Merger leads to a new leader in measurement solutions!

NDC Infrared Engineering and Beta LaserMike, recognized global leaders in NIR (near infrared), nucleonic, optical, X-Ray, laser, microwave, ultrasonic and process control technology for non-contacting measurement and control solutions, have merged to create NDC Technologies. The combination strengthens the new company’s position in the marketplace by offering a more comprehensive portfolio of gauging solutions across a multitude of industries.  

NDC Technologies will offer four key product groups: 

• Web Solutions – for the converting, extrusion, calendering, and nonwovens industries, delivering real-time measurement and control of key product parameters such as product thickness, coating thickness, and basis weight.
• Sensors -- on-line gauges and at-line analyzers for the measurement of moisture and other key product constituents in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, mineral, bulk materials and tobacco industries.
• X-ray gauges for metals – on-line measurement of thickness, coat weight, width and optical flatness measurement for the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industries.
• Ultrasonics & Lasers – non-contact gauges for the on-line and off-line measurement of diameter and ovality, wall thickness and eccentricity, length and speed, and other dimensional monitoring of products in the wire and cable, fiber optics, pipe and tube, building, nonwovens, paper, plastic, and metals industries.

Headquartered in Irwindale, (CA USA), NDC Technologies is part of Spectris PLC, a leading supplier of productivity enhancing instrumentation and controls based in England. With a commitment to innovation, the pooling of research and technology resources will streamline product development and rapidly address the evolving needs of industry and customers. In addition, the combined company has proven teams of talented, experienced employees with strong customer relationships and a commitment to customer excellence. The merger will increase the distribution channels and customer care network, expanding the company’s reach to better serve customers around the globe.

Enclosed in-line measurement for moisture

While NIR is widely used for measuring products transported on open conveyor belts, NDC Infrared Engineering’s improved PowderVision sampling system allows moisture to be measured in powders, granules and flakes flowing in enclosed ducts or gravity fed conveying systems. PowderVision can be used with a wide range of industrial powders, including chemicals, minerals, detergents and ceramics.

Designed to work with an NDC 710e NIR Moisture or Multi-component Gauge, PowderVision collects samples every few seconds, with measurement values output via digital or analogue connectivity to a PLC or SCADA system for process control.

PowderVision consists of a tube-mounted sampling cup made from 316 stainless steel which slides into a collar that is permanently welded into the appropriate duct in the process. PowderVision is optically coupled to the 710e NIR gauge via a sapphire window. The cup collects sample as it flows through the duct, allowing moisture and other measurements to be made simultaneously. When the measurement is complete, the cup is emptied using a powerful jet of compressed air and the next sampling sequence begins.

Making continual on-line moisture measurements eliminates the need to send samples away for laboratory measurement and allows drying processes to be controlled automatically, helping users to achieve consistent product quality, as well as creating opportunity for increased product yield and reduced fossil fuel consumption through process optimisation.

User-configurable software in the 710e HMI provides control of the PowderVision’s sampling timing sequences according to the required sample collection rate, and the Gauge’s measurements are automatically synchronised with the filling and emptying cycle. The gauge reading is then held until the sampling process has been repeated.

Feeding the food industry!

We reported the other day that NDC-Infrared Engineering had updated their website in the area of rubber and vinyl production. Now we report that in their roles as a specialist in online and at-line measurements of moisture, fat, protein, oil and Degree of Bake (surface brownness) for food processes the company has completely redesigned its website and published a new, industry–specific brochure to serve that side of their business. The new website provides enhanced navigation to allow visitors to find information on the use of NIR food gauges for quality assurance and process control in a wide variety of foods processing lines.

The simplified approach to navigation makes it easy for visitors to identify their market and application area and makes extensive use of intuitive or “friendly” URLs such as www.ndc.com/snacks etc. This industry-driven approach makes it easy to identify the most appropriate product or system for the application.

The new site offers the benefit of providing easily accessible basic information, with other information such as application notes available following registration. All registrations from NDC’s previous site will be carried over, so there will be no need to re-register. The site also makes it very easy to identify the local market-relevant NDC contact anywhere in the world.

In addition, a new, industry-focused brochure is available for immediate download. This describes the measurement of moisture content, oil or fat content, protein content and degree of bake and covers applications in a host of food applications. These include: coffee and tea processing; confectionery; cookies and biscuits; corn wet milling; crackers and crispbreads; dairy powders; flour and grains; ingredients; seeds, nuts and spices; meat further processing; olive oil extraction; pet foods and animal feeds; potato chips and crisps; baked or fried snack products; starch

and sugar processing and refining.

Thickness measurement for rubber & vinyl calendering

NDC Infrared Engineering has completely redesigned its website and published two new, industry–specific brochures. The new website provides enhanced navigation to allow visitors to find information on reliable measurement and control solutions for vinyl, gum (innerliner), textile (fabric), and wire (steel cord, metallic) calenders.

The simplified approach to navigation makes it easy for visitors to identify their market and application area and makes extensive use of intuitive or “friendly” URLs such as www.ndc.com/rubbercalendering etc. With a wide range of measurement technologies available, this industry-driven approach makes it easy to identify the most appropriate product or system for the application.

The new site offers the benefit of providing easily accessible basic information, with further information such as application notes available following registration. All registrations from NDC’s previous site will be carried over, so there will be no need to re-register. The site also makes it very easy to identify the local market-relevant NDC contact anywhere in the world.

In addition, new ‘Calendering’ and ‘Web Gauging at a glance’ brochures are available for immediate download. The Calendering brochure provides a good overview of the measurement technologies available. The Web Gauging at a glance brochure reviews how NDC’s TDi™ (Total Distributed Intelligence) Web Gauging platform supports all the different measurement methods.

IR support

NDC Infrared Engineering has announced a new remote support and optimisation capability for its MM710e range of Ethernet-enabled on-line NIR gauges. These gauges are used extensively in the food industry for real-time moisture, fat and protein measurements. This new facility enables NDC customer support engineers to have direct access to an MM710e gauge anywhere in the world via an internet-based connection for software upgrades, performance evaluation and monitoring, calibration and much more.

This new capability, which is also available for NDC’s Infralab e-Series At-Line standalone analyser, provides a highly cost-effective alternative to on-site visits as part of an annual routine maintenance contract, or as part of NDC’s new modular Remote Support Contract initiative. Either way, valuable time is saved by providing NDC customer support engineers with instant access to the instrument for remote diagnostics.

NDC Customer Service Manager, Neil Stephens, said: “We have introduced this new capability in direct response to customer requests. Since the only two consumable parts in the gauge or analyzer, the source lamp and filterwheel motor, are guaranteed for 5 years, it is extremely unlikely that the gauges will experience any hardware failures, so remote access is a perfect maintenance tool”.

“The new facility allows us to make a full back-up of all gauge settings including full product recipe parameters”, he continued. “We can update all software where applicable; check window contamination values; check motor performance and check source lamp performance. By checking the calibration history for each product and inspecting the gauge history log we can identify existing or potential issues and offer advice on how the gauge performance could be optimised. Not only that, after each inspection, we can issue a certificate of conformance, which is particularly important in the food industry”.

The MM710e process gauges and InfraLab At Line analysers are used extensively throughout the food industry for measurements on products as diverse as dairy powders, chocolate, snacks, meat, biscuits, ingredients, coffee, sugar and cereals.

Collagen in meat!

At-line measurement of collagen in meat

An extended range version of the InfraLab e-Series Multi-component At-Line Meat Analyser from NDC Infrared Engineering has been developed to include the measurement of collagen, as well as fat, moisture and protein. The extended range InfraLab provides a good indication of collagen levels over a 1-8% concentration range.

Measuring the amount of collagen or collagenous material present in meat is important in meeting local quality and legislative requirements. Collagen has traditionally been measured in meat samples using laboratory methods, which means that the sample has to be sent away for analysis, which slows the production process.

The InfraLab uses non-contacting multi-wavelength NIR technology for measurements of fat, moisture and protein. The new collagen measurement capability features a robust algorithm which quantifies the spectrum shifts in the NIR spectrum associated with changes in collagen content. Measurements can be made in just 10 seconds, and the analyzer can be located right next to the production line for fast turn-around of results, eliminating the delays associated with laboratory analysis.