US company Agr TopWave has announced the launch of the Gawis automated thickness and dimensional system for plastic containers and preforms.
The equipment is a non-contact laboratory device designed to provide accurate, repeatable measurement of variables that are crucial to container performance.
Gawis offers a totally automated approach to the task of container and preform quality assurance testing. The equipment permits a number of laboratory tests to be performed in one operation, including comprehensive measurement of container sidewall, heel and shoulder thickness, body profile measurements in multiple locations, finish dimensioning, height, lean and pushup.
When equipped with fixtures, Gawis can be used for preform measurement as well. According to the company the equipment also eliminates the need for multiple devices and individual tests, resulting in savings in time and increased laboratory throughput.
The Gawis is designed for quality control inspection of newly formed containers, incoming inspection of purchased containers, and evaluation of container designs in the development laboratory. Benefits of this system include: hands-free testing of up to 20 containers or 72 preforms; accurate, non-contact thickness and dimensional measurements; significantly reduced laboratory time devoted to thickness and dimensional measurements.
The equipment incorporates features an automatic bottle-feeding system for increased throughput and walk-away operation. With the autofeed feature, the company claims that up to 20 bottles or 72 preforms can be loaded onto the autofeed tray, systematically tested and results documented. Once a test sequence is initiated, the Gawis requires no operator intervention to test a series of bottles or preforms, freeing personnel for other tasks.
The system will handle a wide range of PET bottle sizes and shapes including filled containers up to 3 litres. A full range of thickness and dimensional measurements can be performed on empty PET containers. By removing the light tube, dimensional measurements can also be performed on filled containers. This feature is ideal for determining dimensional shifts as a result of the filling process or material creep, the company said.
Agr TopWave develops and manufactures a full line of laboratory and on-line testing/quality control devices for plastic containers and similar products. Agr TopWave's headquarters and main manufacturing facility are located in Pennsylvania USA.