Compressed air is costly and often in short supply in manufacturing plants. According to US company, Spraying Systems Co., their 707 and 727 series air control nozzles can cut the annual consumption of air by up to 55%, compared with open pipes, and reduce noise levels by up to 60%, depending on the model. Applications for the nozzles include surface drying, product cooling, air knife cutting, and material cleaning and conveying, in a broad range of industrial processes.

Paper chart recorders must routinely be replenished with paper and ink, incurring significant material and labor costs. U.S. company Monarch Instrument's range of paperless recorders eliminate paper charts by displaying data on a high resolution, 127mm LCD display, and by storing the data on 89mm floppy disks or PCMCIA memory cards. The company also offers portable, contact/non-contact tachometers, portable and machine vision stroboscopes, complete with sensors. The products have CE marking.

Injecting precise volumes of liquids and chemicals is critical to many industrial processes. Haskel International's latest CIP H series chemical injection pumps are specifically designed for this application, and because they are non- electrical, function safely in hazardous environments. Nineteen models cover delivery rates from 0.05 to 341 liters per hour, for process line pressures up to 1034 bar, producing what the manufacturer claims is the broadest range of air/gas driven injection pumps in the world. 

The first aluminium-free packaging for yoghurt cups and other dairy products has been launched by Finnish Enso Paperboards. This environmentally-friendly solution has been made possible by using a new paper based lidding material, called Ensolid, which is prepared with a special barrier coating. The lid is said to have good mechanical properties and to allow for convenient peeling without tearing. The material is also reported to have excellent printability with the polymer coated construction providing an effective oxygen, water vapour and aroma barrier. Therefore, the new lidding material is also suitable for packing ice-cream, juice, soft cheese and other dairy products. Its use by dairies is said to be simple, requiring only minor machine investments.

The world's fifth largest computer company, Compaq Computer Corporation, has selected Sterling Commerce to supply an end-to-end electronic data interchange (EDI) solution for 900 distribution channel partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This large-scale implementation of EDI software and services will help the computer manufacturer enhance customer service.

Conventional product development cycles typically involve design, prototyping, testing, design modification, re-testing etc., to achieve a pre-production version. ADAMS version 9.0 software, developed by US company Mechanical Dynamics Inc., enables all these functions to be conducted in the virtual domain of the computer, significantly reducing development cost and time tomarket. 

ABB is launching its first micro drive, taking the power rating of its extensive AC drives range from 2.2kW down to 0.37kW, in 200V and 240V single phase and three phase.Simple operation, accurate speed control, easy installation and fast commissioning are features of the low cost ACS 100. Measuring 80mm wide, the drive is the only one in its class with a detachable front mounted control panel.

ABB is breaking into the highvolume, low cost small drives arena with the launch of its ACS 100 AC drive rated from 0.37kW to 2.2kW.

The world’s 1001st “AquaClean” machine has now gone into service in Germany. It was delivered to “Monika’s Textilpflege” in Badburg, a town between Cologne and Aachen. The washing system was developed by the Electrolux-Wascator company for the wet-cleaning of textiles in water. It is already being used in 28 countries all over the world as a profitable and environment-friendly supplement to dry cleaning.

Three new DigitalFlow gas ultrasonic flowmeters have been introduced by Panametrics, Inc. Each uses digital signal processing and the company's patented Correlation Transit-Time technique for accurate, drift-free measurement. They can be used under a wide range of conditions without impeding flow. Maintenance is minimal even in difficult situations because the flowmeters have no orifices to clog and no moving parts to wear out, the company reports.