DUSSELDORF, Germany -- Honeywell International introduced a new infrared-sensing technology, designed to help packaging makers significantly reduce defects in their coated products, as well as reduce the amount of raw materials used to produce them. The reflectance infrared spectrometer (RIS) uses proprietary array-detector technology to provide the "industry's highest resolution and the broadest IR spectrum range, which allows mills to achieve unsurpassed quality by measuring multiple components of coatings, even on reflective or printed substrates."
RIS can be used in quality-control systems such as Honeywell's MXProLine, which uses an array of scanners and sensors to monitor the quality of coated products, such as liquid and aseptic packaging. The total solution helps producers more accurately measure and control multi-layer or barrier coatings and adhesive layers, discriminate components with very similar spectral characteristics, measure on printed and reflective backings, and quantify variations in additives and fillers, such as Ti02 and CaC03. This approach can reduce defects by up to 15% and raw material usage by up to 8%. Additionally, the calibration tools can save time by cutting the calibration effort by up to 40%.
"Like most manufacturers, packaging makers are not only facing increasingly complex product requirements but also demands for lower production costs and higher productivity," said Jack Ross, global business leader for P3 and CWS. "The reflective infrared spectrometer brings those manufacturers closer to this objective and represents the industry's move to increasingly sophisticated digital signal-processing technology that improves accuracy, resolution, and flexibility."
Specific features of the RIS include user-friendly online graphical calibration tools, which save significant time over the off-line calibration methods used by spectrometer-based sensors. Operators can choose between a basic ratiometic calibration or advanced chemometric calibration when measuring complex or multi-layered products. Additionally, RIS features internal optics that optimize beam focusing, automatic standardization that corrects for any drift in source spectrum or detector response, and fast response for high-resolution and precise spatial alignment.
For more information about the Honeywell RIS, please visit the company's Web site.
About Honeywell International
Honeywell International is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide, with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. The company is based in Morris Township, NJ. Honeywell Process Solutions is part of Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions group, a global leader in providing product and service solutions that improve efficiency and profitability, support regulatory compliance, and maintain safe, comfortable environments in homes, buildings, and industry.