In 2008, AVID customers in the PET packaging industry requested that AVID Corporation develop an automated bottle wall-thickness measurement system as an alternative to manual measurement techniques. Such techniques, such as hall effect micrometers, were simply unable to provide data quickly, efficiently, or with repeatability.

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AVID Corporation is pleased to offer the I-TES, an offline wall-thickness measurement system for laboratory use. The I-TES functions on the principle of near-infrared (N-IR) absorption of PET. By analyzing the amount of N-IR light absorbed by the plastic material, the I-TES is capable of measuring the thickness of that material.

 

The system utilizes automated wall-scans at defined positions. This automatic measurement eliminates tedious and non-repeatable hand measurements. The option for automatic loading & unloading via a conveyor auto-feeder increases throughput and testing efficiency; the operator only loads the sample set of parts onto the conveyor. Measurement, data capture and part handling are all controlled by the I-TES.

During a circumferential (horizontal) test, the bottle is spun 360° while the system monitors thickness at specified heights. The resulting “bands” of thickness data are of use to those manufacturers monitoring thickness at defined locations around the package.

Programs can easily be narrowed to provide measurements at set angles, or to highlight min (“min-wall”), max and average thickness information for each band in the data stream, simplifying most general data analysis requirements.

Profile data can be used to illustrate material distribution throughout the package, or to demonstrate section distribution, in some cases replacing destructive and time-consuming “section-weight” tests.

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Automated wall scanning at part specific defined heights and angles eliminates tedious and non-repeatable hand measurements. Measurement, data capture and part handling are all controlled by the I-TES.

 

I-TES can also be run in a “min-wall” mode that will measure user-defined areas of the bottle sidewall and report the minimum, maximum and average wall-thickness of the entire bottle.

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The I-TES is available in both a manually loaded (M) and a automatic conveyor load (C) configuration.

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The N-IR technology functions well for PET & PP materials. Due to the presence of additives in the processing of most PE packaging (including recycled material), the I-TES is not recommended for most HPDE/LDPE bottle thickness measurement applications, unless the material is known to be free of additives. Customers requiring a thickness system for PE bottles with known additives should consider the U-TES wall-thickness system.