As we continue to operate in a more virtual world at this time, Agr is pleased to participate in Pack Expo connects.  This FREE virtual version of Pack Expo takes place November 2-6, 2020, including daily live sessions.

The Agr showroom is currently open and will remain available following the show to provide the latest information on how Agr products can meet the everchanging needs of container producers and fillers.  You may find Agr’s showroom here.

Agr will also participate with live sessions.  These sessions are scheduled as follows:

November 9, 12:45pm-1:00pm EST and November 11, 1:00pm-1:15pm EST

See a live demo of the Gawis 4D, an all-new, high-precision laboratory thickness and dimensional measurement system for plastic containers and preforms. The Gawis 4D is designed to automate a number of critical bottle and preform measurements into a single operation. This totally new laboratory test system provides a high level of measurement capabilities to support the design, process and quality management of plastic containers and preforms.

November 10, 3:00pm-3:15pm EST and November 11, 3:00pm-3:15pm EST

The Process Pilot family of products, including Pilot Profiler, Pilot Vision+ and Process Pilot can be combined for a total bottle management solution, providing the ability to detect random occurring defects as well as manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.

Register for free now!  Register.

Once reviewing the show room, you are encouraged to contact Agr at sales@agrintl.com or +1-724-482-2163 to discuss your specific needs.

More details regarding the virtual show can be found out https://www.packexpoconnects.com/.

American Glass Research (AGR) will be conducting its third live webinar, “Spotlight on Pharmaceutical Glass Flaws” on October 20.  AGR has been conducting live in-person training to the glass manufacturing industry and glass container fillers worldwide for over 60 years.  In response to the COVID pandemic and heightened health safety considerations, AGR has constructed a dedicated studio for the production of live webinars and self- paced e-seminar modules.

This new, 2.5-hour training webinar covers the visual identification of flaws in pharmaceutical glass containers, specifically flaws in molded and tubing pharmaceutical glass containers such as vials and syringes. For each flaw, attendees will learn its identifying characteristics, its source, and the effect that the flaw has on container performance. Hundreds of photographs will provide attendees representative examples of each flaw. The webinar also includes a discussion of flaw severity categories (critical, major, minor or cosmetic) and a brief overview of pharma glass manufacturing processes.  Trainees will also be provided with crucial information for corrective actions.

Topics to be Covered:

• Identification, effects, and sources for over 40 flaws
• Lexicon of flaws in pharma glass
• Overview of PDA TR 43
• Flaw severity classification
• Introduction to vial manufacturing processes
• Covers both tubing and molded containers

The webinar is one 2.5-hour live presentation (with an intermission) and will be conducted by Dr. Brandon Aldinger. The webinar will be recorded and attendees can replay the presentation at their convenience.  The live broadcast will be conducted at 9:00 EDT/13:00 GMT/15:00 CET.  The cost is $265 per person.

Visit American Glass Research e-seminar site to see a video trailer, to learn more or to register: https://e-seminars.americanglassresearch.com/courses/Pharmaceutical-glass-flaws-webinar

Questions regarding the program can be addressed to: https://americanglassresearch.com/questions/contact-us

Join American Glass Research for the webinar titled “Sand to Shelf: Essentials of Glass Containers”.  This six-session webinar will offer a comprehensive overview of glass containers, including glass as a material, container manufacturing, filling, testing, design and fracture analysis.

The webinar will begin on Tuesday, September 1 and will run Tuesdays and Thursdays for three weeks.

Click on the picture below to register!

Agr International has unveiled their latest development, the Gawis 4D®, an all-in-one measurement system for plastic containers and preforms. Designed to automate a number of critical bottle and preform measurements into a single operation, this totally new laboratory test system provides a new level of measurement capabilities to support the design, process and quality management of plastic containers and preforms.

The Gawis 4D is two systems in one; a thickness measurement system, and a dimensional gauging device. This system incorporates the latest optical gauging and thickness measurement technology, in combination with automation, to simplify container measurement operations while maximizing testing throughput. It is designed to provide broad measurement capabilities on a wide range of plastic containers and preforms with unmatched accuracy, repeatability and operational throughput.

Built upon a completely new measurement platform, this system incorporates a number of advanced features and capabilities that are designed to simplify testing and maximize throughput including:

• Large, customizable  and intuitive user interface with swipe and zoom capabilities
• Powerful yet simple job creation and editing tools incorporating AutoJob™ – automated job setup
• Precise finish gauging and body measurement capabilities utilizing high resolution, USB 3 camera technology, optimized lensing and telecentric optics with 360º imaging
• Comprehensive, non-destructive thickness measurement compatible with PET and a wide range of polymers
• Performance to ISBT, ASTM and equivalent international standards
• Industry 4.0 communication protocols

 Advanced Vision Technology for Precise Dimensional Gauging

A major design emphasis for the Gawis 4D is to provide measurements with a level of precision and repeatability that not only can document dimensions of production containers but also have sufficient precision for the qualification and management of molds.  The vision measurement technology incorporated in the Gawis 4D utilizes high pixel density camera components in combination with enhanced telecentric optics and lighting.  This combination provides a very crisp edge shadow, making it possible to achieve the highest dimensional precision and repeatability as well as a very low percent of process variation for individual measurements.

The unique design of the Gawis 4D imaging system, along with advanced measurement algorithms, provides the capability to measure an extensive range of finish dimensions on bottles and preforms.  Jobs can be configured for single or multiple combinations of measurements without sacrificing throughput. A large library of industry standard finish measurement routines is provided with each system that are each customizable to meet the needs of the application.

Simplified job setup with AutoJob  

Agr has developed AutoJob™, a patent pending feature on the Gawis 4D that is designed to simplify job setup by providing automated recognition of key finish measurements on a bottle or preform sample.  With this feature, the operator simply selects the AutoJob mode and the work of locating and identifying finish features is performed automatically.  The Gawis 4D scans the sample, identifies the standard finish measurements for that sample and incorporates them into the job within a matter of seconds.  The operator can adjust the selection, add control limits to the selection and incorporate additional measurements as necessary. This feature greatly accelerates job creation, saving hundreds of labor hours through the course of a year.

Breakthrough thickness technology

Thickness measurement in the Gawis 4D utilizes two approaches. For translucent materials, the Gawis 4D incorporates an all-new, patent pending Integrative Thickness Measurement™ method.  This method takes advantage of the full IR bandwidth and expands the capabilities of the system  to provide measurements on translucent plastic materials that were previously not possible with non-contact measurement.  With this capability, most HDPE, PP, PE and heavily colored PET containers that have IR light transmission as low as 5% can now be measured.

For PET bottles, preforms and most transparent materials, the system incorporates Agr’s traditional IR reference/absorption thickness measurement technology.  This technology is widely used in hundreds of Agr measurement systems worldwide for measuring material distribution in bottles and preforms in the laboratory and on-line systems.

Regardless of the methodology, Gawis 4D offers a means to perform measurements that are fast and precise with un-matched repeatability. Additionally, this system offers a wide range of measurement options including thickness at single or multiple discrete points anywhere on the sidewall or heel of the bottle or the ability to perform complete vertical or horizontal (circumferential) scans for analyzing material distribution.

Industry 4.0 communication

Industry 4.0 standard communication protocols have also been incorporated into the Gawis 4D to improve communications and support Industry 4.0 objectives.  This capability facilitates advanced communication with other devices, to share data, support remote job change and interface with factory robotic handling systems without operator intervention.

Agr offers a complete line of products for the measurement and testing of plastic containers.  Agr products are designed to assist container producers, converters and fillers stay competitive, while meeting the increased quality demands of today’s changing world.

Agr International announced the appointments of Mr. Martin Küstner and Mr. Davide Bartoli to new strategic positions within the Agr organization. These appointments are a continuation of Agr’s multi-year plan to strengthen and expand its sales and service organizations in order to better support the distinct needs of customers throughout the world.

Mr. Martin Küstner, a twenty-year veteran of Agr International, will assume the position of International Sales Director. In this role, he will oversee all world-wide sales related activities, with the exception of the United States and Canada.  Over the past 20 years, Mr. Küstner has advanced his career at Agr while thriving in positions of increasing responsibility.  Previous to this post, Mr. Küstner headed Agr’s  Asian operations  where he was instrumental in establishing Agr’s sales and service center in Bangkok, Thailand, and was responsible for developing a regional sales network throughout Asia that has consistently contributed to Agr’s business growth.

Davide Bartoli, another twenty-year veteran of Agr, will take on the position of International Service Director.  He will oversee all service and repair related activities outside of the United States and Canada.  Over the past twenty years, Mr. Bartoli has served Agr in a number of roles including regional European Service Manager, Sales Engineer and, most recently, Director of Training. In his latest role, Mr. Bartoli applied his thorough knowledge of Agr equipment and implemented programs to train both Agr employees and customers throughout the world in the support and operation of Agr equipment.  His knowledge and experience of technology to facilitate remote and virtual field support will prove invaluable in this new role, especially when faced with limitations on travel and face-to-face meetings due to COVID-19.

Both Mr. Küstner and Mr. Bartoli possess significant knowledge and experience with Agr’s customers, products and services.  According to AGR COO Robert Cowden, “AGR and its international customers will benefit immensely as Martin Kustner and Davide Bartoli assume executive roles within AGR’s Sales and Service management team.  Both individuals understand how to support their customers in order to consistently achieve operational success.  These successes are a main ingredient to AGR’s longstanding, global franchise.”

Join American Glass Research for a free webinar titled “The Do’s and Don’ts of Lightweighting”.  The webinar will cover the cost benefits, time saving suggestions and key analytical insights for successful glass container lightweighting initiatives.

This session will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at 9:30am EDT/13:30 GMT.

Click on the picture below to register!  We look forward to talking with you!

Automated Blowmolder Control systems take the guesswork out of the blowing process

The integrated beverage lines at the Coca-Cola FEMSA plant in Villahermosa, Mexico, are a perfect example of streamlined, sustainable production. Manufactured on site, the PET bottles are filled immediately after blowing, then labeled, capped, palletized, and shrink-wrapped for shipment, never touching a carton. Without bottle inventory on hand, the lines must be up and running around the clock to fulfill production targets, according to Helmut Hoedl, Head of ALPLA’s

Injection Stretch Blow Moulding (ISBM) Business Unit. As the onsite converter responsible for bottle-making, ALPLA is meeting FEMSA’s quality and schedule requirements with the assistance of three Process Pilot® Automated Blowmolder Control systems from Agr International.

Two of the Process Pilots are installed inside KHS InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molding machines, one a Series III and the other a Series IV.  The lines are set up in a blocked configuration, which combines both blowing and filling in one compact machine. The blocked design is the linchpin of FEMSA’s strategy for streamlined operations, but it also makes the blowmolding process especially critical. Non-conforming bottles not only disrupt the line and generate product waste, but can also present performance issues, either during transport or on the retail shelf.

Even with ALPLA’s 65 years as a leader in plastics processing, including three decades of experience in on-premises packaging, Villahermosa’s especially hot and humid climate, with almost-hourly variations in ambient conditions, posed unique challenges for the converter. The environmental instability made it difficult to produce bottles with consistent material distribution and performance characteristics.

Dedicated to Coca-Cola brand carbonated beverages, primarily Coca-Cola Classic and Light, Fresca, and Sprite, the KHS lines produce multiple bottle shapes and sizes, several per machine. In response to fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels, ALPLA developed several different blowmolder settings, or recipes, for each bottle type. The ALPLA-manufactured preforms, made from up to 50% rPET, known for its variations in resin, required further machine adjustments, along with labor-intensive bottle testing.

Despite these time-consuming corrective measures, out-of-spec resin distribution across the bottle sidewall continued. This was concerning, because PET bottles that don’t meet wall thickness specifications are subject to environmental stress cracking, particularly around the base. Stress cracks can open up while the filled bottles are in storage, in transit, or in the store, leading to undesirable consequences like leaks or bursts.

Hoedl and his FEMSA colleagues realized that finer process control was essential to meet the stringent bottle specifications for the market. In search of a remedy, they found that Agr’s Process Pilot automated control system presented a means to manage the blowmolding process to a level of precision not available through any other technology. “There wasn’t really any other solution for bottle quality and better controls,” Hoedl comments.

The Process Pilot’s powerful combination of measurement and control technology manages thickness distribution and automates blowmolder response to any variable, whether a change in humidity or preform composition. It ties into blowmolder control functions associated with oven lamps, pre-blow pressure and start time, and preform set-point. The system’s proprietary learning function teaches it how modifications to basic machine control parameters affect material distribution. Once a bottle process is set for the desired thickness and performance characteristics, Pilot takes control.  Algorithms instantaneously analyze the thickness measurements over the entire container sidewall and automatically adjust the blowmolder control parameters. When even minute shifts in material distribution are detected, Pilot fine-tunes the related blowmolder function to redirect resin placement, assuring robust production of in-spec bottles without the need for operator intervention.

ALPLA installed Process Pilot systems in the two KHS blowmolders, and another in a standalone Sidel SBO 20 machine designated primarily for Ciel brand water packaged in 100% rPET bottles. The installation coincided with plant upgrades like air conditioning and air quality tests to screen for particles that might affect the blowing process.

After just a few months of operation, Process Pilot data confirmed dramatic improvement in the consistency of resin distribution in the container base. Hoedl estimates that stress cracking has declined by as much as 80 percent.

Other metrics are equally impressive. Instead of having three or four recipes for each bottle shape, ALPLA now has just one. “A 75 percent reduction in the number of recipes is important, because the more recipes you have, the greater the chance of error,” he notes, explaining, “The wrong recipe delays start-up of the filling line.”

The converter has also experienced a significant decrease in the need for operator involvement. Prior to the Pilot installation, ALPLA had documented that operators had to make as many as 240 process adjustments per day. Three months after deployment, the number of adjustments plummeted to a record of 15 in one day. On average, Hoedl figures that for every 10 adjustments made in the past, only one is needed today.

A study of all the variables that can affect bottle performance—from resin quality and the weather to warehouse conditions and bumpy roads during transport—coupled with two years of data generated by the Agr systems, has not revealed a single underlying cause of the stress cracking, but the totality of measures taken by ALPLA have delivered the right results.

“There are many influences,” says Hoedl. “We can’t point a finger at any one thing. What we do know is that if we control wall thickness distribution with the Process Pilot, our chances of having a big problem are low.”

In many production facilities, Agr equipment fulfills a key role in ensuring that containers meet quality, performance and safety standards.  In this challenging time, we continue to work hard to support our customers around the world in their endeavors to provide essential products, while adhering to national and regional guidelines. It is our highest priority to keep our employees and business partners safe while providing the equipment and services to meet your needs.  

Agr will continue to support our valued customers throughout this crisis, either from our Butler, PA, USA headquarters or from one of our regional sales and service offices.  Although we have limited all non-essential travel, our global sales and service offices remain active and available for both remote and on-site visits to customer facilities.  

For over 90 years, Agr and American Glass Research have been committed to servicing our customers, even in the most challenging of times.  We understand the next several weeks will be difficult for everyone.  Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this global crisis.  Stay safe and healthy.

As the packaging markets in Asia and the surrounding region continue to expand, Agr has recognized a significant growth in the demand for its quality management and process control equipment for plastic containers.   This is evidenced by an ever expanding customer base in this region. The establishment of an office in Japan, headed by Mr. Satoshi Okura, is intended to meet this growing demand with a direct sales and service operation centrally located in the region, utilizing factory-trained Agr personnel and focusing on the needs of the plastic container industry.

Mr. Satoshi Okura holds a graduate degree in Business Management from Canadian International College. He is a veteran within the Glass and Plastic industry and has extensive business experience in South-East Asia.  Mr. Okura brings with him experience with Agr equipment that extends over sixteen years. Before accepting this opportunity, he held positions with Agr distributors servicing the Japanese market handling Agr and TopWave equipment for the plastic industry as well as Agr’s glass equipment in the container industry.

Agr Japan, under Mr. Okura’s direction, will provide sales and service support for Agr’s complete line of products serving the plastic industry.  The new office is part of the Agr Bangkok Ltd. Territory and the overall Management will be provided by Mr. Martin Küestner.

Agr will participate in numerous trade shows throughout the world in 2020.  These shows will highlight Agr’s latest technologies and products within both the plastic and glass container markets.  Visit us at any of the following venues!

The plastic market trade shows and conferences include:

The glass market trade shows and conferences include:

The general packaging and beverage market trade shows and conferences include:

A better way to meet the challenges of producing bottles with increased levels of rPET

Agr International recently introduced its latest and most powerful in-the-blowmolder vision inspection system, Pilot Vision+™.  This product is configured and uniquely positioned to meet the quality management requirements for high-speed PET bottle production, with a special focus on containers with high percentages of rPET.

This Pilot Vision+ system is designed to work in conjunction with today’s high speed reheat stretch blowmolding equipment. As part of Agr’s Process Pilot family of products, it can be used along with the Process Pilot® automated blowmolder management system. The combination of Pilot Vision+ and Process Pilot provides bottle producers with the ability to not only detect random occurring defects, but also manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.

The Pilot Vision+ system is a modular vision-based inspection system that mounts inside today’s high-speed reheat stretch-blowmolding equipment.  The compact design of cameras and lighting components and an operating speed of up to 100,000 bottles/hour make it compatible with most blowmolder models and brands.

The open architecture of this system allows for simultaneous management of up to 6 cameras in multiple locations.  These are typically configured in four separate inspection stations; preform inspection in the oven area, and bottle seal surface, base and sidewall inspection immediately after mold takeout.

Special attention to preforms, color and rPET

The preform inspection module of the Pilot Vision+ system makes it possible to identify defects that are visible in the preform, before the bottle is blown.  Multiple color cameras provide the imaging for 360º preform sidewall inspection as well as end cap and gate. Optics, LED illumination and image analysis routines are optimized to identify preform defects that impact bottle integrity, particularly the black specs and particle contamination sometimes associated with recycled PET (rPET).

With the increased use of rPET, challenges related to color consistency may also be an issue. In the Pilot Vision+ system, the preform cameras ensure that colors are within acceptable ranges. This is particularly valuable with the variations in color that can typically occur when higher percentages of rPET are used.

Another tool designed to address rPET related issues is the Pilot Vision+ system’s capability to learn multiple reference image sets for color inspection. This makes it possible to process a preform supply with slight color variations and manage the range of color by accepting those that match the reference images, while rejecting those that do not match.

Inspecting the base with liquid lens technology

The base inspection on the Pilot Vision+ system incorporates a powerful set of inspection algorithms that identify the smallest defects and anomalies regardless of base size, shape or design. In addition, the base inspection features a unique liquid lens that adjusts focus for bottle heights from five to sixteen inches, without mechanical components. This feature eliminates the need for mechanical lens adjustment when changing between containers of different heights. Focus settings are saved with each job and focus is automatically adjusted to accommodate new container heights. This saves changeover time and ensures a clear, high-resolution image of the base at the start of production.

In addition to the color preform cameras and liquid lens technology for base inspection, the new Pilot Vision+ offers features including:

• Large, touch-screen user interface with all data accessible from the main screen
• Pre-built tool sequences provided for each inspection type
• Flexibility to adjust parameters using live and history images during production
• Full-color preform imaging for color management
• Active cooling for high temperature operation
• Sealed components to prevent damage from fluids and moisture

The Pilot Vision+ system also offers a number of tools to assist operators with setup and job management.  These include adjustable ROI tools, digital image filtering, zone scaling and the ability to display live and historical inspections images that can be used for evaluation or setup purposes. To aid operators in monitoring line status and assessing production trends, detailed defect and reject information and production-run data summaries are continuously updated. Defects are mold/spindle correlated and categorized using color codes for quick and easy identification of offending characteristics.

The Pilot Vision+ system is available as a stand-alone system, or in tandem with Agr’s Process Pilot^® automated blowmolder management system.  When you combine the Pilot Vision+ system with Agr’s Pilot Profiler^® material distribution measurement system and the Process Pilot^® automated blowmolder controls, it offers manufacturers a means to produce defect-free bottles with stable and consistent production on a 24/7 basis.

The Pilot Vision+ system is another segment to Agr’s Process Pilot^® family of products, designed to provide comprehensive material distribution monitoring, automated blowmolder management and vision–based defect detection.

A more efficient way to manage volume and fill height requirements during glass bottle production

Agr International, Inc. announces the latest addition to its family of products for the glass container industry, the SPT2-Volume. This automated, self-contained testing station is designed to provide hands-free, automated volume measurement of glass containers on the plant floor or in the laboratory, offering a cost-effective alternative to the tedious hand measurement of bottles.

According to Agr, this system was developed to meet the needs of glass container producers and brand owners that need fast and precise volume measurement but do not require pressure testing.  This product is particularly applicable to the producers of non-pressurized ware, including spirit, olive oil and specialty beverage and food containers where volume measurement is critical.

The SPT2-Volume is an extension of the industry leading Agr SPT2 product line. Built upon the same testing platform, this system shares many of the popular features, including a rugged stainless steel framework, no job change bottle handling system and a Linux operating system.

What is unique about the SPT2-Volume is its ability to perform fill height and volume measurement with laboratory accuracy, the repeatability that is achieved with automation and a fast throughput necessary for effective process management.    System handling and operational components have been configured with this in mind.  Plus, the system can be configured to operate autonomously, where it can provide round-the-clock volume measurement without additional labor requirements.

Volume measurement with precision

The SPT2-Volume system utilizes positive-displacement as it core technology.   A known volume of fluid is transferred from a temperature compensated, calibrated cylinder into the test container.  At the same time, the fill level is dynamically monitored as the container is filled to overflow.

The positive-displacement method offers a number of advantages over traditional laboratory methods.  Most significant is the accuracy and speed. This filling technique, in tandem with a high-precision fill-height sensor, makes it possible to deliver defined volume and fill measurements at any point within the process, to an accuracy of + 0.5 ml. Measurements can be performed at a rate of up to 120 bottles per hour (350 ml bottle).

Other advantages include little or no effect on measurement precision due to water quality, container shape or rate of fill, regardless of the size and volume of the container.  Furthermore, the volume measurement system on the SPT2-Volume is self-contained, requires no delicate scales and is not affected by water density, flow rate, vibrations or issues that commonly plague other methods.

Since the SPT2-Volume can perform in-process job changes, it is possible to test bottles from different manufacturing lines, or hand-feed a set of bottles as required, with testing protocols unique to that specific bottle type, without the need to stop and reconfigure the system, maximizing testing efficiency.

This system can be configured as a stand-alone testing station, integrated into a sampling line in conjunction with a plant-wide process management system or combined with Agr’s OmniLab^® automated measurement system.

The SPT2-Volume is the latest generation in a long line of automated testing systems supplied by Agr for the glass container manufacturing industry.

Pilot Vision+™, Agr’s latest and most powerful in-the-blowmolder vision system will be featured at the upcoming Pack Expo show in Las Vegas.  This system is uniquely positioned for the quality management of bottles with high percentages of rPET. Designed to work in conjunction with today’s high speed reheat stretch blowmolding equipment, the Pilot Vision+ system offers a modular approach to defect detection that works within the blowmolder.  The open architecture of this system allows for simultaneous management of up to 6 cameras, in multiple locations.  Some of the features of this system include color preform cameras for managing color variations, simple configuration and operation, large-screen user interface and defect categorization by mold/spindle and defect type.  As part of Agr’s Process Pilot family of products, Pilot Vision+ can be combined with Process Pilot for a total bottle management solution, providing the ability to detect random occurring defects as well as manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.

Agr will also feature the Process Pilot® system with Advanced Thin-wall capability. Introduced earlier this year, this tool is ideally suited for facilitating the production of ultralight bottles.   It provides the added precision and blowmolder control necessary to produce very light bottles, with consistent quality, in order to ensure proper performance on the production line and throughout the distribution chain. The Process Pilot system works in conjunction with the blowmolder to continuously measure material distribution on every bottle, and proactively manage the blowmolder to maintain optimal material distribution. Since the Process Pilot system manages the blowmolder based on actual bottle measurement, it is an ideal tool that can be used to overcome many of the issues, outside of the blowmolder, that compromise bottle manufacture and filling line productivity such as process and environmental variables, resin quality, increased levels of rPET and preform variability.

Agr technical experts will be available at Pack Expo booth 6538 to discuss these products and the rest of their complete line of process monitoring and quality control equipment for the plastic container industry.

All-new, high-precision laboratory thickness and dimensional measurement system for plastic containers to be introduced by Agr International at K 2019

Agr will display several new product developments as well as an array of quality management and process control equipment for plastic containers at K 2019, Stand 11B40.

All-new measurement system for plastic containers – the focal point for Agr’s display will be an all-new laboratory measurement system for plastic containers.  Designed to streamline laboratory measurement operations, this system provides operators with the ability to perform multiple measurements, on a wide range of plastic containers and preforms, with un-matched accuracy, repeatability and operational throughput.   This all-in-one measurement system incorporates the latest optical gauging and thickness measurement technology, in combination with automation, to simplify container measurement operations while maximizing testing throughput.  Additionally, this system includes a number of features including advanced job setup tools to minimize time required for job creation, large screen image display with ability to expand images for close analysis, comprehensive data capture/reporting and Industry 4.0 communications.

Pilot Vision+™ – Agr’s latest and most powerful in-the-blowmolder vision system.  This system is uniquely positioned for the quality management of bottles with high percentages of rPET. Designed to work in conjunction with today’s high speed reheat stretch blowmolding equipment, the Pilot Vision+ system offers a modular approach to defect detection that works within the blowmolder.  The open architecture of this system allows for simultaneous management of up to 6 cameras, in multiple locations.  Some of the features of this system include color preform cameras for managing color variations, simple configuration and operation, large-screen user interface and defect categorization by mold/spindle and defect type.  As part of Agr’s Process Pilot family of products, Pilot Vision+ can be combined with Process Pilot for a total bottle management solution, providing the ability to detect random occurring defects as well as manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.

Process Pilot^® with advanced Thin-wall Measurement –The Process Pilot system with Advanced Thin-wall capability, introduced earlier this year, is ideally suited for the production of ultralight bottles.   It provides the added precision and blowmolder control necessary to produce very light bottles, with consistent quality, in order to ensure proper performance on the production line and throughout the distribution chain. The Process Pilot system works in conjunction with the blowmolder to continuously measure material distribution on every bottle, and proactively manage the blowmolder to maintain optimal material distribution. Since the Process Pilot system manages the blowmolder based on actual bottle measurement, it is an ideal tool that can be used to overcome many of the issues that compromise bottle manufacture and filling line productivity such as process and environmental variables, increased levels of rPET and preform variability.

Agr staff members will be available to discuss these products and the rest of their complete line of process monitoring and quality control equipment for the plastic container industry.  As an industry leader for over 90 years, Agr is committed to provide the plastic container industry with the most technologically advanced products available for quality control and productivity improvement.

Agr offers a complete line of products for the measurement and testing of plastic containers.  Agr products are designed to assist container producers, converters and fillers stay competitive while meeting the increased quality demands of today’s changing world.  Additional details can be found on the Agr website at www.agrintl.com.

Agr International has invested more than 1 Million Euros in the establishment of an American Glass Research Testing Laboratory in Delft, The Netherlands. The lab has completed its first full year of operations and AGR CEO Henry Dimmick declares it has more than met its first year objectives.  “Our goals were to create and staff a state of the art testing laboratory for glass containers and be able to offer all of the same core glass testing services American Glass Research is known for, including: Fracture Diagnosis, Proof of Design Testing, Filling line and Glass Manufacturing line audits, Container Design Study, as well as Label, Decoration and Closure Analysis”, said Dimmick.

We have installed Agr International produced testing equipment including a Ramp Pressure Tester 2X, Vertical Load Tester, and Pendulum Impact Tester for comprehensive,  performance testing of glass containers. Additionally   complementary AGR equipment housed at the laboratory includes the following:  Line Simulator, Hot End Coating Measurement System, Finish Coating Measurement System, Tilt Table, Polarimeter and MBTxt thickness measurement gauge. Along with the Agr equipment, the lab also has a range of state of the art optical and polarizing microscopes along with an array of metrology devices to round out the capabilities of the facility.

The lab in Delft has a highly trained and experienced staff that fully understands the issues associated with the design and production of glass containers.  “We have continually expanded our staff to meet our growing needs.  In support of this, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Clarissa Justino de Lima has joined the AGR Testing Laboratory team as a Research Scientist” said Peter de Haan, Senior Scientist and Manager of the Delft lab. Clarissa’s main areas of responsibility will include fracture analysis, container testing as well as seminar instruction.

She will also have considerable involvement with the internal research projects and technical papers as they relate to glass as a material for use in the container industry.   Clarissa received her PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische University Delft.  She also

ince 1927, operates laboratories located in Butler, PA and Maumee, OH in the USA and Delft, the Netherlands.  American Glass Research is a division of AGR International Inc. holds a Master’s degree in Science & Engineering of Materials from Federal University Alfenas in Brazil. .

We are also pleased to announce the expansion of our renowned Training Program and will now be conducting open enrollment seminars for the first time in Moscow, Russia in addition to expanding our offerings in Krakow, Poland, Lake Ammersee, Germany and Montecchio, Italy.

American Glass Research, a leader in consulting, training and analytical services for the glass packaging industry since 1927, operates laboratories located in Butler, PA and Maumee, OH in the USA and Delft, the Netherlands.  American Glass Research is a division of AGR International Inc.