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The Right Time to Write
Find Your Best Time to Write
Each writer finds the best time to write. The key to getting your work done is consistency.
Two Steps to Your Ideal Flow
New writers are often confused about the best time to write and how much to write during each writing session.
Test different times of the day--early morning, morning, mid-day, afternoon, evening, late night, really early morning--to discover which time of day works with your writing flow.
Some authors get up early in the morning before family and/or work calls them to other activities. Another group of writers find late at night, often into the early morning, works best for them. I'm one of the night into next morning writers.
Once you discover your personal ideal time, enter it on your daily schedule and commit to that time as writing time. No excuses. Especially when you are starting out developing your writing routine, "one time" exceptions are easy to accept and interrupt your dedicated time.
After you have established your routine, you'll find it much easier to hold that writing time as precious and not allow any interruptions.
The best reward for finding your writing time and sticking to it is you will see results.
Zara Altair
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Zara Altair, Author
The puzzle of politics, the mystery of murder in ancient Italy. After Rome, before the Middle Ages, Italy belonged to the Ostrogoths.
November 2019


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BY Ysabell On Mar 01, 2019 Best Mutual
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WICHITA - Kansas farmers plan to put in slightly more acres of corn and soybeans this season than they did a year ago, a government report released Monday shows.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service's prospective planting report offers the season's first glimpse into the major crops Kansas farmers plan on growing.
Farmers told the agency they intend to sow 4.4 million acres of corn this spring in Kansas, up 2 percent from last year. The number of acres in the state expected to be seeded for soybeans is also up to 3.9 million acres for an 8 percent increase.
Meanwhile, anticipated plantings of sorghum tumbled to 2.7 million acres, a decrease of 13 percent when compared with the last season.
"You have to remember these estimates are exactly that: They are estimates and they go off of talking to growers about their intentions on what they are interested in planting. Yet, there is very little seed in the ground yet," said Sue Schulte, spokeswoman for the Kansas Corn Growers Association and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association.
A lot of factors, including weather, can influence spring planting, Schulte said. A very wet spring, for example, may keep farmers out of the field and force them to turn to other crops, such as late-planted sorghum, a warmer season crop which is among the last to be seeded.
"Sometimes the crop that a farmer intends to plant is not always the crop that he ends up planting," she said. "And because of that we usually take these early estimates with a little bit of a grain of salt."
The report comes on the heels of Kansas growers planting fewer acres last fall into winter wheat. The report estimated some 9.3 million acres of winter wheat were planted last fall for harvest later this season, down 2 percent from 9.5 million acres the previous year.
This spring the weather has been dry enough in Kansas that growers have been able to get into their fields early and do some of the preparatory work, but they will need rain once the seed is in the ground. Kansas farmers typically plant in April and May for fall-harvested crops such as corn and soybeans.
Kent Moore grows corn, wheat and soybeans on his Iuka farm northwest of Pratt in south-central Kansas. Moore, who is also chairman of the Kansas Corn Commission, said the small percentage point changes in the government report do not reflect a huge change in acreages for the various crops.
Most growers have a crop rotation plan and stick with it, Moore said. Some might tweak the number of acres one way or the other depending on markets and other concerns but typically do not make wholesale changes.
"Personally, on my own acreage, the crop mix is basically the same as it was a year ago," Moore said. "It really didn't change any."


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How to Grow and Develop the Leadership Talent of Everyone in your Clinic
How to Grow and Develop the Leadership Talent of Everyone in your Clinic
This course includes
Lifetime access after purchase
Certificate of completion
The instructors
Scott Marcaccio
Expert Series: Episode 13 with Rick Lau and Scott Marcaccio
The only way any organization can succeed in the current economic climate is by effective leadership...by everyone. Everyone needs to inspire their teammates. Everyone needs to take responsibility for results. Everyone needs to lead.
But how can we do this?
Whether you are a clinician working for someone else, an aspiring entrepreneur or clinic owner, understanding these principles is a must.
Growing and developing the leadership talent of every single person throughout the organization faster than their competition is the only way for companies to avoid getting eaten alive.
Companies need to strengthen the capacities of employees at every level to lead in everything they do.
It is quite a challenge. But in this complimentary webinar, Rick Lau and Scott Marccacio will provide easy to understand and apply models based on the characteristics we need to nurture. Join us for 60 minutes to find out what they are and how we can gain real success in business and life.
We need to stop doing the same. The riskiest place we can be is trying to do the same things in the same way as we've always done them. Same effort = same result. We need Innovation.
The comedian Steve Martin said it really well when he advised, "Be so good that people cannot ignore you." We need to be the first, the most, the only and the best at what we do.
What you'll learn on this 60 minute complimentary webinar:
- Practical tips on how you can lead no matter your position or title
- How to develop your leadership skills that will serve you throughout your career
- Learn how to save thousands by avoiding hiring mistakes
- How to create shared goals within an organization and simple beacons that focus attention and engagement on the shared goals.
- How to build a high-purpose environment
- Top productivity hacks to improve efficiency within you team
About the Instructors
About Rick Lau
Rick Lau is a successful healthcare entrepreneur and marketing expert. Having built a network of over 100 clinics across Canada, Rick understands the challenges clinic owners face and how to overcome them through optimizing clinic systems and marketing processes.
Rick is also the founder of CallHero, a call performance and training software that helps clinics turn their staff into phone experts and convert more calls into booked appointments. Rick also works with the CPA Private Practice Division helping clinic owners with their businesses.
About Scott Marcaccio
Scott Marcaccio is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Myodetox, a lifestyle and wellness brand operating eight multidisciplinary therapy clinics across Canada and the US.
Through the power of their brand-building efforts and industry-leading social media strategy, Scott has led Myodetox to forge ongoing partnerships with global brands including Nike, Samsung, Jordan Brand, OVO, Lululemon and Equinox.
The instructors
Healthcare Entrepreneur
Has built three 10 million dollar healthcare businesses over the past 15 years including a network of 127 clinics with over 1400 employees. He is one of the most sought-after mentors for clinic owners in Canada and USA where he helps owners double, triple, and even quadruple their revenue while having more freedom than they ever thought possible.
Rick also hosts the largest clinic owner business summit in Canada, ACCELERATE LIVE. Sold out early to a hungry crowd of 300+clinic owners, Rick delivered cutting-edge keynote speeches alongside 19 other 7-figure health business owners.
Follow me on instagram @thericklau
Course Material included in this course
Expert Series
Career Lessons
Dinner with Anyone
Developing Leadership
Contractor and Employee
Indicators of Greatness
Shared Goals


text: San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk,pubisher of 2D and 3D design and engineering software, recently announced the availability of its BIM Deployment Plan: A Practical Framework for Implementing BIM, a new web-accessible resource for building industry professionals. Aimed at all AEC stake-holders, including owners, architects, engineers, and contractors, the free guide includes support materials and a framework based on real-world applications of building information modeling (BIM). Tools offered include templates to help manage multi-discipline communications within a BIM project, as well as suggestions for the roles and responsibilities of each party in a BIM process-based project, best business process examples, and suggested software to support an effective BIM environment.


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Acrophobia – definition, pronunciation, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments
Last reviewed by Editorial Team on August 25th, 2018.
What is Acrophobia?
Acrophobia is "the fear of heights". It is categorized as specific type of phobia and subtype of anxiety disorder characterized by persistent, unwarranted, irrational and intense fear or worry of high heights, especially when someone is not particularly high up. Individuals with acrophobia generally have a fear of: being in tall buildings, roller coasters, Ferris wheels, skiing or even standing on high hills or balconies.
This fear usually affects the recreational activities one can enjoy. In some rare and extreme cases, the phobia can be so intensive that can affect regular normal-day life so activities such as for example driving on bridges may provoke dizziness and panic attacks as well as other anxiety symptoms.
Individuals who are living and working in large cities may find it very hard to attend meetings on higher floors of a building or may experience dizziness in escalators, railings, glass elevators, staircases, etc.
In comparison with other phobias, acrophobia is more commonly accompanied with panic attacks. It is categorized in a particular class of specific phobias, called space and motion discomforts.
Acrophobia pronunciation and word origin
Acrophobia is pronounced as [ak-ruh-foh-bee-uh].
The word acrophobia comes from Greek words ἄκρον, ákron, meaning "peak, edge, and summit" and φόβος, phóbos, meaning "fear".
Who are famous acrophobes?
Some famous people with acrophobia were/are: Isaac Asimov, Stanley Kubrick, John Madden, Woody Allen, and Whoopi Goldberg.
How common is acrophobia?
True acrophobia with severe fear is uncommon. According to some statistic data it has been estimated that almost 5% of population have some form of acrophobia with twice as many women affected as men. However, there is a certain condition called visual height intolerance which is not a typical phobia but more like visually triggered fear or anxiety. About 1/3 of people worldwide may have some level of visual height intolerance.
Do we born with acrophobia?
Rational fear of heights is instinctual in many mammals. Studies have been shown that even human infants are reluctant to crawl onto a floor of glass a few meters high from the ground, showing that the phobia could be innate rather than a learned fear. However, according to some scientists the underlying problem of this phobia is actually negative thoughts. It may relate to bad recognition of visual cues.
What are patients with acrophobia afraid of?
Patients with acrophobia are most commonly afraid of:
- High heights: tall buildings, balconies
- Standing near a window on the upper floors or planes
- Flights
- Climbing on mountains and hills
- Glass elevators
- High bridges
- High stairs
- Being on tall leaders
- Standing on chair, table
- Paragliding
- Home repairs that may require the use of a ladder
- Hang gliding
- Mountaineering
- Rappelling
Most acrophobes have negative thoughts such as following:
- If I stand on the ledge I will be interested and tempted to jump or someone will push me over
- I will lose my balance and fall
- The building structure is too weak, it may collapse
- The elevator car will crash.
- I will get dizzy or have a heart attack and fall
Acrophobics will usually experience these thoughts rapidly and automatically, so much so that they are often ignorant to them. The fear also stalks from the physical sensations related with heights. The negative thoughts of pain from injuries and falls are taken to very extreme levels in acrophobic individuals.
Acrophobia symptoms
Most commonly reported symptoms in patients with acrophobia are:
- Mental anxiety including often panic attacks
- Dizziness is very common
- Blurred vision
- Motor unstability
- Compulsive and delusional thoughts
- Fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control,
- A sensation of detachment from reality
- Nausea and vomiting
- Muscle tension
- Sweating
- Agitation
- Nervousness
- Rapid breathing
- Rapid heartbeat
- Feeling sick
- Shaking
- Inability to speak and think properly
- Descending spontaneously
- Kneeling
- Lowering the body
- Crawling
- Feeling of choking
- Stomach distress
- Crying or yelling
- Palpitations
- Feeling faint
- Temporary feelings of paralysis
Difference between vertigo and acrophobia
Vertigo is often mistermed incorrectly when describing a fear of heights, but it can be described more accurately a dizzy sensation that occurs pathologically, when the person is not actually spinning. However, it can be manifested when looking down from some place that is on high attitude or by looking straight up at a tall object or high place; however this symptom alone does not describe appropriate term of vertigo.
Vertigo can be triggered almost by any type of movement such as: walking, standing up, sitting down or by visual perspective changes including: squatting down, looking out of the window of a moving object, walking up or down stairs. Vertigo is medically termed height vertigo when the sensation of vertigo is triggered only by heights.
Acrophobia case reports
Here are some reports of persons experiencing acrophobia:
Person #1
"I have always been afraid of heights. When I was very little, I was afraid to sleep on the top bunk, so I let my older sister have it. I was fine with the bottom bunk. I never would dare get on top of the roof. So, when I decided to get over my fear and to face my phobia.
I climbed on a ladder and got on my roof. Then I set there, sweating and shaking… But the next morning, back onto the roof I went. It took a few weeks, but by the end of that week, it got easier. I could take being on the roof… I had also the fear of elevators and other things like that"
Person #2
"Approaching the end of our stay in Argentina, Sam and I visited the small town of Cafayate. Known for its amazing landscapes and high altitude wines, we decided to embark on an afternoon tour to visit the different landscapes in the area. Once we reached half way up the ridge, I began to feel anxious and wondered if I should turn back.
This would have been easy if not for the people behind me on the narrow path. Sam realised something was wrong and turned back to meet me. He told me that the drop eased off ahead and took my hand to lead me further up the ridge.
Reaching the top the views were breathtaking and more so as Sam and I were experiencing them together, which is the whole point of us doing this; to share such experiences. Despite my clammy hands and increased heart rate, I was happy to have reached the top with him."
What causes acrophobia?
Similarly to other phobias, Acrophobia also may be the cause of unconscious thoughts trying to create a self-defense mechanism. Emotional trauma in the past, such as a tragic event related with heights, or different scenes that can be seen in movies, may be a root causes for such phobias. In some individuals the fear may be present all the time while in others it may be present only from direct stimulus.
Recent studies have cast doubt that a fear of falling along with a fear of loud noises is most commonly proposed inborn or "non-associative" fears. The newer theory of non-associative fear is that an acrophobia is a developed adaptation to a world where falls are significant danger.
Researchers have argued that an acrophobia is an instinct found in many mammals. Experiments with visual cliffs have been shown that human infants and children, as well as other animals are reluctant in attempting onto a glass floor with a view of a few meters of fall-space below it.
While an inborn wariness about heights is useful for survival, an extreme fear may be related with activities of everyday life, such as standing on a chair or ladder, or even walking up a flight of stairs.
A likely predisposing factor is a dysfunction in maintaining balance. The human balance system incorporates vestibular, proprioceptive and nearby visual signals to reckon position and motion. As height increases, visual signals recede and balance becomes lesser even in normal people. However, most patients react by shifting to more reliance on the proprioceptive and vestibular branches of the equilibrium system.
But, an acrophobic will continue to over-rely on visual signals whether because of insufficient vestibular function or improper strategy. Locomotion at a higher heights usually require more than normal visual processing. The visual cortex becomes overloaded resulting in confusion. Some researchers warn that it may be ill-advised to encourage acrophobics to expose them to height without resolving the vestibular issues first.
Acrophobia diagnosis and tests
Acrophobia is diagnosed by psychiatrists most commonly after given history and clinical representations or after direct exposure to heights. Doctor will normally asked some questions in order to find and evaluate all the symptoms that acrophobe is experiencing. These questions generally include:
- The reaction after exposure to high place
- The duration and frequency of fear
- The severity of the symptoms
The condition can be easily confirmed according to the answers provided by patients. Acrophobia is diagnosed only when the intensity of fear interferes with normal functioning and makes severe distress.
Since many people have uncomfortable feeling when they are on high heights, true acrophobia is rarely diagnosed as a mental condition. When acrophobia is diagnosed, healthcare provider will decide adequate medical treatment depending on individual characteristics.
Acrophobia treatment
Overcoming the fear of heights is the best option to treat acrophobia. Following treatment options can be considered in patients with acrophobia:
- Behavior therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Hypnotherapy
- Breathing re-training
- Medications
- Virtual reality exposure therapy
- Coping mechanism
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for acrophobia
CBT is considered as the treatment of choice for specific phobias especially acrophobia, since it may be the caused by negative thoughts rather than actual fear. The main goal is to eliminate the symptoms of the fear and induce positive thinking. The acrophobe is encouraged to overcome the relation between specific thoughts and high attitudes that causes this phobia.
Systemic desensitization as a subtype of this therapy is preferred method in treating acrophobia. Patient is encouraged to relax and imagine the part of phobia, thinking from the least to the most fearful.
Behavioral therapy for acrophobia
During this therapy, therapists will expose patients to the primal source of fear, gradually, in order to fully eradicate the phobia. Different exercises are performed in to help the patients in facing the situation. Flooding therapy is commonly used, in which prolonged exposure to the fear-triggering situation helps in observing patient reactions.
Hypnotherapy for acrophobia treatment
Hypnotherapy in conjunction with fear exposure may be very helpful to detect the emotional triggers and eliminate the irrational phobia.
Breathing re-training for acrophobia treatment
Breathing retraining is type of treatment that is usually used in conjunction with other methods. Generally, anxiety is related with disrupting breathing issues that leads to hyperventilation. Shortness of breath physiologically will further enhance physical and emotional reactions creating an additive increase of the symptoms. Patients are trained to consciously control their breathing via slow breathing techniques.
Virtual reality exposure for acrophobia treatment
Exposing the patient to virtual reality (VR) experiences may be very helpful for acrophobia treatment. The patient is placed in the situation of fear itself and monitored until the fear progressively diminishes to a controllable state.
Through the means of a computer, reality is recreated in a safer way, both for the patient and for the therapist, and repeated until a positive response is obtained. The VR scenarios can be replicated and tailored to the needs of each patient.
Medications for acrophobia
Medicines such as anti-anxiety drugs, beta-blockers and anti-depressive drugs are sometimes used to relieve severe symptoms with or without panic attacks related to Acrophobia.
Anxiolytics are useful for short-term use and are very effective in reducing the anxiety symptoms of the person so it can be easier to handle their problem. Antidepressants and beta blockers (propranolol) may be good option to relieve physical symptoms like fast heartbeat, palpitation, panic and nervousness.
Coping mechanism for acrophobia treatment
Start facing your acrophobia by exposing yourself gradually to heights gradually. You should start it slowly and adjust it little by little higher until you start to tolerate the height and the feeling of fear start to diminish. Also, always think positively when you start to feel panic.
"How To Overcome Pediophobia "the Fear of Dolls"?"
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- Cherophobia – definition, pronunciation, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments


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Robert B. Reich is the former secretary of labor, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future."
THE 5 percent of Americans with the highest incomes now account for 37 percent of all consumer purchases, according to the latest research from
When so much income goes to the top, the middle class doesn't have enough purchasing power to keep the economy going without sinking ever more deeply into debt — which, as we've seen, ends badly. An economy so dependent on the spending of a few is also prone to great booms and busts. The rich splurge and speculate when their savings are doing well. But when the values of their assets tumble, they pull back. That can lead to wild gyrations. Sound familiar?
The economy won't really bounce back until America's surge toward inequality is reversed. Even if by some miracle
Look back over the last hundred years and you'll see the pattern. During periods when the very rich took home a much smaller proportion of total income — as in the Great Prosperity between 1947 and 1977 — the nation as a whole grew faster and median wages surged. We created a virtuous cycle in which an ever growing middle class had the ability to consume more goods and services, which created more and better jobs, thereby stoking demand. The rising tide did in fact lift all boats.Continue reading the main story
During periods when the very rich took home a larger proportion — as between 1918 and 1933, and in the Great Regression from 1981 to the present day — growth slowed, median wages stagnated and we suffered giant downturns. It's no mere coincidence that over the last century the top earners' share of the nation's total income peaked in 1928 and 2007 — the two years just preceding the biggest downturns.
Starting in the late 1970s, the middle class began to weaken. Although productivity continued to grow and the economy continued to expand, wages began flattening in the 1970s because new technologies — container ships, satellite communications, eventually computers and the Internet — started to undermine any American job that could be automated or done more cheaply abroad. The same technologies bestowed ever larger rewards on people who could use them to innovate and solve problems. Some were product entrepreneurs; a growing number were financial entrepreneurs. The pay of graduates of prestigious colleges and M.B.A. programs — the "talent" who reached the pinnacles of power in executive suites and on Wall Street — soared.
The middle class nonetheless continued to spend, at first enabled by the flow of women into the work force. (In the 1960s only 12 percent of married women with young children were working for pay; by the late 1990s, 55 percent were.) When that way of life stopped generating enough income, Americans went deeper into debt. From the late 1990s to 2007, the typical household debt grew by a third. As long as housing values continued to rise it seemed a painless way to get additional money.
Eventually, of course, the bubble burst. That ended the middle class's remarkable ability to keep spending in the face of near stagnant wages. The puzzle is why so little has been done in the last 40 years to help deal with the subversion of the economic power of the middle class. With the continued gains from economic growth, the nation could have enabled more people to become problem solvers and innovators — through early childhood education, better public schools, expanded access to higher education and more efficient public transportation.
We might have enlarged safety nets — by having unemployment
Big companies could have been required to pay severance to American workers they let go and train them for new jobs. The minimum wage could have been pegged at half the median wage, and we could have insisted that the foreign nations we trade with do the same, so that all citizens could share in gains from trade.
We could have raised
But starting in the late 1970s, and with increasing fervor over the next three decades, government did just the opposite. It deregulated and privatized. It cut spending on infrastructure as a percentage of the national economy and shifted more of the costs of public higher education to families. It shredded safety nets. (Only 27 percent of the unemployed are covered by unemployment insurance.) And it allowed companies to bust unions and threaten employees who tried to organize. Fewer than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized.
More generally, it stood by as big American companies became global companies with no more loyalty to the
Most telling of all, Washington deregulated Wall Street while insuring it against major losses. In so doing, it allowed finance — which until then had been the servant of American industry — to become its master, demanding short-term profits over long-term growth and raking in an ever larger portion of the nation's profits. By 2007, financial companies accounted for over 40 percent of American corporate profits and almost as great a percentage of pay, up from 10 percent during the Great Prosperity.
Some say the regressive lurch occurred because Americans lost confidence in government. But this argument has cause and effect backward. The tax revolts that thundered across America starting in the late 1970s were not so much ideological revolts against government — Americans still wanted all the government services they had before, and then some — as against paying more taxes on incomes that had stagnated. Inevitably, government services deteriorated and government deficits exploded, confirming the public's growing cynicism about government's doing anything right.
Some say we couldn't have reversed the consequences of globalization and technological change. Yet the experiences of other nations, like
How has Germany done it? Mainly by focusing like a laser on education (German math scores continue to extend their lead over American), and by maintaining strong labor unions.
THE real reason for America's Great Regression was political. As income and wealth became more concentrated in fewer hands, American politics reverted to what Marriner S. Eccles, a former chairman of the
Yet the rich are now being bitten by their own success. Those at the top would be better off with a smaller share of a rapidly growing economy than a large share of one that's almost dead in the water.
The economy cannot possibly get out of its current doldrums without a strategy to revive the purchasing power of America's vast middle class. The spending of the richest 5 percent alone will not lead to a virtuous cycle of more jobs and higher living standards. Nor can we rely on exports to fill the gap. It is impossible for every large economy, including the United States, to become a net exporter.
Reviving the middle class requires that we reverse the nation's decades-long trend toward widening inequality. This is possible notwithstanding the political power of the executive class. So many people are now being hit by job losses, sagging incomes and declining home values that Americans could be mobilized.
Moreover, an economy is not a zero-sum game. Even the executive class has an enlightened self-interest in reversing the trend; just as a rising tide lifts all boats, the ebbing tide is now threatening to beach many of the yachts. The question is whether, and when, we will summon the political will. We have summoned it before in even bleaker times.
As the historian James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream when he coined the term at the depths of
That dream is still within our grasp.Continue reading the main story


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Categoría: Noticias
Agr International Inc. introduces automated Volume measurement system for the plant floor
A more efficient way to manage volume and fill height requirements during glass bottle production
Agr International, Inc. announces the latest addition to its family of products for the glass container industry, the SPT2-Volume. This automated, self-contained testing station is designed to provide hands-free, automated volume measurement of glass containers on the plant floor or in the laboratory, offering a cost-effective alternative to the tedious hand measurement of bottles.
According to Agr, this system was developed to meet the needs of glass container producers and brand owners that need fast and precise volume measurement but do not require pressure testing. This product is particularly applicable to the producers of non-pressurized ware, including spirit, olive oil and specialty beverage and food containers where volume measurement is critical.
The SPT2-Volume is an extension of the industry leading Agr SPT2 product line. Built upon the same testing platform, this system shares many of the popular features, including a rugged stainless steel framework, no job change bottle handling system and a Linux operating system.
What is unique about the SPT2-Volume is its ability to perform fill height and volume measurement with laboratory accuracy, the repeatability that is achieved with automation and a fast throughput necessary for effective process management. System handling and operational components have been configured with this in mind. Plus, the system can be configured to operate autonomously, where it can provide round-the-clock volume measurement without additional labor requirements.
Volume measurement with precision
The SPT2-Volume system utilizes positive-displacement as it core technology. A known volume of fluid is transferred from a temperature compensated, calibrated cylinder into the test container. At the same time, the fill level is dynamically monitored as the container is filled to overflow.
The positive-displacement method offers a number of advantages over traditional laboratory methods. Most significant is the accuracy and speed. This filling technique, in tandem with a high-precision fill-height sensor, makes it possible to deliver defined volume and fill measurements at any point within the process, to an accuracy of + 0.5 ml. Measurements can be performed at a rate of up to 120 bottles per hour (350 ml bottle).
Other advantages include little or no effect on measurement precision due to water quality, container shape or rate of fill, regardless of the size and volume of the container. Furthermore, the volume measurement system on the SPT2-Volume is self-contained, requires no delicate scales and is not affected by water density, flow rate, vibrations or issues that commonly plague other methods.
Since the SPT2-Volume can perform in-process job changes, it is possible to test bottles from different manufacturing lines, or hand-feed a set of bottles as required, with testing protocols unique to that specific bottle type, without the need to stop and reconfigure the system, maximizing testing efficiency.
This system can be configured as a stand-alone testing station, integrated into a sampling line in conjunction with a plant-wide process management system or combined with Agr's OmniLab® automated measurement system.
The SPT2-Volume is the latest generation in a long line of automated testing systems supplied by Agr for the glass container manufacturing industry.
Agr's new in-the-blowmolder vision inspection system for PET bottles to be the focus for Pack Expo 2019, booth 6538
Pilot Vision+™, Agr's latest and most powerful in-the-blowmolder vision system will be featured at the upcoming Pack Expo show in Las Vegas. This system is uniquely positioned for the quality management of bottles with high percentages of rPET. Designed to work in conjunction with today's high speed reheat stretch blowmolding equipment, the Pilot Vision+ system offers a modular approach to defect detection that works within the blowmolder. The open architecture of this system allows for simultaneous management of up to 6 cameras, in multiple locations. Some of the features of this system include color preform cameras for managing color variations, simple configuration and operation, large-screen user interface and defect categorization by mold/spindle and defect type. As part of Agr's Process Pilot family of products, Pilot Vision+ can be combined with Process Pilot for a total bottle management solution, providing the ability to detect random occurring defects as well as manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.
Agr will also feature the Process Pilot® system with Advanced Thin-wall capability. Introduced earlier this year, this tool is ideally suited for facilitating the production of ultralight bottles. It provides the added precision and blowmolder control necessary to produce very light bottles, with consistent quality, in order to ensure proper performance on the production line and throughout the distribution chain. The Process Pilot system works in conjunction with the blowmolder to continuously measure material distribution on every bottle, and proactively manage the blowmolder to maintain optimal material distribution. Since the Process Pilot system manages the blowmolder based on actual bottle measurement, it is an ideal tool that can be used to overcome many of the issues, outside of the blowmolder, that compromise bottle manufacture and filling line productivity such as process and environmental variables, resin quality, increased levels of rPET and preform variability.
Agr technical experts will be available at Pack Expo booth 6538 to discuss these products and the rest of their complete line of process monitoring and quality control equipment for the plastic container industry.
All-new, high-precision laboratory thickness and dimensional measurement system for plastic containers to be introduced by Agr International at K 2019
All-new, high-precision laboratory thickness and dimensional measurement system for plastic containers to be introduced by Agr International at K 2019
Agr will display several new product developments as well as an array of quality management and process control equipment for plastic containers at K 2019, Stand 11B40.
All-new measurement system for plastic containers – the focal point for Agr's display will be an all-new laboratory measurement system for plastic containers. Designed to streamline laboratory measurement operations, this system provides operators with the ability to perform multiple measurements, on a wide range of plastic containers and preforms, with un-matched accuracy, repeatability and operational throughput. This all-in-one measurement system incorporates the latest optical gauging and thickness measurement technology, in combination with automation, to simplify container measurement operations while maximizing testing throughput. Additionally, this system includes a number of features including advanced job setup tools to minimize time required for job creation, large screen image display with ability to expand images for close analysis, comprehensive data capture/reporting and Industry 4.0 communications.
Pilot Vision+™ – Agr's latest and most powerful in-the-blowmolder vision system. This system is uniquely positioned for the quality management of bottles with high percentages of rPET. Designed to work in conjunction with today's high speed reheat stretch blowmolding equipment, the Pilot Vision+ system offers a modular approach to defect detection that works within the blowmolder. The open architecture of this system allows for simultaneous management of up to 6 cameras, in multiple locations. Some of the features of this system include color preform cameras for managing color variations, simple configuration and operation, large-screen user interface and defect categorization by mold/spindle and defect type. As part of Agr's Process Pilot family of products, Pilot Vision+ can be combined with Process Pilot for a total bottle management solution, providing the ability to detect random occurring defects as well as manage the process to maintain precise material distribution, even with the lightest and/or most difficult-to-process bottle design.
Process Pilot® with advanced Thin-wall Measurement –The Process Pilot system with Advanced Thin-wall capability, introduced earlier this year, is ideally suited for the production of ultralight bottles. It provides the added precision and blowmolder control necessary to produce very light bottles, with consistent quality, in order to ensure proper performance on the production line and throughout the distribution chain. The Process Pilot system works in conjunction with the blowmolder to continuously measure material distribution on every bottle, and proactively manage the blowmolder to maintain optimal material distribution. Since the Process Pilot system manages the blowmolder based on actual bottle measurement, it is an ideal tool that can be used to overcome many of the issues that compromise bottle manufacture and filling line productivity such as process and environmental variables, increased levels of rPET and preform variability.
Agr staff members will be available to discuss these products and the rest of their complete line of process monitoring and quality control equipment for the plastic container industry. As an industry leader for over 90 years, Agr is committed to provide the plastic container industry with the most technologically advanced products available for quality control and productivity improvement.
Agr offers a complete line of products for the measurement and testing of plastic containers. Agr products are designed to assist container producers, converters and fillers stay competitive while meeting the increased quality demands of today's changing world. Additional details can be found on the Agr website at www.agrintl.com.
Agr's Delft Testing Lab celebrates its first year of operation and continues to expand services and personnel to meet the needs of the region
Agr International has invested more than 1 Million Euros in the establishment of an American Glass Research Testing Laboratory in Delft, The Netherlands. The lab has completed its first full year of operations and AGR CEO Henry Dimmick declares it has more than met its first year objectives. "Our goals were to create and staff a state of the art testing laboratory for glass containers and be able to offer all of the same core glass testing services American Glass Research is known for, including: Fracture Diagnosis, Proof of Design Testing, Filling line and Glass Manufacturing line audits, Container Design Study, as well as Label, Decoration and Closure Analysis", said Dimmick.
We have installed Agr International produced testing equipment including a Ramp Pressure Tester 2X, Vertical Load Tester, and Pendulum Impact Tester for comprehensive, performance testing of glass containers. Additionally complementary AGR equipment housed at the laboratory includes the following: Line Simulator, Hot End Coating Measurement System, Finish Coating Measurement System, Tilt Table, Polarimeter and MBTxt thickness measurement gauge. Along with the Agr equipment, the lab also has a range of state of the art optical and polarizing microscopes along with an array of metrology devices to round out the capabilities of the facility.
The lab in Delft has a highly trained and experienced staff that fully understands the issues associated with the design and production of glass containers. "We have continually expanded our staff to meet our growing needs. In support of this, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Clarissa Justino de Lima has joined the AGR Testing Laboratory team as a Research Scientist" said Peter de Haan, Senior Scientist and Manager of the Delft lab. Clarissa's main areas of responsibility will include fracture analysis, container testing as well as seminar instruction.
She will also have considerable involvement with the internal research projects and technical papers as they relate to glass as a material for use in the container industry. Clarissa received her PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische University Delft. She also
ince 1927, operates laboratories located in Butler, PA and Maumee, OH in the USA and Delft, the Netherlands. American Glass Research is a division of AGR International Inc. holds a Master's degree in Science & Engineering of Materials from Federal University Alfenas in Brazil. .
We are also pleased to announce the expansion of our renowned Training Program and will now be conducting open enrollment seminars for the first time in Moscow, Russia in addition to expanding our offerings in Krakow, Poland, Lake Ammersee, Germany and Montecchio, Italy.
American Glass Research, a leader in consulting, training and analytical services for the glass packaging industry since 1927, operates laboratories located in Butler, PA and Maumee, OH in the USA and Delft, the Netherlands. American Glass Research is a division of AGR International Inc.
Dr. Clarissa Justino de Lima joins American Glass Research Delft Testing Lab
American Glass Research announced that Dr. Clarissa Justino de Lima has joined the AGR Testing Laboratory team in Delft, the Netherlands as a Research Scientist. "We have continually expanded our staff to meet our growing needs and are pleased that Clarissa is joining us and bringing a wealth of experience" said Peter de Haan, Senior Scientist and Manager of the Delft lab.
Clarissa's main areas of responsibility will include fracture analysis, container testing as well as seminar instruction. She will also have considerable involvement with the internal research projects and technical papers as they relate to glass as a material for use in the container industry.
Clarissa received her PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische University Delft. She also holds a Master's degree in Science & Engineering of Materials from Federal University Alfenas in Brazil. She is co-author of a number of publications related to glass science, manufacturing and innovative applications of glass materials and has presented her findings at a number of industry conferences around the world.
Agr International creates new division focused on assisting PET bottle self-manufacturers optimize their production operations
The Agr Process Performance Optimization Group offers technical assistance to maximize the productivity and efficiency of PET blowing and beverage production lines.
Self-manufacture of PET bottles has grown in popularity with beverage producers. The ability to produce bottles, on demand, at the point of filling offers a myriad of advantages. Cost containment, reduced warehousing and transportation costs, improved inventory control and increased production flexibility are but a few of these advantages.
However, along with the advantages come some new challenges. Many companies that self-manufacturer struggle with PET bottle processing. This often involves determining the proper recipe for a given bottle, taking into consideration the local plant and regional environments or dealing with preforms from different sources or lineages. Sometimes it is just a challenge to produce bottles with consistent quality and performance that do not compromise downstream operations. And, let's not forget about the scarcity of experienced blowmolder operators and processing personnel. These are just a small sample of some of the issues that self-manufactures face.
Overcoming blowmolding challenges
The Agr Process Performance and Optimization Group was established to provide self-manufacturers with a go-to resource to help overcome some of the everyday challenges in producing their own bottles. The approach of the Process Group is somewhat different than what is traditionally offered by the blowmolder manufacturers. The Agr Process group takes a holistic approach towards optimization that not only focuses on the blowmolder, but goes beyond to understand issues affecting the efficiency of the entire production line. Since Agr is not affiliated with any specific brand of blowmolder, the group can provide whole plant assistance in operations that have different blowmolder brands in the same facility.
Some of the offerings now available through this group include working directly with a plant's process engineers and plant floor personnel to help manage challenging light weight applications, develop effective processing recipes and address process variation and quality issues as well as a myriad of downstream process improvement efforts that can lead to improved pack rate. The services of the group are offered under the following categories:
- Blowmolder management and optimization – individual assessment of individual blowing lines
- Effective use of basic quality tools for blowmolder management
- Optimizing Pilot Profiler® and Process Pilot® automated tools to manage blowmolder and production quality
- Production line auditing and optimization planning
- Job-specific services such as recipe design and startup assistance
According to Robert Cowden, Agr's Chief Operating Officer, "our primary mission is to work with our customers to optimize production efficiency, both in terms of blowmolding and total line efficiency. Agr's consulting professionals work directly with plant personnel to optimize blowmolding and container flow downstream in order to reduce manufacturing costs."
Agr is not a novice when it comes to managing blowmolder performance. This Process Performance Optimization Group is an outgrowth of the Agr Process Pilot® automated blowmolder management program. With over 400 Process Pilot systems operating in the field, Agr system engineers have encountered many of the issues that traditionally plague PET bottle manufacturers, helping to identify a need for this kind of service. As part of the installation and commissioning of these Process Pilot systems, Agr engineers have been tasked to provide some of the very services that are now being offered through the Process Performance and Optimization Group. However, through this group, the services have been greatly expanded and are no longer limited to facilities only using Agr's Process Pilot system.
Request more information here.
Agr's advanced thin-wall measurement for PET bottles helps producers get one step closer to meeting sustainability goals
New Lightweight option for the Process Pilot® blowmolder management system affords the production of even lighter, more sustainable PET bottles
With increasing focus on sustainability in packaging, Agr's new Lightweight option for the Process Pilot® blowmolder management system gives brand owners and bottle manufactures another tool to meet this complex and growing challenge. The Process Pilot system, with the Lightweight option provides assurance that the limited material available for producing a light weight PET bottle is distributed exactly where it needs to be, and at the appropriate thickness, to ensure proper performance.
There are many facets to this issue and improving the sustainability footprint of a product or brand can be a complex undertaking. Most avenues to sustainability are not under the direct control of the bottle manufacturer or brand owner. One option that is within their control however, is the reduction and optimization of the amount of resin that is used to manufacture the bottles. Resin (or weight) reduction per bottle does not need to be excessive to have an impact with regards to sustainability and financial benefits particularly when factoring in the quantity of bottles produced over a given period of time.
Over the years, many PET bottle manufacturers have made great progress reducing excess material and moving towards lighter, more sustainable bottles. However, as weights continue to be reduced, the role of process variation and its effect on material distribution increasingly becomes a factor in the success of the weight-reduction program. Agr's Process Pilot blowmolder management system was developed to address this issue and offers manufacturers a valuable tool to use in their weight reduction efforts. The Process Pilot system, with Agr Pilot Profiler® measurement technology installed inside the blowmolder, provides a means for manufacturers to accurately measure material distribution on every bottle (to 0.05mm), in real time, and proactively adjust the blowmolder to maintain proper distribution, countering the effect of process variation.
In the push for more sustainable bottles, weights are being reduced even further and, with that, the sidewall thickness of the bottle. In order to process these bottles effectively and control the material distribution, additional measurement accuracy is required. The new Lightweight option, incorporated into the Pilot Profiler measurement component, offered with the Process Pilot system was developed to address this need for even greater measurement accuracy and control on very light bottles. With this option, a level of control is now available with the Process Pilot system that extends the measurement range to 0.025mm, with an accuracy of +0.01mm for PET bottle sidewall material. This added functionality delivers greater distribution control on bottles with very thin sidewalls or at specific locations on other types of bottles where precise material management is critical to meet performance and quality requirements. This capability removes one of the barriers to producing usable, lighter and more sustainable bottles.
Agr's Process Pilot automated blowmolder control systems are operating on over 400 PET bottle production lines. They have proven to be a vital tool in the production of light weight bottles while improving overall bottle performance and quality. The Process Pilot system is unique in that it manages the blowmolder based on direct bottle measurements, on every bottle produced. By controlling the blowmolder based on direct feedback from bottle measurements rather than just blowmolder performance indicators, the Agr system can ensure that the final product has the desired quality and performance attributes in spite of environmental, blowmolder or material variations that can occur during the production process. Now with the Lightweight option, the process can be controlled for even the lightest bottles. The option is currently available on all new production Process Pilot systems. To achieve these capabilities on existing systems, Agr also offers an upgrade package that can be easily installed in the field.
Agr International, Inc. announces new sales roles for Latin America
As of January 14, 2019, Ms. Marta de la Torre has been named Regional Director of Sales and Service for Latin America. A 20 year veteran of the Agr organization, Ms. de la Torre has vast experience in these regions with her former role as Sales Regional Manager. She has successfully provided knowledge of quality assurance and process control to the glass, plastic and packaging industries in the region.
Latin America continues to offer development in the packaging markets, evident with significant growth in Agr's customer base within this area. Following the opening of Agr Packaging Services in Mexico and to better support this growing customer base, Agr made the decision to advance the role of Ms. de la Torre as well as expand the sales force in the region with the addition of Mr. Sergio Ruiz. Mr. Ruiz comes to Agr following 10 years in process, project and sales engineering in the region. In addition, Mr. Israel Hernandez and his team of factory-trained service engineers continue to provide installation, service support and training to meet the needs of the customers within the area. Maintaining a local presence of Agr personnel is central to this market with the ability to respond to customer needs in a timely and cost-effective fashion.
Agr International Inc. develops and manufactures a full line of laboratory and on-line testing/measurement devices for containers and similar products. The Agr headquarters and main manufacturing facility is located in Butler, PA, USA. Agr is committed to provide the container, filling and packaging industries with the most technologically advanced products available for quality control and productivity improvement.
Agr's new multi-head coating measurement system performs body and finish coating measurements in one operation
This new device offers significant improvements in accuracy and testing throughput
Agr International, Inc. recently announced the introduction of the Combined Coating Measurement System (CCMS) for measuring metallic coatings on both the finish and body regions of glass containers. This totally new device provides operators with a one-stop, single operation testing station for measuring tin oxide coatings applied to the container during the production process.
This system utilizes Agr's proven reflective coating measurement technology as a foundation and features a fully automated measurement approach. By incorporating a number of technological advances in combination with automation, Agr has been able to achieve a 33% improvement in testing throughput and a 70% improvement in precision with this device over previous coating measurement systems.
Some of the features incorporated into the CCMS include:
- Finish and/or body measurements in one operation
- Dual head design
- Universal hold down mechanism
- Automated test or spot check operation
- Secure Linux-based operating system
- Industry 4.0 ready
- Software-based calibration
- Advanced electronics for better precision
According to Agr sources, the basic goal of the CCMS development program was to provide the industry with a leading-edge system that could provide the measurement precision needed for process management requirements while reducing the labor intensity of coating measurement.
Two heads are better than one
In order to achieve maximum precision on finish and body measurements, the CCMS incorporates dedicated measurement heads for each of the finish and body regions. One head is optimized to operate with the precision necessary for the limited area of the finish region. The second head is configured for body measurements where larger areas and heavier coatings are encountered. The advanced electronics of the system, in conjunction with dedicated measurement heads for finish and body, make it possible to precisely identify the presence of very small amounts of coating in the finish region while measuring heavier coating levels applied to the body of the container, all in one operation.
Automated, one-touch operation
The CCMS is designed for fully automated operation. Positioning of measurement heads, including vertical height location, container rotation and capture of measurement data is performed in a single progression, without the need for operator intervention during the testing sequence. Jobs can be created to measure the body or finish regions individually or a combination of both.
For additional operator convenience, the system offers two testing modes. The "spot test" measurement mode affords the operator the ability to take a quick spot measurement on a single container location. The "job-based" test mode provides the operator with the ability to create and store jobs that can be used to measure multiple containers of the same type. In this mode, each measurement is performed at the same locations on the container body and/or finish, as defined by the job, on every container in the set.
The CCMS provides a wealth of test data. Measured values are presented in easy to understand color-coded graphic format for each test in progress, to permit operators to readily identify measurements that fall outside of acceptable ranges. Job-based numerical results are also available in spreadsheet form, detailing the min/max/average data for each measurement (height and angle) for both body and finish regions on every container.
The CCMS incorporates a Linux-based architecture and operating system to manage the continuous, multi-function operations of this system. Linux was chosen for its ability to run efficiently on the embedded computing platform that manages the CCMS test operations as well as its proven stability, security and long-term availability.
According to Robert Cowden, AGR's Chief Operating Officer, "The CCMS product encapsulates Agr's unique, high value added relation to the global glass container industry by combining an innovative, proven measurement technique developed years ago by American Glass Research scientists with current state of the art electronics, operating system and automation technology."
The CCMS is the latest generation in a long line of coating measurement devices supplied by Agr for the glass container manufacturing industry. The CCMS is part of Agr's broad line of on-line, laboratory testing and quality control devices for the glass container and filling industries.
High-precision Dimensional Gauging System Enhanced in New Release
Agr International has introduced the Dimensional Sampling Gauge, Series 400 (DSG400). This is the latest generation in a line of high-precision dimensional gauging systems designed by Agr expressly for glass container measurement.
While the DSG400 retains much of the look and feel of previous versions of Agr's Dimensional Sampling Gauge, this version incorporates a multiplicity of new hardware, features and capabilities that further expand the handling, throughput, precision, communication and measurement functions of the DSG product line.
Some of the most prominent features incorporated in the DSG400 include:
- Advanced high pixel density, USB 3 camera technology with optimized lensing and telecentric optics
- Expanded measurement algorithms for multiple critical measurements
- Hands-free job change
- Optimized tool set for expanded measurement of small ware
- A Quad-core central computer
- Positive table positioning for enhanced thickness measurement
- Industry 4.0 communication protocols
When performing the complicated measurements required for managing glass container quality, maintaining sufficient throughput without sacrificing precision is always a concern, The DSG400 overcomes this in several ways.
- An advanced no-job change feature makes it possible for the DSG400 to accept bottles of different sizes and shapes from the same or multiple lines without the need for an operator to adjust handling components or change parts. This same enhanced tooling also facilitates positive bottle placement and increases the measurable thickness range for pharmaceutical and small format bottles.
- A new quad-core central computer system with a USB 3.0 camera interface and an embedded operating system provides the horsepower necessary to manage high speed communication with the system's multiple cameras. This increases overall processing speed and vision frame rates, making it possible to capture more images, with higher density, in less time.
Focus on precision
The DSG400 precision is improved over previous models with new camera technology that sports a 2x increase in pixel density.
A major emphasis for the DSG400 is measurement precision. Enhanced telecentric lighting provides for improved edge shadow for the highest dimensional precision and repeatability. This improvement is of major significance as it provides for more distinct categories and lowers the percent of process variation for individual measurements.
Several enhancements have been made to simplify and improve measurement capabilities for label panels and finish thread measurements. These include an optional "point cloud" function for contour visualization of label panels. An intelligent "T" measurement has been added to improve precision and simplify the measurement of non-overlapping, partial overlapping and depressed threads. For one of the most difficult measurements to perform by hand, an enhanced lug algorithm has also been incorporated to accurately measure lug finishes including L, Lug diameter and gaps between lugs.
When measuring thickness, it is important to be able to measure material distribution over the complete bottle profile including sidewall, shoulder and angled areas. The DSG400 provides high accuracy thickness measurements simultaneously with dimensions by seamlessly incorporating the Agr's Thickness 360® measurement system. With its patented vision-guided, three-axis positioning and optical measurement, Thickness 360® can measure round and non-round panels, tilted sidewalls or even corners at an accuracy of +/- 0.02 mm and repeatability of +/- 0.01mm. Thickness measurements, on the DSG400 are further enhanced through optimized bottle positioning and additional software features that extend the measurement range making it possible to measure thickness over the complete body sidewall particularly on small pharmaceutical ware.
Advanced communication
Industry 4.0 standard communication protocols have also been incorporated into the DSG400 to improve communications and support Industry 4.0 objectives. These include CSV added outputs, XML and TCP/IP connectivity as well as XML tags on all data points. The addition of this capability expands the DSG400's ability to talk to other devices, support remote computer job change (commands and uploads) and interface with factory robotic handling systems without operator intervention.
The Dimensional Sampling Gauge is Agr's premier dimensional measurement system that functions as an automated laboratory test station, providing hands-free, high-precision measurement of critical glass container attributes such as body and finish dimensions, weight, pushup, bore, wall thickness and, when mated with Agr's SPT2™ (OmniLab® configuration), volume and pressure testing, all in one system.
Agr to feature latest blowmolder control and container quality management products at Pack Expo 2018
At the 2018 Pack Expo show, Agr International, Inc. will feature its latest developments for managing the production and quality of plastic and glass containers.
Featured at this year's show will be Agr's Process Pilot® blowmolder management system. The system is designed to simplify the production of PET bottles in 3 easy steps: 1. Measure; 2. Control; 3. Optimize. The Process Pilot offers precise material distribution management and hands-off control of blowmolder parameters as well as manufacturers alternatives to optimize their processes in the way that is best for their production. The latest version of this system offers expanded measurement capability with the means to accurately measure material thickness as thin as 0.001 in (0.025 mm). This capability makes it possible for bottle manufacturers to produce bottles with less material and thinner sidewalls while still maintaining desired quality and performance characteristics.
For glass container producers, Agr will feature its latest developments in precise dimensional, thickness and coating measurement. The equipment can be used in the lab or on the plant floor to help manufacturers ensure high quality container production.
Agr International staff will be on hand at Pack Expo 2018, Booth E-8238 to their complete line quality management products designed to assist container producers, converters and fillers stay competitive while meeting the increased quality demands of today's changing world.
Agr Process Pilot® Advances GEPP Light-weighting Projects
6g PET Loss is Big Win for PepsiCo Bottler
With an Agr Process Pilot® Automated Blowmolder Control System mated to a Sidel SBO 16 Universal blowmolder, Mexican beverage producer GEPP has trimmed the weight of its 2L low-carbonation PET bottle from 52g to 46g. Given blowmolder operating speeds of 24,000 bottles per hour, the six-gram reduction is saving the company approximately seven tons of resin over each 48-hour production run.
This impressive weight decrease has been accomplished against a backdrop of shifting environmental conditions that add an extra layer of complexity to the blowmolding process. Despite temperature swings of 40 degrees or more throughout the day, Line 1 at GEPP's Hermosillo plant, in the northwestern Mexico state of Sonora, turns out PET bottles that consistently hit the new light-weighted target as it operates around the clock.
Successful light-weighting demands rigorous adherence to the material distribution recipe developed for the bottle type. That is a lot harder to do when working with less material, observes GEPP Corporate Technical Manager Jesús López.
Introducing a new level of control over bottle-blowing, the Agr system provides the acute precision necessary to offset the impact of Hermosillo's fluctuating temperatures. As López explains, "you don't want to put the same amount of heat on a 90-degree preform as a 70-degree preform."
Pilot's high-precision sensors, deployed in the blowmolder takeout area, measure the thickness of each bottle at 12.5mm intervals along the sidewall. Agr's proprietary algorithms instantaneously analyze the measurements and compare them to the recipe. If material distribution starts trending out of spec, Pilot adjusts the appropriate blowmolder function control—for example, tweaking the pre-blow setting or lamp temperature—to maintain consistent production. Eliminating the need for manual intervention, which is frequently an exercise in guesswork even for skilled operators; this automated fine-tuning makes sure the right amount of resin is distributed to the right area of the bottle, regardless of ambient conditions.
In addition to the bottom-line impact of less material consumption, the Agr system has enabled GEPP, the exclusive bottler of PepsiCo trademark beverages in Mexico, to make other major productivity gains, especially when it comes to changeover. Hermosillo's Line 1 produces a mix of no-, low-, and high-carbonation bottles for six different products: Pepsi™, 7UP®, Mirinda (an orange-flavored soda), Manzanita Sol (apple flavor), Limonada (lime), and Epura (water)—in multiple sizes: 600mL, 1L, 1.5L, 2L, 2.5L, and 3L.
Changing from one container to another used to take an average of two hours—about 1.5 hours to replace the molds in the 16-station blowmolder, and then another half-hour for process verification and quality checks. Now, with the Process Pilot installed, the blowmolder produces good bottles on start-up, with no need for sampling and tweaking, making each changeover 25% faster—while also saving 6,000 bottles from scrap.
The benefits of robust bottle production also show up downstream in the integrated bottle-making and filling plant. López has noted far fewer disruptions in labeling, capping, and shrink wrapping due to non-conforming bottles. On the infrequent occasions when jams occur, "Pilot brings the process back to baseline two to three times faster," he says.
A seasoned bottle veteran who was heavily involved in GEPP's transition to PET from glass in the mid-1990s, López is responsible for all PET operations across the company's 25 plants. Hermosillo, with its long-established history and talented operations team, represents the first site to mount a light-weighting initiative in conjunction with the Process Pilot.
The success of that effort, in tandem with faster blowmolder start-ups, shorter changeovers, rapid jam recovery, and reduced scrap, has generated an attractive return on investment, not only on the 2L container but other sizes and types as well. Even more, it gives GEPP the confidence of improved bottle quality, which for López is the "paramount" consideration.
Looking ahead, López would like to "standardize as much of the equipment and process as possible." He nurtures the vision of installing the system on Hermosillo's second blowing line and establishing the plant as the training site for all GEPP blowmolder operations throughout the country.
"Process Pilot manages how the blowmolder makes the bottle so it always comes out the same," López concludes.
Details on the Process Pilot family of products can be found on the Agr website (www.agrintl.com) or by following this link: www.agrintl.com/123
AGR Testing Laboratory adds new staff member
American Glass Research, a subsidiary of Agr International, recently announced that Patrick Goossens has joined the AGR Testing Laboratory team in Delft, the Netherlands as a Research Scientist.
Patrick's main areas of responsibility include glass forming issues, manufacturing audits and fracture diagnosis. He will also have considerable involvement with internal research projects and technical papers as they relate to container manufacturing and container performance.
Patrick has over twenty years of experience with a leading manufacturer of glass packaging for the food and beverage industry. Patrick graduated from NCOI Business School, Rotterdam and holds a VAPRO degree in Process Technology.
Visit Agr at Expo Pack in Mexico City (Santa Fe)
At the 2018 Expo Pack show, Agr International, Inc. will be in booth 3828 featuring its line of products designed to assist container producers, converters and fillers stay competitive while meeting the increased quality demands of today's changing world. The show runs June 5-8, 2018.
Of primary focus is Agr's Process Pilot® automated blowmolder management system for managing the production and quality of PET beverage containers. This system was designed to simplify the production of PET bottles and is ideal for PET bottle converters and beverage producers that self-manufacture PET bottles yet have limited manpower to oversee blowmolder operations on a continuous basis. The Process Pilot product group offers precise material thickness distribution management on PET bottles, while offering hands-off blowmolder control. With the trend towards ever lighter bottles, the Process Pilot system offers producers the ability to aggressively light weight bottles to the absolute minimum while providing the confidence that material is distributed, with the proper thickness in all critical areas, on every bottle produced. Optimizing the process to suit the needs of the product, application or business objective is the third step in Agr's three-step approach.
Agr staff will be on hand to discuss the latest developments in its line of blowmolder management products as well as its complete line of quality management equipment that includes pressure testing, shelf-life, thickness measurement and dimensional gauging systems for plastic and glass containers.
Agr AutoLab™ improving container testing precision and efficiency through laboratory automation
Agr International's automated laboratory test cell, AutoLab™, provides a solution for meeting the ever increasing throughput demands on the QA team and the testing laboratory in today's high production bottle manufacturing operations. The Agr AutoLab provides an automated solution for either a single Agr laboratory device or up to three, tightly integrated Agr testing systems. The AutoLab can be configured with Agr's most popular plastic container testing devices including the Gawis® thickness and dimensional measurement system, the TL2000 Topload Tester or Combi Tester combined fill height and top load system, and the PPT3000 pressure and volume expansion testing system. These devices can be integrated individually to incorporate robotic handling or together as part of a complete automated laboratory where multiple tests are performed hands free.
The Agr AutoLab incorporates a heavy duty platform that can support up to three independent test stations. At the core of the cell is a precision pick and place industrial robot that manages sample selection, placement of samples into the appropriate test station and the transfer of samples from one station to the next when multiple testing systems are included. When tests on the individual sample are complete, the robot can either discard samples or return them to the sample tray for further analysis. Test results from each testing station are compiled with data correlated by sample and consolidated in a single test report. The rugged, compact design of this system makes it possible to locate it on the plant floor, near critical production operations, or in the traditional laboratory setting.
AutoLab operation, including overall job setup, robot, sample coordination and tracking, as well as activation and control of individual test stations, is managed by a central computer housed within the test platform. The system incorporates a touch-panel user interface that can be positioned by the operator for convenient access for basic operational functions. A web-based Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is also provided and can be used as a remote user interface for this system. Connecting through a local web host, it offers the means for wireless remote management via laptop, tablet or smart phone for overall system operation, job setup and loading, tracking and data reporting.
Specialized bottle and preform trays that represent a complete mold round make it easy for operators to prepare sets of samples in advance and then load them into the system for hands-free processing. To enhance throughput, a pipeline approach is used for sample handling and testing, making it possible for concurrent operation of all testing devices. The robotic handling system ensures that samples are moved with efficiency and precision throughout the testing process.
Unmatched testing and throughput efficiency
The AutoLab is designed to provide maximum testing throughput. In addition to organizing and consolidating critical testing operation in one compact area, the system offers a number of benefits including, walk-away operation, efficient management of samples and testing, documentation of results and, most significantly, an improvement in testing throughput of as much as 300%. In addition to increased throughput, the automated cell approach also offers significant "cost-to-operate" savings.
Agr mourns the passing of Bill Schmidt
Agr International is sad to announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Bill Schmidt, following a courageous battle with cancer.
During his 35 years as part of the Agr Family, Bill's knowledge, dedication and mentoring benefited all who had the opportunity to work with him.
His work will continue to be part of Agr products for many years to come.


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Either way, senior Kameron Hurst knows where I'm coming from.
In fact, he has a difficult time wrapping his mind around Subiaco Academy and all it stands for. Hurst uses words like "brotherhood" and "privilege."
But he doesn't mince words, however, when it comes to his love for baseball.
"Baseball's just something that became a part of me," Hurst said. "I enjoy getting out there and throwing the ball around and doing something you're blessed at. Of course, it's something you have to work at."
A left-handed pitcher and outfielder, Hurst plans to commit to Lyon College in Batesville within the next week or so. The Trojans' senior, who has also had a key role in Subiaco's January basketball revival, said there are similarities between Lyon and Subiaco.
"Lyon is a top tier academic school, like Subi," he said.
Hurst should know. He carries a 3.95 grade point average. And, though he hasn't yet decided what he'll do when he graduates from college years from now, he's not exactly ready to leave Subiaco Academy in the rear view mirror.
Kameron Hurst is not a "I can't wait to graduate" high school senior.
"I don't know what it is, but sports has always come natural, and school always came pretty natural as well," Hurst said. "School is something I enjoy, especially at a place like Subi. It's definitely a privilege."
Hurst attended Scranton schools from kindergarten through the seventh grade before enrolling at Subiaco as an eighth grader. He's among a handful of day students from surrounding communities.
"Playing sports is a plus, but the environment in general is really the main thing about Subiaco," Hurst said. "It's a different place; it grows to be a part of you — it's hard to put into words. There's a brotherhood."
The Trojans' basketball team has forged a brotherhood of sorts as well, ripping off six victories in a row heading into today's 4A-4 game against defending state champion Pottsville.
"We've been together for three or four years now and it's all coming together, piece by piece," Hurst said. "We want to keep it going."
Unlike the diamond, where Hurst can carry the team with his strong left arm, he prefers to go unnoticed on the basketball court.
"I like to be a good defender," he said. "I like to get the ball to our main scorers, what I believe to be our main scorers, anyway."
Kevin Taylor is a Times Record sports writer. Email: email@example.com. Twitter: @Kevin_TimesRec


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1671 Montanus and Ogilby Map of New York, New England, and VirginiaNoviBelgiiNoviJorck-ogilbymontanus-1671
1671 Montanus and Ogilby Map of New York, New England, and VirginiaNoviBelgiiNoviJorck-ogilbymontanus-1671
The first map in the Visscher-Jansson Series to identify New York, New Jersey, and Albany.
1671 (undated) 11.5 x 14.5 in (29.21 x 36.83 cm) 1 : 3500000
Montanus and Ogilby's map also features many of the flaws common to the series. Lake Champlain, named here Irocoisia, appears far to the east of its actual location. The St. Lawrence runs too far south, and there is no suggestion of the Great Lakes. The North Fork of long island is weekly mapped.
In a nod to Willem Blaeu's 1635 Nova Belgica the lands are decorated with vignette illustrations of various fauna indigenous to the Americas. These include two bear, a dear, a fox, several beaver, a crane, a muskrat, two rabbits, and a turkey. The lower right quadrant features an elaborate cartouche illustrating American Indians engaged with various tasks from skinning animals, to fishing, to bundling furs, and firing clay.
There is some minor confusion over the use of the term 'Novi Belgii' next to the term 'Nieuw Nederlandt' in most maps from the Jansson-Visscher series. This is a simple linguistic doubling. The term appears in both Latin and Dutch. There was no Latin for the Dutch term Niew Netherland (Nieuw Nederlandt), so Novi Belgii was used instead.
The map above represents the first state of this map, engraved by John Ogilby and published in Arnoldus Montanus's 1671 Die Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld. There were two subsequent states. The second state was issued by Van der Aa and appeared c. 1729. A third state, issued in 1761 (note the curious inversion, first edition 1671, last edition 1761), was prepared in Amsterdam by Covens and Mortier.
Arnoldus Montanus (c. 1625 - 1683) was a Dutch scholar, publisher, schoolmaster and author active in Amsterdam during the latter half of the 17th century. Montanus is a Latinized form of van den Berg or van Bergen. He studied theology at Leiden University and was ordained a minister in 1653. In 1667 he became headmaster of the Latin School of Schoonhoven, where he died in 1683. Most of Montanus's work was published in conjunction with engraver Jacob van Meurs and focused on travel narratives to Asia and the Americas. His most famous book, De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld, contains what is arguably the first view of New York City, the New Amsterdam. His other works offer up some of the earliest known descriptions of China and Japan. Much of Montanus' work was translated and published in English by John Ogilby.
John Ogilby (November 17, 1600 - 1676) was a Scottish translator and cartographer. John Ogilby's life seems to be one of extremes, teetering between wealth and poverty, success and failure. Ogilby was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, into a once wealthy family laid low by extreme debt. Struggling with poverty at every turn, Ogilby involved himself in various businesses ranging from dancing master, to actor, to tutor. In 1612, at age 12, Ogilby won a lottery run to advance the colonial interests of Virginia. His winning were sufficient to pay of many of his father's debts and apprentice himself to a dancing master. Ogilby proved a natural and graceful dancer and even made extra money tutoring his fellow apprentices. Starcrossed as he was, Olgiby's dancing career ended when a misstep when a misstep at a masked ball injured his leg and left him lame for live. Afterwards he managed to leverage his contacts in the dance world to secure a position as a dance instructor to the daughters of Sir Ralph Hopton. Hopton struck an immediate friendship with Olgiby and trained him in Military Science. Later Ogilby relocated to Ireland where he worked an as actor and later as Master of Revels. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 again dashed Ogilby's fortunes and forced him to flee Dublin by ship. On the way, the ship sunk but the survivors were rescued and eventually made their way to England, which was then under the strict rule of Oliver Cromwell. Ogilby took refuge at Cambridge where he mastered Greek and Latin. Following the Restoration of Charles II, Ogilby invested in his first major literary venture, a translation of Virgil into English. This work earned him the patronage of Charles II, despite the ridicule of prominent poets Dryden and Pope. Under Royal patronage Ogilby published several volumes relating to the Restoration. In short order he has established a successful London publisher based out of the Whitefriars district. This, unfortunately turned out to be a fateful choice of location as in 1666 the Great Fire of London tore through this are destroying Ogilby's publishing stock, home, and business. Once again Ogilby exhibited a remarkable phoenix-like ability to literally rise from the ashes. Shortly after the Great Fire, he began his most important ventures as a publisher of geographical works. In order to recover from the fire, Ogilby and his grandson were took positions as surveyors comissioned to create a large property map of London. The resultant map of London, "London Survey'd", was published in 1677 and earned Ogilby the honorific "Kings Cosmographer and Geographic Printer". His most famous works are his 1675 Road Atlas of England, Britannia which redefined road mapping, and his 1671 Atlas of the Americas.


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Agencies near Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY Home Health Care Agencies
Caretenders2432 REGENCY ROAD, SUITE 150 Medicare Rating:
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Amedisys Home Health2480 FORTUNE DRIVE, SUITE 120 Medicare Rating:
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Cardinal Hill Home Care2050 Versailles Road Medicare Rating:
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Almost Family2432 Regency Road, suite 180
Brookdale Home Health Lexington3051 RIO DOSA DRIVE, SUITE 356 Medicare Rating:
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Home Helpers Home Care of Lexington1795 Alysheba Way, Suite 4107
Innovative Senior Care by BrookdaleRichmond Place, 3051 Rio Dosa Dr
Independence Assistance343 Waller Ave #305
Richmond Place Home Health3051 Rio Dosa Drive
Hospice of the Bluegrass2312 Alexandria Drive
Bluegrass Home Health Agency650 Newtown Pike
Deaconess - Lifeline Home Health1056 WELLINGTON WAY, SUITE 160 Medicare Rating:
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Kentuckyone - Visiting Nurse Association Health At Home2464 FORTUNE DRIVE, SUITE 110 Medicare Rating:
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Option Care2025 Regency Road
St. Joseph Home Care ServicesOne Saint Joseph Drive
Kindred At Home2020 LIBERTY ROAD, SUITE 115 Medicare Rating:
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Caretenders of the Bluegrass2432 Regency Road
Commonwealth Home Health1056 WELLINGTON WAY, SUITE 130 Medicare Rating:
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Baptist Health Home Care Lexington2100 Nicholasville Road Medicare Rating:
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Appalachian Regional Health Care1220 Harrodsburg Road
Lifeline Health Care Of Fayette1056 WELLINGTON WAY, SUITE 190 Medicare Rating:
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Health Management Associates230 Lexington Green Circle, Suite 605
Bluegrass Medical Staffing and Home Care80 Codell Drive, Suite 120
American Nursing Care2464 Fortune Drive, Suite 110
Seniors Helping Seniors Lexington710 E Main St #140
Wise Arh HospitalPO Box 8086
Central Adult Day Care516 Maryland Avenue
Barbara Care616 Wellington Way
Family Home Health Services - Amedisys448 Lewis Harget Circle
Add Your Facility Adding your assisted living to the directory is completely free.
Other Senior Care Providers in Lexington
- Adult Day Care Facilities in Lexington, KY
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Cities Near Lexington, KY
- Berea, KY (2)
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- Shelbyville, KY (3)
- Stanford, KY (1)
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- Winchester, KY (3)
Lexington seniors that want to remain independent and live in their homes but need some assistance should consider an in-home care provider. Lexington, KY home care agencies can provide seniors with assistance with daily activities and minor medical services in the comfort of the resident's home or apartment.
Seniors in Lexington can stay in their homes and have home care workers visit to help with basic daily tasks and other services such as medication management. There are 29 home care companies that serve the Lexington market.
Some page content retrieved from Google Places
Search Home Health Care Providers
Getting Started
- What is Home Care?
- Home Health Care vs. Non-Medical Home Care
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Choosing Home Care
- Selecting a Home Care Agency
- Medicare Quality Data
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Paying for Home Care
- Home Health Care Costs
- Ways to Pay for Home Care
- Medicare and Home Care
- Medicaid and Home Care
- Does Insurance Cover Home Care
- Using a Reverse Mortgage to Stay Home
For Caregivers
For Staff and Owners
Experts Weigh In


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National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
- 1100 Spaatz Street
- Gate 28B, enter on Springfield St.
- Wright-Patterson AFB
- Dayton, Ohio 45433
- 937-255-3286 Ext. 331
Flight enthusiasts will find more than 360 aircraft styles from several eras at the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world. Explore space aircraft, presidential planes and fighter-jets, as well as the new NASA Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer. Daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.


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Let Purex start your new year off in style! They'll take care of your new wardrobe and detergent needs for all of 2014. Enter to WIN $1,000 towards a new wardrobe and a year's supply of Purex detergent by entering the Get A Clean Start To 2014 with Purex Sweepstakes. There will be one grand prize winner. Sweepstakes ends January 31, 2014. Good luck!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
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This Silver My First Words ID bracelet from D for Diamond is the perfect bracelet to last for years and years due to its adjustable cord sizing.
The bracelet is made from 925 Sterling Silver and has an engraveable Silver plate along the front of it. On the left side of the ID plate is a small Diamond.
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Britain's top counter-terrorism officer says detectives are unable to say if the Novichok that two Britons were exposed to was the same that struck down a former Russian double agent and his daughter.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she was exposed to Novichok on June 30, just a few miles from where Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the same poison four months ago.
"This latest horrendous turn of events has only served to strengthen the resolve of our investigation team as we work to identify those responsible for this outrageous, reckless and barbaric act," Neil Basu, Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, said.
"They are unable to say at this moment whether or not the nerve agent found in this incident is linked to the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal," Basu said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says it is sorry to hear of Sturgess' death, but says any suggestion that Russia is involved would be "quite absurd."
Russia has denied any involvement in the Skripal case and suggested the British security services carried out the attack to stoke anti-Moscow hysteria.
Peskov said the investigation and what was happening in the Salisbury area was a British domestic issue.
Police are investigating Sturgess' death as a murder, while British Prime Minister Theresa May says she's appalled and shocked by the death.
Police are investigating how Sturgess and a 45-year-old man, named by media as Charlie Rowley, came across an item contaminated with Novichok, which was developed by the Soviet military during the Cold War.
It was initially thought they had overdosed on heroin or crack cocaine but tests at the Porton Down military research centre showed they had been exposed to Novichok after touching a contaminated item with their hands, police said on Sunday.


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The research is in on how people learn best and it goes against the grain most of the conventional wisdom! The conventional wisdom espouses such things as:
• The more times information is repeated the more we'll remember it.
• We all basically learn the same way.
• The most effective ways to communicate information are by lecturing and written material.
• If someone can regurgitate information accurately they've learned it.
• Adult learners can be expected to understand the content you're teaching.
However contemporary research has documented a very different scenario on how we learn best. It's got to be "multi-modal". So what is multi-modal learning?
In a nutshell, it means that the more different ways we learn something the more we really learn it; the more different ways we learn something the better we'll remember it; the more different ways we learn something the better we'll genuinely understand what we've been taught!
Multiple intelligences or The 8 Kinds of Smart gives you tons of new ways to turbo-charge any mentoring, coaching, or training you provide.


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This is about as well-done as a first issue can be. Starting with the cover. None of the Marvel Universe characters are in the book, but John Byrne is smart enough to put them on the cover. Move some units, get more people interesting. Also, it's giant-sized, so he has time to slowly, gradually, introduce readers to the full cast of the team—a team that to now has never had a major role, except as part of Wolverine's past.
It starts with team leader Vindicator, who lets us know through his own reverie that there are also Beta and Gamma Flights—and this is before Marvel had multiple Avengers teams or X-Men teams. It makes sense, though, doesn't it? If the government had access to supers, it would maximize them
We also meet Heather, Vindicator's red-headed girlfriend, who Byrne establishes as more than just a side-character. It's because of her that two new characters enter the Alpha Flight team as she pulls Puck and Marina up from Beta Flight. Byrne gives every character at least a page to establish their basic character, then there's a big fight against a one-off foe before all the Alphas get into plain clothes and go to Vindicator's house where we get the traditional Marvel team book conclusion:
A fight between the team members. But it's all in good fun.
Byrne never leans heavily on the X-mythology here—this book is clearly intended to stand on its own.
Creator: John Byrne
Grade: A
For the complete history of the MU, year by year, go here.
And see my Ratings of Runs on comics here.


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Attention coffee lovers!! I've discovered a rad little shop in Waco, TX that serves some great coffee with an authentic atmosphere! I visited Common Grounds for the first time a few days ago per request from some of my girlies that go to Baylor University and DBU. They all swore up and down that I would love it and they weren't wrong! So, if you're ever around I highly suggest curing your caffeinated addictions with some savory coffee in this quirky hangout.
P.S. you can find my Mumu dress at Show Me Your Mumu and its even on sale! 😉


text: Appetisers SOUP OF THE DAY ALOO PAKORA GOBI PAKORA VEGETABLE PAKORA (v) Onions, potatoes, cauliflower & spinach coated in a spicy batter, then deep fried. CHICKEN PAKORA Chicken breast fillets fried in a spicy batter. CHICKEN WINGS Chicken wings marinated and cooked over charcoal, served with salad and special sauce. TANDOORI DRUMSTICK CHICKEN / LAMB TIKKA Desserts & Beverages Banana/Pineapple fritter Fruit cocktail Ice cream Coffee or tea Main Courses KORMA Chicken, Lamb or Vegetable. A mild and creamy taste. Served with rice / chapati. PULLAO Chicken, Lamb or Vegetable. Rice cooked with mixed vegetables, served with raitha. BALTI Chicken, Lamb or Vegetable. Cooked in a traditional style in a thick, rich sauce, using fresh ginger, onions, tomatoes and a blend of spices. Please specify mild, medium or hot. Served with rice / chapati. CHICKEN TIKKA SALAD Served with chips. OMELETTE "Plain or Oriental" Served with salad and chips FOR THE KIDS £4.95Fish Finger & Chips * Chicken Tikka & Chips * Nuggets & Chips * Korma or Curry and Rice Three courses Monday to Friday 12 noon to 2 pm for a special price of £8.95. Rice is cooked with chicken, lamb or vegetable and served with vegetable sauce. (V) vegetable (S) seafood (N) nuts ✻