"The amount of packaging used all over the world cannot be reduced by bringing in generalised regulations. Politicians, bureaucrats and environmental organisations within the EU would like to believe it can be done this way, but they are completely wrong. Rules like this may instead lead to increased environmental loading." This is the blunt warning from Anders Sörås, Managing Director of the Packforsk research institute, at the recent Stora Gruvön "Sugar and Flour Days".

As mechanical functions become increasingly automated and compact, the need for actuators to meet these requirements is growing. The EF1 and EF2 pneumatic cylinders from Bimba Manufacturing Company target this need in metric machine applications. Both models have bore sizes of 12mm to 100mm, with stroke lengths of 5mm to 100mm. Each is based on an identical precision extrusion that features integral mounting grooves for flush installation of miniature sensing switches.

A new generation of portable IR thermometers from Raytek Corporation makes critical temperature measurements more reliable by defining the target area with a sixteen point laser sighting circle. Precise aiming, combined with enhanced electronic data storage and emissivity reference tables, improve the speed and accuracy of temperature measurements in a broad spectrum of process and maintenance applications throughout industry and institutions.

If consumers find flat beer when they open their bottles, brewery sales and brand reputation will almost surely decline.  To minimize the number of low pressure (flat) bottles reaching consumers, major breweries in Latin America and around the world have chosen an acoustic on-line inspection system manufactured by U. S. company TapTone. The TapTone II system checks seal integrity at speeds up to 700 bottles per minute, identifying and rejecting those whose pressure falls below acceptable limits.

A new instrumental analysis system, which evaluates the sensory properties of packaging boards, is intended to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the paperboard quality control at Finnish Enso Paperboards. The system, called electronic nose, will be taken into operation in 1998 as a further quality control tool at the company´s Imatra mill. It is a development of an instrument, MDG-1, which was originally constructed in Finland for military use to detect chemical warfare agents. To a great extent, the analysis system will be used for the company´s Enso Performa paperboard, which is aimed at food, sweets and tobacco applications with high demands on odour and taste neutral packagings.

Oy Samlink Ab will modernise the information systems in all 40 Savings Banks' and 44 local co-operative banks' offices. Nokia's flat displays selected by Aktia Bank for the new system represent the latest technology in the field. This is one of the largest flat display deals Nokia Display Products has made in Finland.

The ability of water to conduct electricity is exploited by Electrolux-Wascator in its new generation of tumble dryers. This technical approach is reported to provide more energy-efficient drying, reduced wear in washed garments and less need for monitoring.

Two new software packages from ABB are set to make commissioning, monitoring and process control of the company's ACS 600 AC drives as straight forward as operating a mouse, claims the company. DriveWindow simplifies commissioning and DriveLink allows ACS 600 drives to be controlled via Windows applications.

Long term accuracy, and linearity limitations of piezoresistive pressure sensors has restricted applications to relatively stable environments until now. Advances in EG&G IC Sensors' silicon, micromachined pressure sensors have reduced temperature dependence by a factor of 5, enabling wider applicability in portable instruments and process environments.

The world's most powerful low speed high torque (LSHT) gearless drive units. This is how Swedish Hägglunds Drives describes its latest and largest members in the Marathon heavy duty, hydraulic motor series. The Marathon MB 3200 and MB 4000 are based on the company's hydraulic piston motor technology and feature maximum torque levels of 1.1 million and 1.4 million Nm respectively. They can be mounted directly on the driven shaft or machine without intermediate gears. The use of hydraulic motors is said to eliminate a number of problems normally associated with electromechanical drives in heavy industrial applications.