Can it

Ever wish you could reseal a can of soda when you couldn't finish it? Well it seems that your dream may become a reality soon.

Beverage Daily reported a German start-up called can2close has won a business award for its earth-shattering product, C2.

According to Beverage Daily, the company's co-founders claim that the C2 can replace the tab can opening so the it can be sealed over and over.

The company also claims that C2 "keeps drinks fresher, keeps out contaminants (wasps, cigarettes, etc.) and reduces the spilling risk."

Sounds like a dream right?

You should be seeing it in stores in the near future. "We're in the process of readying the closure for industrial production. We're in the testing process, and we aren't light years away, we're getting close to market readiness," said PR manager for can2close, Gabriel Gruenthaler.

To read more, visit Beverage Daily. To learn even more about can2close, visit the site.

iRobot

FANUC Robotics America introduced its new intelligent R-1000iA/80F Learning “Gakushu” robot, which is designed for high-speed palletizing during Pack Expo Las Vegas.

The company says the robot’s software allows it to “record the path characteristics with an accelerometer” which is run multiple times, letting the robot optimize path data therefore “reducing the vibration while improving cycle time,” said Virgil Wilson, product manager, FANUC Robotics America.

The robot boasts a slim design, which helps consumers reduce the size of their automation system by allowing for more robots in a work cell, or putting a single robot in one smaller work cell.

Reducing work cell sizes will require less equipment, which FANUC says will mean an energy advantage for smaller automation systems.

“This equates to a greener facility using less energy for costly utilities such as lighting, heating and cooling,” Wilson added.

http://fanucrobotics.com/

Forget 3D...

Just when we thought 3D printing was new and exciting... introducing 4D printing!

BBC has reported that there is a handful of geniuses at MIT who are working on incorporating time -- yes time -- to printing.

How you might ask?

Mr. Tibbits from MIT's self-assembly lab explained how his team was working on how they would incorporate the fourth dimension. "We're proposing that the fourth dimension is time and that over timee static objects will transform and adapt," he said.

He continued to explain that the process included using 3D printers which create multi-layered materials combined with a plastic that BBC described as a "smart material" that can absorb water.

Hold the phone... Aren't there toys which come in capsule form that grow "x" times when put in water? (See photo above.)

But that's neither here nor there.

Mr. Tibbits went on to say that water is not the only source they can use. "We could also have heat, vibration and sound," he said.

If this is the case, the future of printing is looking promising!

To read more about the story, click here.

Awards for excellence

Congratulations are in order to TricorBraun, which announced in a press release Feb. 15 that the company took home two graphic design awards for packaging. 

TricorBraun Design and Engineering, a division of TricorBraun situated in Chicago, is "one of North America's largest providers of jars, bottles and other rigid packaging components," teamed up with Hoppes, a company which manufactures gun cleaning products to design packaging for its newest product, for which TricorBraun received one award.

The other, was awarded for TricorBraun's design work for a sake brewer, SakeOne. The brewing company wanted a bottle that would set itself apart from competition and cost less than its existing bottle. TricorBraun's design featured a sleek black design with yellow and white lettering.

Sleek and simple design garners attention, not to mention awards.

The fourth sense

Long are the days of relying solely on sight behind us, as the packaging industry is now integrating another sense to the mix.

Protection Decoration Conditionnement (PDC) Europe is partnering with Eos Innovation to develop elastomer sleeves which package products, but with a new twist.

The sleeves are manipulated during manufacturing to replicate textures, either "smooth, marbled, scaled or dimpled," according a PDC press release.

"Skin enhances any product: spirits, cosmetics, perfume, everyday and decorative items, limited editions... it adds value and distinction to the brand by appealing to the consumers' senses of touch and sight," said Derek Vandervoorde, president of PDC Europe.

What's next? Smell?

Parents beware

Following last week's post about MeadWestvaco (MWV), two medicinal syrups have issued a recall on over 2 million units Jan. 31.

The products in question are Triaminic Syrups, Theraflu Warming Relief Syrups and about 20 others of the same type. Reason behind the product recall is the supposed child-resistant caps.

There were 12 reports of children who were able to unscrew the caps, and four reports of ingestion. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United States, one incident sought medical attention.

Patrons affected by the recall can get a repair or a refund.

Read the press release in full here.


Consumer Contact:
Novartis Consumer Healthcare toll-free at (866) 553-6742 from 8 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday through Saturday, or online at www.novartisOTC.com for more information.

Child-proof

MeadWestvaco (MWV), packaging-biz giant is working alongside professionals in the pharmaceutical industry to create packaging that is child-resistant, a partnership that's been ongoing for years.

Reason behind the partnership was the fact that too many children (more than 500,000) five and under suffer poisoning from medication. MWV included in a press release that "more than 60,000 end up in the emergency room after ingesting unsecured medications."

MWV is promising to tailor its packaging solutions to satisfy each of its customers' needs. While products will be child-proof, MWV is working toward making the products adult-friendly. Personally, I'm not a fan of the push-twist caps on Tylenol/Advil bottles.

But the purpose of the initiative is to save lives, first and foremost.

BOXXing out the competition

There's a new machine in town, and it's taking human jobs. Transformers are actually taking over.

Canadian Packaging reported that Eagle Packaging Machinery LLC, based in Miami, FL, has a new machine that it (Eagle Packaging) hopes will decrease operators' carbon footprints.

The new machine called BOXXER is an automated system that will build cases and place products in them. Which will negate the purpose of having hardly any human presence in a factory that does such thing.

According to Canadian Packaging, BOXXER will "help increase productivity and lower labor costs."

To learn more about how it works, read the original post.