Engineering R&D

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I asked Steve Gidman, founder and president of Fortress Technology, about some of the challenges and successes in designing the company's Interceptor DF system.

Imagine the ability to track a product anywhere in the world with accuracy of within one foot—less than 31 cm. Sounds impossible, but with technology that LocatorX is developing, it can be done.

The meat industry has been using BI technology for decades to batch chill fresh product sold to wholesalers, restaurants and supermarkets. However, traditional cryogenic injectors have always posed problems.

A new, portable contaminant detector—now in trials by food processors and supply chain participants—promises to make testing for unwanted chemical constituents much faster and easier, truly "on the spot."

For the last five years, P&P Optica has delved into creating a high-end, hyperspectral imaging system that can operate in real time on lines for products such as meat and produce.

Recognizing the need to provide a cordset and connectors to meet food and beverage industry standards, Molex redesigned a connector family to provide the industry with a solution.

Enter EPIC—a controller capable of handling analog and discrete I/O with direct connection to sensors and actuators, running real-time tasks on board and connecting safely to cloud-based and on-premises applications.

Better Juice's process harnesses a natural enzymatic activity in non-GMO microorganisms to convert a portion of the simple fructose, glucose and sucrose sugars into fibers and other nondigestible sugars.

Emerson's engineers have created a sensing device capable of detecting gas leaks in bottles, cans and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) at line speeds, using laser technology developed by Cascade Technologies, a Stirling, Scotland-based spinoff of the University of Strathclyde.

With all the variable frequency motor drives in a modern food or beverage plant, knowing the level and quality of voltages and currents they’re sending to a motor could help a maintenance tech save the life of a motor.