Sustainability

Bottle made of OCC and ONP

Holding 50 oz of laundry detergent, this molded-pulp bottle—recyclable and compostable—is actually a shell with a LDPE liner inside that holds the product.

April 11, 2011

Trends: Page 477

Cartoning

Digital printer does the work of two machines it replaces

Machine delivers superior print quality to the foil lidding on new blister thermoform/fill/seal line at contract packager Apace Packaging LLC.

April 11, 2011

Flow wrapping

Servo technology--the source of Merlin's magic

A four-axis wrapping machine becomes easier to build, install, and troubleshoot now that mechanical components have been replaced by servo-based alternatives.

April 9, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Nestlé makes packaging a strategic priority

Profitably proud of its controls technology in process automation, Nestlé now sees bottom-line opportunities by paying more attention to packaging line efficiency.

April 9, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Red Lion: Software used to program dual line display meter

Red Lion’s free Crimson® 2.0 software can now be used to simply program the company’s dual line display panel meter, PAX2A.

April 8, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

AutomationDirect: Safety light curtains

Two series of AutomationDirect’s safety light curtains (active optoelectronic protective devices) provide human protection and product/machine safety where risks cannot be eliminated by machine design and the process might require frequent and open access during operation.

April 8, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Siemens Industry Inc: Quick-release mechanism protects cables

Siemens’ Speed Connect is a quick-release mechanism that protects against vibration shakeout on its Motion-Connect® line of power and signal cables.

April 8, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Omron Electronics LLC: Safety interlock switch

The D40Z Safety Interlock Switch from Omron Scientific Technologies is a compact, non-contact interlock switch that delivers category 4 safety protection.

April 8, 2011

Controls & machine components

Banner Engineering Corp.: Intuitive touchscreen vision sensor

The iVu Plus touchscreen vision sensor from Banner Engineering stores up to 30 inspections and distinguishes among up to 10 patterns with a new sort sensor function.

April 8, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Schneider Electric: PLC for HVAC/R machines

Schneider Electric’s Modicon M168 PLC uses flexible architectures, customized design and SoHVAC software to help OEMs and end users to remotely monitor energy consumption, machine shutdowns, and other problems, improving performance, optimizing costs, and speeding time-to-market for HVAC/R machines.

April 8, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Omron Electronics LLC: Omron Electronics LLC: Slim safety door switches

Omron Scientific Technologies’ D4GS-N Slim Safety Door Switches are 17 mm wide, feature IP67 protection, and come with a tongue actuated design to fit in skinny spaces subject to water washdown cleaning.

April 6, 2011

Controls & Machine Components

Schneider Electric: Free online catalog of 3D CAD drawings for automation and control products

Schneider Electric’s 3D CAD drawings for its automation and control products are available to OEMs and end-users for free on its web site so that customers can download the drawings from the catalog into their designs, allowing shorter design time and faster time to market.

April 6, 2011

Operational Excellence

Video: Serialization video from Interphex New York

IMprints track-and-trace serialization includes printing and vision systems to develop a parent-child relationship between primary and secondary packaging, as explained in this video by Jim Kerper, Videojet's brand protection solutions account manager.

April 4, 2011