

A square HDPE container is now available from Berry Plastics (Evansville, IN). The modular design is said to increase shelf space and pallet utilization by up to 30% versus standard round containers.

September 30, 1998

Flexible packaging

All-Fill Inc: All-Fill Inc: Auger system

All-Fill (Exton, PA) has introduced a color catalog sheet featuring its servo motor direct-drive Multi-Fill auger systems. These provide fast, accurate, multi-positioned dispensing of powders and viscous products typically encountered with vf/f/s machines, horizontal thermoformers, strip packers, pocket vacuum formers, pouch makers and rotary cup machines.

September 30, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Forum for Adhesive Closure Technologies: Case packaging trends

A new white paper, "Case packaging trends drive evaluation of sealing methodology," examines the trend toward upgraded shipping cases and their use as product marketing tools.

September 30, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Avery Dennison Retail Information Systems (Printer Div.): Tag and label software

A new tag and label software program for manufacturers and repackagers of medical and surgical equipment and supplies is now available from Avery Dennison Printer Systems (Philadelphia, PA).

September 30, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: I/O trends white paper

A white paper on trends in control system I/O is available from Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley (Milwaukee, WI). Provides a basic understanding of what I/O is and a brief summary of the evolution of control system I/O.

September 30, 1998

Conveying & accumulation

Linear conveyor

A linear, differential-motion conveyor, the Auto-Glide® is available from Smalley Mfg. (Knoxville, TN). Operates at rates to 40'/min. The conveyor's vibratory action occurs in a horizontal plane, via a gentle shuffling action.

September 30, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Parker Hannifin Corporation: Basics of pneumatic technology

A new 170-page textbook from Parker Hannifin's motion control training department serves as a basic training manual in industrial pneumatics, ranging from gas laws to pneumatic logic to circuitry.

September 30, 1998

Secondary Packaging

A new record for distributed control (sidebar)

How distributed control spreads the burden

September 30, 1998

Conveying & accumulation

Bringing a glacier to the consumer

On Vancouver Island, a brand new PET bottling line fed by an in-line stretch blow-molding machine is packaging right from a glacier some of the purest water on the planet.

September 30, 1998

Palletizing/depalletizing

Pack Expo week is a machinery extravaganza and more

Swirling around Pack Expo 98 are seminars and technical conferences that round out the Pack Expo experience. Robotics.

September 30, 1998

Conveying & accumulation

A new record for distributed control

Music distributor Valley Media cuts downtime by more than 50% on its newest labeling/sortation/collating line. A network of micro PLCs controls the line as well as gathers performance data to speed troubleshooting.

September 30, 1998