Driving home reliability

NORD Gear Corp. offers its Screw Conveyor Package, a compact, reliable and cost-effective alternative to traditional screw conveyor drives, the company says. It uses closely stepped speed reduction ratios with a directly coupled gear motor, or NEMA C-face input design, which eliminates the need for top motor mounts, pulleys, belts or guards. NORD’s screw conveyor drive options feature a Unicase reducer housing, Quadrilip reducer shaft sealing and optional high capacity output bearings with CEMA standard flange mounting and CEMA drive shafts ranging from 1 1/2 inches to 3 7/16 inches. The Screw Conveyor Package is available for both Clincher Parallel Shaft gear units and helical-bevel right angle gear units.

NORD Gear Corp. USA, 800 Nord Drive, Waunakee, Wis. 53587; 888/314-6673; nord.com.

Easy to read

Siemens expanded its line of Simatic RF600 RFID products with new transponders containing large memory capacities and a compact mobile read/write device. With a 4 kilobyte capacity, the Simatic RF622T and RF622L ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification transponders can store large volumes of data while rapidly accessing tagged objects, the company says. The carriers are ideal for production control, asset management and intra-logistics distributed configurations. The ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) of the RF622T and RF622L transponders enables high-speed writing as well as an unlimited number of write cycles. Siemens’ Simatic RF650M mobile handheld reader reliably identifies large numbers of transponders as far as three meters away. Designed for logistics and service applications, the reader features a color touch display with a 240-by-320 pixel resolution, a rugged keypad and a large trigger button.

Siemens Digital Factory Division, 3333 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta, Ga. 30005; 800/333-7421; usa.siemens.com.

Flexible tubing

NewAge Industries Inc. introduces its Silbrade Platinum braid-reinforced silicone hose as another option in its line of flexible silicone tubing and hose products. The hose’s platinum curing means it offers a higher degree of purity and fewer extractable parts than other types of silicone hose, the company says. Braid reinforcement also allows for increased pressure capabilities compared with unreinforced silicone tubing, it adds. Silbrade Platinum is NSF-51 listed, will not support bacteria growth and handles temperatures as hot as 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Silbrade Platinum is manufactured using platinum-cured silicone thermoset material, which allows for a purer flow of product within the hose, the company says. This can be especially important in applications involving food, beverages, dairy products, medicines and others related to taste or consumption.

NewAge Industries Inc., 145 James Way, Southampton, Pa. 18966; 800/506-3924; newageindustries.com.

Wave of the future

Schaffner EMC Inc. introduced a new line of Sine Wave filters for variable frequency drives that eliminate premature motor damage caused by high dv/dt, over-voltages, cable ringing, motor overheating and eddy current losses. In addition to elongating service life of high-speed motors, the Sine Wave filters can improve bearing life by eliminating circulating bearing currents. Typical applications include high-speed spindles, textile machinery, lasers, military appliances (400Hz), HVAC applications, pumps, ventilators, conveyors, compressors, elevators, cranes, step-up transformers, motor drives with multiple motors and motor drives with long motor cables. A full product line is available to accommodate a wide range of switching kHZ and voltage ratings as high as 690vac.

Schaffner EMC Inc., 52 Mayfield Ave., Edison, N.J. 08837; 800/367-5566, ext. 276; schaffnerusa.com.

Blending in

Charles Ross & Son Co. offers its vertical blender/dryers for vacuum drying solids or liquids such as powders, granules, pellets, fibers, pastes and slurries. The drying equipment features a slow-turning auger screw that gently lifts batch materials upward as it orbits around a conical vessel, the company says. Materials carried to the top of the batch then cascade slowly down into regions opposite the moving auger screw. The constant exchange of materials between the heated sidewalls and the center of the blender accelerates the drying process, it adds. Available in sizes from 1 to 500 cubic feet, Ross Vertical Blender/Dryers do not require a bottom support bearing to keep the screw steady, so discharge is virtually 100 percent complete. This design also simplifies cleaning and maintenance, the company says.

Charles Ross & Son Co., 710 Old Willets Path, Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788; 800/243-7677; mixers.com.

A robotic helping hand

Motion Controls Robotics Inc. (MCRI) offers customized robotic roll handling capabilities, including smaller, lighter weight rolls for roofing along with large, heavy rolls of adhesive tape and bulky rolls of insulation. MCRI has designed a variety of robotic roll handling systems, including palletizing, packaging, machine tending and general roll/material handling with a dual purpose of saving customers money and floor space. Only FANUC robots are used for its applications, the company adds. FANUC’s robot selection features a variety of robots with a mean uptime of 80,000 hours.

Motion Controls Robotics Inc., 1500 Walter Ave., Fremont, Ohio 43420; 419/334-5886; motioncontrolsrobotics.com.

Automatic changeover

Douglas Machine Inc. introduced SmartSelect, an automatic changeover feature for multi-lane infeed conveyors and infeed rails. Independent rail positioning provides for fixed-side, center-adjust and variable width positioning of multiple lanes, the company says. Douglas’ new feature expands its portfolio of automatic changeovers while fulfilling market need for a fast and repeatable conveyor and infeed changeover. Benefits of SmartSelect include improved ergonomics, changeover time reduction and repeatability, the company adds. The rail positions are recipe-driven and locked in place to plus or minus 0.03125 inches, with enough holding force to withstand high product pressure.

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

Calculating label success

Schawk, a brand of the SGK Brand Solutions Group of Matthews International Corp., offers an online food label preparedness calculator to assist food and beverage companies in gauging their state-of-readiness for the implementation of the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition label regulation. Using a sliding scale, the online calculator prompts users to consider their organization’s readiness in seven key areas: awareness, planning, supply chain capacity, packaging change rate, artwork management process, artwork approval process and communications strategy. It is designed to provide a quick overview and high-level insight to prompt food and beverage companies to accelerate the planning process.

Schawk Inc., 1695 South River Road, Des Plaines, Ill. 60018; 847/827-9494; schawk.com.

Staying on track

OnTrak Software provides software programs including LineTrak, SignTrak, PermaTrack, MenuTrak and SampleTrak, to assist beer, wine and spirits wholesalers in tracking, measuring and managing point-of-sale (POS) marketing and promotional materials. SignTrak measures the POS signage process from order to production and placement, and features a new stand-alone app, available on both iOS and Android devices, for requesting signs. The software also keeps track of custom wine menus, beverage sampling events and draft beer line cleaning. Other online features include inventory management and an automated order workflow to eliminate errors, track costs and improve supplier bill-back recovery. 

OnTrak Software, 2943 Riverside Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226; 800/513-9194; ontraksoftware.com. 

Charging trucks

Kenworth Truck Co. offers an ultra-capacitor-based Maxwell Engine Start Module (ESM) to protect against battery drainage along with an inverter/charger option for easier battery recharging while parked. The module, a factory-installed option for new Kenworth T680s and T880s, provides dedicated power to start the truck and frees the truck’s standard batteries to focus on powering accessory devices, such as a laptop, a microwave, a refrigerator and TVs, in addition to the truck’s electronics and lights. The ESM starts an engine in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit to a high of 149 degrees Fahrenheit, even when the batteries have low voltage, the company says.

Kenworth Truck Co., 10630 NE 38th Place, Kirkland, Wash. 98033; 425/828-5000; kenworth.com.

Expanding linear line

Duff Norton expanded its CMLA product line with the Duff Norton Linear Actuator line. The patented onboard CMLA electronic controls specifically target applications that require a high demand for advanced positioning capability, ease of maintenance and optimized operating speeds at nominal loads. The CMLA features IP66 protection for interior and exterior applications, a stainless steel translating tube for improved corrosion resistance, an anti-rotational outer tube and a lightweight cast aluminum housing. Configurations range from 500 to 2,000 pounds. Motors are available in single and three-phase alternating current voltages, paired with a selection of gearing in each load category to provide designed lifting speeds.

Duff Norton, 9415 Pioneer Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28273; 800/477-5002; duffnorton.com.

Sensor solution

Tomra Systems, ASA (TOMRA) launched a line of reverse vending machines (RVMs) with Flow Technology. Its patented sensor solution provides 360-degree recognition of containers, allowing RVMs to rapidly recognize bottles and cans of varying shapes and sizes, and accept as many as 60 recyclable beverage containers a minute. It also takes as many as 1,000 pictures a second, making it possible for the RVMs to read container shape, material, barcodes and security marks without rotating the containers, which allows the user to insert recyclables in a rapid, continuous flow. The large, high-resolution color touchscreen displays with video capability enable customers to see that containers have been accepted and that the deposit return amount is correctly registered. Tomra offers three RVMs: the T-9 Bottle, the T-9 Combi and the T-90, which all accept bottles, cans and other containers of varying shapes and sizes. 

Tomra Systems, ASA, 1 Corporate Drive, Suite 710, Shelton, Conn. 06484; 203/447-8800; tomra.com.

Automated safety

Rite-Hite offers its Defender Cell, which restricts access and provides point-of-operation guarding around potentially dangerous automated and automatic processes including stretch-wrap machine operations, robotic palletizing and automatic conveyors. It incorporates perimeter safety features including Rite-Hite’s RoboGuard steel-wire fencing and point-of-operation guarding with a high-speed, automated barrier door that consists of a four-sided safety cell. The fencing is customizable to accommodate various applications and designs, and its roll-up design leaves a small physical footprint.

Rite-Hite, 8900 N. Arbon Drive, Milwaukee, Wis. 53223; 800/456-0600; ritehite.com.

Gluing packaging proficiency

Graco offers its InvisiPac Tank-Free Hot Melt System to help companies meet production demands. The system ensures plug-free operations when sealing cardboard packaging, because it is designed to reduce char and eliminate the frequent plugging of nozzles in glue systems while stabilizing glue consumption rates. It also reduces both adhesive waste and waste in the form of boxes that need to be repacked or resealed because of an inadequate seal. The InvisiPac technology uses an integrated vacuum feed, Tank-Free melter, heated hoses, applicator and process control technology that provides easy, remote system analytics.

Graco, P.O. Box 1441, Minneapolis, Minn. 55440; 800/458-2133; invisipac.com.