Measuring melt flow resistance

Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc. released its Melt Flow Indexer, a table-top unit that tests the melt flow resistance of thermoplastics. The instrument comes pre-assembled with all necessary components, including a spare barrel and die, weights, piston rods, tungsten carbide dies, a die ejector, replacement cut-off knives, a cleaning tool, a charging tool, a level meter, a guide bushing, a filling funnel, two cylinders and a die cleaning tool. Its built-in microprocessor maintains temperatures within ±0.4 degrees Fahrenheit, accurately controlling for temperatures between 248 to 842 degrees Fahrenheit with a rapid ramp-up to the set temperature point. The adjustable built-in scraper mechanism, controllable to ±0.01 seconds, automatically cuts off excess material at preset intervals. The Melt Flow Indexer’s multi-line LCD display and tactile-feedback membrane keypad allow fast, accurate input of test parameters and provide continuous display of settings during testing, the company says. This product conforms to all national and international melt flow resistance standards, including BS EN ISO 1133 and ASTM D 1238, and retails for $5,305, it adds.

• Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc., 316 N.E. First St., Pompano Beach, Fla. 33060; 954/946-9454; gardco.com.

Packer and closer technology

Delkor Systems Inc. released two new products: the Delkor Capstone S2-1500 Carton Closer and the Delkor LIF-650 Case Packer with Integrated Closer. The carton closer is servo driven and equipped with recently patented Intelligent Positioning technology, which electronically analyzes the precise position of each individual carton flap as it enters the carton closer. If a carton is out of alignment, the positioning technology can make precise adjustments at speeds as fast as 150 cartons a minute, the company says. The 12-foot by 10-foot by 7-foot closer features a robust, stainless steel design complete with quality lifetime components and can handle any paperboard or corrugated material, it says. The Delkor LIF-650 Case Packer with Integrated Closer can load multiple case pack patterns in a single, compact and efficient packaging line, the company says. Featuring a robust stainless steel construction; an auto-clear infeed system that ensures continuous machine running even when defective products are present; a dual-axis, high-speed servo-laner that prevents product pile-up; and a unique stabilizing device that prevents products from tipping over and causing incomplete loads, the packer is designed to achieve perfect placement of primary packages into secondary packages, it says. When packed, the attached flange-style closer can close up to 60 packages a minute, it adds.

• Delkor Systems Inc., 8700 Rendova St. NE, Circle Pines, Minn. 55014; 800/328-5558; delkorsystems.com.

Water heater

Spirax Sarco Inc. introduced its RediHeat instantaneous water heater. Designed with a unique feed-forward temperature control system, RediHeat can instantly produce hot water within a range of ±4 degrees Fahrenheit of the set temperature, making it useful for hot water applications where tight temperature control and instant response to changes in demand are required, Spirax Sarco says. The unit also features a spiral-tubed helical heat exchanger for efficient heat transfer and a rugged casing and bourdon tube configuration that allows the entire assembly to expand and contract without localized stressing, the company says. A mechanical blending valve allows the operator to control the water temperature, and the unit’s blending valve fail-safe design prevents users from being exposed to water hotter than the set temperature, it says. To prevent the use of stagnant, bacteria-infected water, the unit heats water to 160 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit before mixing it with incoming cold water to create the desired temperature, it explains. RediHeat requires no extraneous power sources, controls or temperature sensors and only consumes energy on demand, which can save as much as 40 percent in energy costs, it adds.

• Spirax Sarco USA, 1150 Northpoint Blvd., Blythewood, S.C. 29016; 800/575-0394; spiraxsarco.com.

Thermal imaging camera calibrations

Wahl Instruments Inc., a division of Palmer Wahl Instrumentation Group, announced a new service plan for its Heat Spy Inspector series thermal imaging cameras. Every camera now comes with a free annual calibration (a $250 value) and free annual firmware updates for life. This quick, annual calibration will ensure that the camera continues to give consistent, quality temperature readings at all times in compliance with ISO standards, the company says.

• Palmer Wahl Instrumentation Group, 234 Old Weaverville Road, Asheville, N.C. 28804; 800/421-2853; palmerwahl.com.

Wastewater management

Genesis Water Technologies Inc. announced its new GWT series unique natural zeolite media for water/wastewater treatment and air filtration applications for the beverage industry. GWT zeolite natural media is an inorganic, micro-porous alumino-silicate material with many unique filtration properties, including a high cation exchange capacity (CEC), the company says. This media provides a cost-effective, environmentally safe solution for treating water, wastewater and air pollution contaminants, it says.

• Genesis Water Technologies Inc., 555 Winderely Place,

Suite 300, Maitland, Fla. 32751; 877/267-3699; genesiswatertech.com.

Speedy packing and wrapping

Douglas Machine Inc. released a high-speed carton stacking and shrink bundling system, which is useful for packing beverage containers, the company says. The Douglas Velocity Stacker accepts incoming cartons at a rate as fast as 400 cartons a minute, off-loads stacked cartons, and splits them into two-pack patterns. It then passes the packs using tunnel technology to the Douglas Contour M-50 dual-stream shrink bundler, which shrink-wraps the cartons at a high speed with low cost, it says.

• Douglas Machine Inc., 3404 Iowa St., Alexandria, Minn. 56308; 320/763-6587; douglas-machine.com.

Cooler panels

Entropy Solutions Inc. launched a new way to keep beverages in a cooler cold without ice. The Chillin’ Brew cooler panels are 10 inches by 10 inches by 1 inch and are filled with PureTemp solution, a 100 percent renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable technology derived from agricultural feed stocks that is formulated to absorb, store and release thermal energy at very specific temperatures, the company says. The panels fit inside most coolers and can keep any type of beer 0.1 degrees above the temperature when liquid beer turns to slush, it says. After keeping the cooler panel in a freezer for six to 10 hours, the panel can keep drinks cold all day, it adds. Each panel costs approximately $10.

• Entropy Solutions Inc., 151 Cheshire Lane, Suite 400, Plymouth, Minn. 55441; 952-941-0306; puretemp.com.   

System upgrades

H.B. Fuller Co. announced two advances for its Liquamelt adhesive system:  a bulk feed option that eliminates the need for on-floor staff to refill the adhesive reservoir and a gateway input/output (I/O) option that will allow the operator to monitor system operation through the packaging machine control system. The bulk feed capability delivers the Liquamelt adhesive into a 30-liter drum, 50-gallon drum or 2,500-pound tote, which all are located remotely. In this way, the Liquamelt adhesive can be safely transferred from the sealed containers to the packaging machines through common non-heated fluid hoses, the company says. These options maintain the Liquamelt system’s cool-on-delivery, hot-on-demand operating approach by delivering room-temperature liquid adhesive from a variety of package options to the Liquamelt application equipment reservoir, it says. This closed, continuous- fill operation also can help reduce waste and operating costs, it adds. The gateway I/O option enables external communication, provides machine health status, and allows monitoring of the Liquamelt adhesive system to ensure efficient and reliable line operation, it says.

• H.B. Fuller Co., 1200 Willow Lake Blvd., St. Paul, Minn. 55110; 888/423-8553; www.hbfuller.com.

Stock bottle for distillers

Owens-Illinois launched its Imperial specialty stock bottle. Imperial features a broad-shouldered frame and a wide label panel for high visibility and strong shelf presence, the company says. Its dramatic tapering also gives the illusion that it is being lifted above other bottles on the shelf, it adds.

• Owens-Illinois Inc., 1 Michael Owens Way, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551; 567/336-5000; o-i.com.

Measuring the environment

T&D Corp. released its new TR-74Ui-H Illuminance UV Recorder, a high-precision data logger that can simultaneously measure temperature, humidity, illuminance and luminosity. It can measure temperatures between 10 and 40 degrees Celsius with an accuracy of ±0.3 degrees Celsius with an overall range of -30 to 80 degrees Celsius; humidity with an accuracy of ±2.5 percent (at 25 degrees Celsius, 10 to 85 percent relative humidity) with an overall range of 0 to 99 percent relative humidity; ultraviolet light (UV) at a range from 0 to 30 milliwatts/cm2; luminosity at a range from 0 to 130,000 lux; and low light resolution at a range from 0 to 0.01 lux. It also displays cumulative illuminance and cumulative amount of UV light on the unit’s LCD screen. The compact recorder runs on one AA battery and can store 32,000 readings across the four channels in either the one-time or endless recording mode. Information can be downloaded from the recorder by connecting it to a computer using the unit’s USB port.

• T&D Corp., Shimadachi 817-1, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0852 Japan; + 81 263 40 0131; tandd.com.

pH meter for Apple devices

Sensorex developed an iPhone-, iPod- and iPad-compatible pH meter. The PH-1 pH meter accessory plugs into the charging socket on the Apple device and interacts with the iPhone, iPod or iPad through a free Sensorex app. Sensorex’s pH electrode can measure pH with an accuracy of 0.01 pH in the range of 0 to 14 pH in ambient temperatures of 0 to 40 degrees Celsius in solutions of 0 to 100 degrees Celsius. The app records and displays the pH reading, millivolts, ambient temperature and solution temperature in real time. Additionally, the GPS feature allows readings to be marked with timestamps and geographic locations. Data history can then be grouped by date or location and exported individually or in .csv format through email.

 • Sensorex, 11751 Markon Drive, Garden Grove, Calif. 92841; 714/895-4344; sensorex.com.