New Product Certifications: Machine Tending Cobot, Food Safety Packaging in Texas, and Green Cleaner/Degreaser
INDEVCO Achieves Food Safety Code for Manufacture of Food Packaging at its Texas Plant
INDEVCO Plastics, LLC, a member company of INDEVCO North America, has achieved the SQF Food Safety Code Edition 9 Certification which covers the manufacture of flexible packaging in rolls, extruded non-printed films, and shrink film. The certification for the Longview, TX plant recognizes INDEVCO Plastics’ dedication to implementing the highest standards in the manufacture of food packaging materials.
The SQF Code Edition 9, developed by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), is the latest benchmark in food safety and quality management. By obtaining this certification, INDEVCO Plastics showcases its adherence to a comprehensive set of protocols and guidelines designed to protect consumers and ensure the safety and integrity of food packaging materials.
To achieve SQF Code Edition 9 certification, INDEVCO Plastics underwent an evaluation of its processes, systems, and procedures. The evaluation process included a thorough assessment of critical areas, including food safety management systems to safeguard the quality and safety of food packaging materials, allergen control measures, stringent packaging material traceability, proactive environmental monitoring, and supplier assurance.
INDEVCO Plastics produces PE films and bags for a range of markets in North America: appliance & electronics, beverage, building materials, chemical & petrochemical, industrial salt & minerals, lawn & garden, packaging converting, pet food & animal nutrition, and transport packaging.
acp systems Awarded GreenScreen Certified for Cleaners & Degreasers
As the first manufacturer of a dry chemical cleaning technology, acp systems AG has received Clean Production Action's GreenScreen Certified for Cleaners & Degreasers for its quattroClean snow jet technology in combination with CO2 gas from Linde.
The independent, non-profit organization identifies and certifies “green” cleaning media with chemical properties that are safe for humans and the environment, based on scientifically sound, transparent criteria.
Since mid-April, acp has been able to clearly prove that the liquid carbon dioxide from Linde used for full-surface or partial dry cleaning with the quattroClean snow jet technology is a “green” cleaning medium. The company is the first manufacturer of a dry cleaning process to be awarded GreenScreen Certified for Cleaners & Degreasers, which applies to all industrial applications, especially electronics manufacturing. The certificate confirms that the process gas does not contain any chemical substances that are harmful to humans or the environment.
The scalable quattroClean snow jet technology uses recycled liquid carbon dioxide produced during chemical manufacturing processes and energy generation from biomass, which is fed through a wear-free two-substance ring nozzle. On exiting, the CO2 expands to form fine snow particles, which are bundled by a jacket jet of compressed air, accelerated to supersonic speed, and directed precisely onto the surface to be cleaned.
In the process, the jet triggers four mechanisms of action that reliably remove particulate contamination down to the sub-micrometer range as well as filmic contamination. The process is deployed in the electronics & semiconductor industries and in communications technology, as well as in medical & pharmaceutical technology, battery & fuel cell production, microsystems technology, and other sectors.
GreenScreen is a globally recognized tool for evaluating and benchmarking chemicals based on their hazard potential. With GreenScreen Certified for Cleaners & Degreasers, Clean Production Action (CPA) has created a benchmark specifically for cleaning media used as process chemicals in manufacturing, with a focus on the electronics industry.
The background is the IPC-1402 Standard for Green Cleaners Used in Electronics Manufacturing, jointly developed by IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries), Apple, and other international companies, which has been available since mid-2022. This defines the criteria that a “green” cleaner must meet in the electronics industry. Well-known manufacturers were also among CPA's partners when the certification standard for cleaning media was developed.
Certification guarantees that the products tested by an independent organization according to scientifically sound and freely-accessible criteria are free from PFAS (Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) and other chemicals of concern. The test limits are 100 ppm.
PBC Linear Becomes a Universal Robots+ Certified Partner for Cobot Feeder
PBC Linear's (Pacific Bearing Company) Applied Cobotics Cobot Feeder, a CNC machine feeding application kit has received Universal Robots+ (UR+) partner certification from Universal Robots (UR).
The Cobot Feeder, which delivers and stages parts to be placed into a machining process, includes a base storage and retrieval unit with a UR cobot pedestal, an enclosed steel rack dunnage tower with a 17-tray capacity that safely stores up to 50 lb. (23 kg) of material, an HMI touch screen display for easy lift control, Ethernet IP, Modbus, and standard UR cobot communications.
Designed to address material handling and labor shortage issues, the Cobot Feeder boosts UR cobot production without significant increases in labor. By reliably loading and unloading dunnage trays that a UR cobot can consistently access, this machine-tending tool provides a platform for storing, staging, and delivering parts into a position that the UR cobot can reach for loading and unloading.
The UR+ platform is a comprehensive ecosystem of certified partner products designed to integrate with UR cobots. Operating a Cobot Feeder alongside a UR cobot provides several benefits to shop floors:
- Higher efficiency: reduces changeovers and downtime, leading to increased cobot output.
- Increased productivity: provides a boost in cobot production
- Cost containment: helps mitigate the impact of rising labor costs. One operator can oversee multiple stations, allowing them to focus on production flow and quality control.
- Greater flexibility: enables shop floors to adapt to dynamic markets with multiple parts runs, lights-out automation, and shorter lead times.
