Victorinox adds moisture analysis to moulding operation

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Victorinox has started using a Mettler Toledo moisture analyzer in its quality control process to check the plastic used to mould components in its Swiss Army range of pocket knives.

Victorinox, a traditional brand steeped in history, has been making the headlines in the world of plastics innovation, with the recent announcement that its Hunter Pro Swiss Army Knife will now use ‘self-healing’ PP from Polykemi AB.

Now the firm has started operating a moisture analyzer as part of its injection moulding QC process. The unit is equipped with a ‘OneClick’ user interface, which means that only one non-specialist operator is required to run the entire operation. Victorinox quality control staff have pre-programmed the equipment with six shortcut keys; one for each of the plastic granulates in use. The operator is only required to load a sample and press its clearly labelled shortcut key; the assigned drying method then starts automatically.

Measurement results, displayed by an instrument on the factory floor, can be sent directly to a regular A4/letter printer anywhere on the company network. The same data can also be transferred to a file server as a PDF for on-screen viewing and electronic archiving, as well as in standard CSV or XLS format for interchange with laboratory and office software.

Professional moisture analyzers are tested with SmartCal to verify the performance of the instrument’s overall functionality. After following instructions, normalisation for ambient conditions takes place automatically, due to the inclusion of a new plug-in humidity and temperature sensor.  

“Whether the new Mettler-Toledo Professional moisture analyzer instrument is being used in a laboratory or on the factory floor, it achieves highly reproducible results while full network support and USB connectivity simplifies data transfer and ensures convenient and secure reporting,” said Kathrin Annaheim, Product Manager, Mettler-Toledo Laboratory Weighing.

“With OneClick graphical user interface also SmartCal tests can be started with one click. Once the test has started, the user is guided step by step through the test.”

Since the moisture analyzer was introduced at Victorinox, Mettler Toledo claims that the company has been able to eliminate product errors and speed up the moulding process by as much as 5-10%.