Touch-screen technology

Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc. offers its RX-I series Digital Refractometers featuring touch-screen technology. The series complies with Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points, Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Laboratory Practices standards, the company says. Four measurement modes are available: Mode-1 is for maximum accuracy and displays the measurement value once the sample reaches target temperature; Mode-2 is for fast results and measures refractive index and temperature at fixed intervals and displays the estimated measurement value at target temperature; Mode-S is for emulsion samples and displays the measurement value once a certain level of sample stability is achieved; and Mode-3 is for no temperature control, which provides an option to turn the thermo-module off. Without temperature control, the measurement value is displayed 4 seconds after the start key is pressed, the company says.

Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc., 316 N.E. First St., Pompano Beach, Fla. 33060;

954/946-9454; gardco.com.

Steam system assistance

Spirax Sarco released the new TVA Target Variable Area flowmeter.

Designed for use on saturated steam, the TVA is available in DN50, DN80 and DN100 sizes. With a wide flow range turndown ratio of 50-to-1, it is ideal for applications with large variations in flow rates, the company says. The integral electronics unit removes the need for a differential pressure transmitter, impulse lines and additional equipment, it adds. A built-in temperature sensor provides full density compensation and enables power, energy, flow, total flow, pressure and temperature to be displayed on the on-board LCD display. All flow parameters are fully configured on an integral keypad so no additional tools or configurations are required for setup and commissioning. Communication with many different host systems is possible with a choice of Digital ModBus, 4-20mA and pulse outputs. The TVA is supplied as a fully calibrated unit. The design of a variable area cone in flow path makes it highly resistant to erosion from water droplets in saturated steam, the company says. As a result, it can be installed for long periods without deterioration in accuracy, it says. It has a wafer construction and requires only six diameters of straight pipe upstream and three downstream, making it suitable for installation in confined spaces.

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

Shrink sleeve application

Karlville Development released a shrink sleeve prototyping system called the Steambox. The Steambox was designed to help converters simulate the shrinkage process of full-size steam tunnels in house, without having to buy an expensive steam tunnel, the company says. The compact design and affordability of the Steambox makes it the ideal tool for shrink label testing, it says. The Steambox’s patented design is easy to transport and quick to set up, the company says.

Karlville Development, 1111 Brickell Bay Drive, Miami, Fla. 33131; 305/533-1051; karlville.com.

Safety equipment

Wildeck offers its EdgeGard Dock Gates. The EdgeGard Dock Gates help protect personnel and equipment from falling off wide truck pits and loading docks thanks to a barrier that’s easy to operate by one person, the company says. Customers can choose from two designs: a straight-rail gate or the folding-rail design, which has a pivot point in the center of the gate that folds up and protects a wider opening. When properly anchored, EdgeGard Dock Gates meet the 200-pound OSHA 1910.23 load force protection requirement, the company says. The smooth cantilever action of the EdgeGard Dock Gates allow for easy operation and long service life, it says. When raised, the gate completely clears the opening, offering unimpeded traffic flow and maximum accessibility. When closed, the gate is held securely in place and does not move; top rails are 42 inches high (above floor level) when closed.

Wildeck, 405 Commerce St., Waukesha, Wis. 53186; 262/549-4000; wildeck.com.

Motion technology

Progressive Edge introduced a new technology to enhance the light box and grab customers’ attention with the Mirell Interchange Click Frame. The application can keep the sign very bright or set it to a “slow fade in and out” to grab attention, the company says. The aluminum frame snaps open for quick and easy graphic changing, it adds. The high quality LED-illuminated lit panel is very bright and can be created in any size. The company is able to brand logos onto the frame, it says.

Progressive Edge, 801 S. Yonge St., Suite 6, Ormond Beach, Fla. 32174; 386/677-2221; naturesflashlite.com.

V-Belt drives

TB Wood’s Inc. released its new premium V-Belt drives that provide exceptional performance in aggressive applications, the company says. Premium belts from TB Wood’s have high power density and stretch dramatically less than standard cross sections, which make them ideal for use on problem drives requiring high-impact strength and load-carrying power, it says. Banded belts feature a multiple layer tie band that provides excellent lateral rigidity to prevent belts from turning over or from coming off of the drive, the company says. Premium Singles are available for applications when banded belts are not an option. Single belts can be used with deep groove sheaves and drives with limited room for “take up.” They also can be an “A” section solution for multi-groove A/B sheaves. TB Wood’s Premium V-belts can handle 1.4 to 2.2 times more horsepower than equivalent sized standard V-belts, so one can design a more compact drive that weighs less, puts less strain on costlier components and uses fewer belts, the company says.

TB Wood’s Inc., 440 N. Fifth Ave., Chambersburg, Pa. 17201; 717/264-7161; tbwoods.com.

Tire selection

Michelin introduced XZA3+ Evertread Steer Tire. The tire is EPA SmartWaySM verified. The new steer tire is designed to last at least 30 percent longer in long-haul applications, the company says. The XZA3+ Evertred tire is able to deliver significantly longer wear life due to Michelin’s new generation of Co-Ex Technology, which is its patent-pending Dual Compound Tread, it adds. This technology allows tire designers to use multiple rubber compounds at different places in the tread. One compound is specifically engineered to control tread stiffness and stress to reduce irregular wear, delivering unrivaled tread life without compromising other characteristics, the company says. Another compound delivers ultra fuel-efficiency and keeps the tire’s operating temperatures low, guarding the casing for retreading, it says. The tire also features a three-retread limited warranty.

Michelin North America Inc., 1 Parkway South, Greenville, S.C. 29615; 866-866-6605; michelin-us.com.

Stretch wrapper advancements

Lantech released its Q-300XT. Designed to eliminate fork truck driver dismounts, the patented XT film cut-and-clamp system features space-age composite parts andallows a 10-inch offset for most loads, while providing automatic attachment of the film to the load and cutting of the film upon completion of the wrap cycle. The fully guarded cut-and-clamp system flips up for easy cleaning. The new design cut-and-clamp module is standard on all XT-equipped Lantech machines, and a retrofit kit for existing machines with the XT cut-and-clamp module will be available for select models. The Q-300XT stretch wrapper allows the fork truck operator to drive up, position the pallet on the turntable, start the machine with a lanyard switch or a wireless Click-n-Go remote, and drive away without getting off the fork truck, the company says. Simple Automation of the Q-300XT reduces wear and tear on fork truck operators and equipment, it adds. The Q-300XT wraps loads up to 80-inches tall and weighing up to 4,000 pounds. The Q-300XT stretch wrapping machine is designed to improve operator friendliness with a larger load-placement window for its automatic film cut-and-clamp system, the company says.

Lantech, 11000 Bluegrass Pkwy.,

Louisville, Ky. 40299; 800/866-0322;

lantech.com.

Case layer solution

RMT Robotics, a Cimcorp Oy company, introduced its newest robotic gantry-based case, layer and crate picking solutions for beverage distribution. The new case and layer picking gantry systems are designed specifically to meet high-volume, high-SKU distribution demands.

Answering the call for smaller individual order volumes, the systems offer greater product variety for each order and significantly higher frequency in distribution, the company says. The RMT Robotics picking systems offer scalable and profitable alternatives to manual and semi-automated case picking for beverage distribution operations, it says. The RMT Robotics automated fulfillment system orchestrates the activity of an automated storage and retrieval system, conveyor and multiple robotic gantries to systematically pick products individually or in groups and send them to the dock face in an optimized trailer load or palletizing sequence.

RMT Robotics Ltd., 635 S. Service Road, Ontario, Canada, L3M 4E8;

905/643-9700; rmtrobotics.com.

Filling machine

Filamatic offers its DAB-5 Semi-Automatic Benchtop filling machine. The Filamatic DAB-5 machine is fully customizable and has the ability to be transformed into an automatic packaging line from its current semi-automatic status, the company says. The DAB Series accommodates free flowing, semi-viscous, viscous, molten products and product with particulates, it says. The DAB-5 fills size ranges from 1 ml. to 130 ml. and has the ability to fill a wide range of containers including plastic and glass bottles, the company says.

Filamatic, 4119 Fordleigh Road,

Baltimore, Md. 21215; 866/258-1914;

filamatic.com.

Enhanced lift trucks

The Raymond Corp., in collaboration with Seegrid, developed automated lift trucks that integrate vision guided technology, known as Guided by Seegrid. Raymond automated lift trucks use open architecture with a standardized interface to integrate the Guided by Seegrid technology. The result is a standard Raymond lift truck with both man-on and man-off automated functionality, the company says. When an operator drives a Raymond lift truck that has a vision guided system through a facility, the truck learns the individual steps of the operation it will be performing, such as transporting a pallet of goods from one location to another within a warehouse. A lift truck equipped with the vision guided system that does not require lasers, tape, wires or additional infrastructure, can learn up to 15 miles of routes in unlimited configurations. The automated lift truck is able to replace manned vehicles in automating repetitive tasks in various warehouse, distribution, manufacturing and process industries.

The Raymond Corp., P.O. Box 130, Greene, N.Y. 13778; 607/656-2311;

raymondcorp.com.