Precise print registration

Douglas Machine Inc. introduced its Contour Series M-60 Multiwrapper with Automatic Film Splicer, which allows operators to stage clear or print film while the machine is running. Splicing is automatic, resulting in precise print registration and reduced machine downtime, the company says. The multiwrapper runs single-, dual- or triple-stream bundles of PET bottles at various cycle speeds, as fast as 60 a minute, to meet the filler rate, it adds.

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

Robotic lifting

Intelligrated launched its integrated automated storage/retrieval system (AS/RS) at Modex 2016. The shuttle system retrieves totes and delivers them to an articulated robotic arm, which is equipped with vision technology and suction end-of-arm tooling to identify and handle individual items, the company says. Other features include flexibility and accuracy in handling high volumes of eCommerce fulfillment, the ability to adapt to changing order profiles and managing large numbers of SKUs while redeploying labor resources to more value-added tasks, it adds.

Intelligrated, 7901 Innovation Way, Mason, Ohio 45040; 866/963-7300; intelligrated.com.

Easy rider

Yale Materials Handling Corp. debuted its self-guided end-rider driven by Balyo technology at Modex 2016. The robotic lift truck technology can help deliver improved productivity and dependability while reducing total cost of operations, the company says. Operating as a self-guided truck, the MPE080VG end-rider features infrastructure-free navigation technology that requires no tape, wire or magnets for guidance. Instead, the lift truck relies on existing structural features, such as walls, racking and columns, to self-locate and navigate, it adds. Ideal for a wide range of load transportation applications, the self-guided truck independently picks up, transports and drops off pallets anywhere on the floor. Other features include manual and automatic modes; scalability; a built-in smart management system; an advanced obstacle-detection feature that controls truck speed in real time; technology that can interface with a facility’s warehouse management system for advanced integration; and an ergonomic 7-inch LCD touchscreen, which provides all of the necessary controls and information for operation.

Yale Materials Handling Corp., 1400 Sullivan Drive, Greenville, N.C. 27834; 252/931-5100; yale.com.

Maximizing warehouse productivity

Zebra Technologies Corp. launched its 3600 ultra-rugged series of scanners at Modex 2016. The scanners offer industry-leading scan performance on 1-D and 2-D barcodes, including a high-density barcode displayed on the screen of a mobile phone, under heavy shrink wrap or printed on paper and damaged or dirty, the company says. The series is available in corded and cordless options for fast, accurate performance in picking, packing, shipping, receiving, work-in-progress, inventory tracking, track-and-trace, cross-docking and point-of-sale applications, it adds. Built to perform in extreme conditions, the ultra-rugged scanner series offers the industry’s highest drop, tumble and sealing specifications in its class and is the industry’s first IP67-rated scanner capable of enduring complete water immersion for a maximum of 30 minutes, it adds. Other features include a PowerPrecision+ smart battery technology, which offers charge gauge visibility into battery power and technical support services, software updates and more to ensure optimal productivity.

Zebra Technologies Corp., 3 Overlook Point, Lincolnshire, Ill. 60069; 866/230-9494; zebra.com.

Improved inspection

KHS GmbH developed a multistage preform inspection program that recognizes faulty preforms, finds foreign objects in preforms and detects the tiniest damage to a preform’s sealing surface, the company says. Developed in-house, the Innocheck PET Preform Inspection (PPI) program assists operators with quality assurance and helps to ensure a trouble-free and efficient stretch-blow-molding process with a nearly 100 percent detection rate, it adds. The company has integrated the PPI inspection unit into its plant engineering, which also includes the Innocheck PCI PET container inspector. Because the Innocheck PPI preform inspector is directly integrated into the stretch blow molder’s preform separator, it first assesses the quality of the sealing surface. Then, a second end-cap-imaging camera reliably detects any distortion or contamination of transparent and opaque PET preforms, according to the company. The smallest deviations in color are ascertained, and the preform length is determined with an accuracy of plus-or-minus 1 millimeter. Special image processing software evaluates any possible errors in real time, enabling as many as 81,000 preforms to be inspected in an hour. With faulty preforms reliably rejected prior to stretch blow molding, the PPI saves on compressed air and increases both line availability and consumer safety, it adds.

KHS USA, 880 Bahcall Court, Waukesha, Wis. 53186; 262/797-7200; khs.com.

Displaying its wares

IVT Merchandising Inc., which offers end caps and plastic and wire display racks for the beverage industry, unveiled its new all-plastic gravity-feed rack for 1.75-liter bottles. The new racks now are available for national distribution, the company says.

IVT Merchandising Inc., P.O. Box 772674, Coral Springs, Fla. 33077; 954/603-7350; ivtdisplays.com.

Uniform mixing

Charles Ross & Son Co. offers its VersaMix Multi-Shaft Mixers featuring customizable agitators, dry-running mechanical seals, a full-recovery vacuum system, clean-in-place spray nozzles and touchscreen recipe controls, the company says. Available in standard sizes from 1- to 4,000-gallon-capacities, the Ross VersaMix offers simple and reliable scalability from product development to full-scale production, with tailored mixer features to yield consistent uniformity, it adds. For example, the 1,000-gallon VersaMix is rated for 28 inches of mercury vacuum as much as 14-pounds per square-inch internal pressure at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Other features include a special hydraulic lift that raises and lowers the agitators; a three-wing anchor, dual-propeller and powder induction rotor/stator mixer; and a dished-bottom with a pneumatically actuated flush-tank full-port ball-valve. Sight ports, temperature probes, level sensors, a transfer pump and a load cell system also are supplied, it adds.

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

Fine wine

Tonnellerie Radous, in partnership with Radoux USA Inc., unveiled the prototype of its upside-down fermenter during April’s primeurs tasting for on-premise at Jean-Luc Thunevin in Saint Emilion. Created by cask maker Radoux and initially tested during the Saint Emilion’s 2015 grape harvest, the upside-down fermenter combines the advantages of the cone-shaped cask with those of the inverted cone-shaped cask, the company says. The device works on the principle of gravity and was designed to obtain a full and gentle extraction of color and tannins, it adds.

Radoux USA Inc., 480 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, Calif. 95403; 707/284-2888; radoux.fr.

Sustainable packaging

Tetra Pak announced it has produced its first fully renewable Gable Top bio-based packaging. Solely developed from renewable materials, including a combination of paperboard and sugar cane-derived plastics, the Gable Top bio-based packages can be replenished over time, the company says. Customers using the standard half-gallon gable top with or without closure can transition to the new bio-based version without the need for any additional investment or modification to their existing filling machines, it adds.

Tetra Pak USA, 101 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills, Ill. 60061; 847/955-6000; tetrapak.com/us.