Food & Drink Process & Packaging Issue 31 2020 | Page 73

# 2 - FASTER AND MORE ECONOMIC TESTING
Conventional destructive testing can
take as long as 4 minutes , including the
time spent shaking the sample to reach
pressure equilibrium and the time to
interpret results . Impeller methods are
slightly faster , as results are displayed
digitally . The LAB . CO completes the test
in less than one minute , including the
same shaking duration ; the reading itself
does not take more than a few seconds .
Bottlers can perform the same task in ⅓
or ¼ of the time , releasing the analyst to
perform other functions or increasing the
number of tests performed during that
same time .
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1 . Bottle holder
2 . Laser source
3 . On-Off button and cable connections
4 . Optical receiver
5 . Temperature sensor pyrometer
6 . Zero calibtation prism
7 . Data displau and menu
8 . The lenses are mounted on a servo motor to
push them towards the bottle shoulder
9 . Laser line to guide alignment of the bottle
sample
10 . Display available in metric or imperial units
N2P ( bar or PSO ) P20 ( bar or PSI ) T ( o C or F )
11 . Selection of one of the two methods : -P20
( pressure at 20 o C ) or - Henrey ’ s Law ( CO 2 concentration in g / l pr % vol )
12 . F4 key to start the ZERO calibration
13 . START key to start the measurement
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Closure and bottle manufacturers also
benefit from nondestructive methods
by performing shelf-life testing with the
same bottle over long periods of time ,
with a more precise evaluation of the
loss of gases in lightweight designs .
Destructive test methods require
production of 7-9 samples per cavity to
complete the evaluation , as opposed to
a single sample per cavity , with higher
accuracy as no variability is added by
multiple samples .
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A closure manufacturer compared the time duration when performing the routine QA / QC 38 o C Quick Test ( 12 tests using 4 samples , or 48 tests altogether ) using the two methods . The customer concluded that LAB . CO ’ s superior reproducibility could safely allow to reduce testing from 4 to 3 samples and save an additional 20 minutes , still ensuring a higher significance of test results . They also estimated that 10 minutes would be necessary to dispose of packaging and liquid waste , bringing the total potential savings to around 150 minutes per test !
# 3 - NO PRODUCT OR PACKAGING GOES TO WASTE
Results of studies comparing achievable savings have shown a return of investment in the LAB . CO of only a few months , depending on the testing frequency , and labor and waste
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management costs . Numerous business cases have been made to calculate the Return On the Investment , ranging from 9 to 19 months , depending on considerations such as the sale value of the samples not destroyed , maintenance frequency and costs , labor cost-savings and waste management cost avoidance .
One customer also calculated the cost of overdosing CO 2 based on inaccurate testing , 10 % lower on average . The excess CO 2 represented a potential loss of 1½ truckloads of gas per year , not to mention a potential packaging failure during distribution with additional costs and damage to the brand image .
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For these reasons , numerous beverage companies and their packaging suppliers agree that it ’ s time to move to new technologies that help the bottom line while improving quality and cutting waste . Nondestructive testing reached the maturity needed to be adopted and make a difference !
More information about ACM technologies can be found at www . acm . co . at / en or can be requested via email to office @ acm . co . at
Videos in multiple languages are also available on YouTube : LAB . CO : youtu . be / 4rMEazMr9bU and LAB . N2 : youtu . be / F4VmzwPn3FU
FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk 73