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Dillon Quality Plus, Applications and Markets |
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Packaging, Plastics and Food
Wine Bottle Cork Pull Test
The Challenge
Cork Supply USA,
Inc, supplies more
than 100 million
corks annually to
an expanding United
States wine industry. With a
reputation as a premium wine
cork supplier their process
features triple quality assurance,
responsive service and
consistent cork quality.
Cork industry veteran, Michelle
Andres is the quality assurance
manager for Cork Supply
USA’s Benicia California facility.
The quality laboratories are
responsible for incoming, inprocess
and outgoing quality
examinations.
The Test
In additon to protecting the
product from leaking during
shipment or in storage, wine
bottlers want an user-friendly
package to open.
Cork Supply USA required a
test to measure the tension
force required to pull a cork
from a wine bottle. Testing the
peak tension force would
verify the performance they
required.
The Solution
Ultimately, the test should
document either a detection in
the sudden drop in load or the
separation of the cork from its
bottle.
Quantrol application specialists
from both the factory and the
distributor studied the application
from a force measurement
perspective. The challenge
included supplying a complete
system with a specialized
holding fixture. The joint effort
provided the solution.
Although the upper fixture was
a corkscrew, similar devices
furnished by a customer would
also work. The Quantrol force
team recommended a motorized
stand to enable a uniform
crosshead speed of 300 mm/min.
(11.81”/min.) specified by the
customer.
Test results obtained were in
the region of 210-320N (47-71
lbs.) This range is critical for
compliance to the ISO
standard (ISO 9727:1991 -
E), which was written to
cover the Cork
Supply USA test
procedure. In order
to maintain ISO
certification a
company must
document and strictly follow
established procedures for
consistent results.
Satisfied with the Quantrol
system recommendation,
Michelle Andres said, ”The
extraction test machine has
become a staple in our
quality procedure. The
Quantol testing stand has
proven to be a reliable tool
in our lab —accurate, and
dependable. DQ+, our
Quantrol distributor provides
great customer service.”
The system includes:
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Application Markets
Don't let your application frustrate you, click on the "Force Guy" icon for
assistance.
Test for Tension, Compression, Transverse and Shear.
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