"Our thick film heaters and our new controllers and sensors have the ability to significantly impact the quality, accuracy and repeatability of applications within the industry," said James McMillin, Watlow packaging industry leader. "Specifically, we're coming to PACK EXPO with new products designed to improve the performance of heated seal bars, shrink tunnels, shrink ovens, heated vacuum forming, hot melt glue applications and rotary sealers."

T2 Nozzle Heaters
Watlow's new T² nozzle heater is a low profile, robustly constructed nozzle heater ideal for PET preform applications. The heater delivers strength and flexibility in a cost-effective, patent-pending design. The T² offers operators more control over temperature uniformity while helping to shorten overall cycle time and eliminating the disadvantages and unreliability of traditional cable heaters.

Thick Film Heaters
Watlow continues to offer packagers new innovations with thick film heating, and will be demonstrating many of the company's new product offerings, including thick film on flat and cylindrical forms. The new line is designed for sealing equipment or other applications that require exceptional thermal performance, temperature uniformity, superior transfer efficiencies down the length of the seal bar or platen, moisture and contamination resistance or a very small footprint or profile. Thick film heaters offer processors the ability to place the heat exactly where it is needed with patterned temperature zones in single- or multiple-heater options. The low, thermal mass of thick film heaters allows for faster heat-up and less thermal lag between heater and the platen or adhesive applicator nozzles.

SERIES SD Controllers
Watlow's SERIES SD single-channel temperature controllers feature EIA 485 Modbus^TM serial communications and INFOSENSE^TM sensor technology that improves sensor accuracy by a minimum of 50 percent. The controllers also offer remote communications operation to simplify controller setup, operation and monitoring, including the option of using any Palm^TM handheld PDA device, giving packaging companies a new level of convenience by providing handheld control of their processes.

SERIES PD Controllers
Watlow's SERIES PD controllers use embedded Ethernet technology to provide a convenient, economical means for setting up and viewing key process variables. The new controllers provide high performance temperature and process control and are ideally suited for a broad range of applications where the I/O is supported from a remote location.

INFOSENSE^TM Sensor Technology
Applications such as medical pouch sealing require tight temperature profiling and monitoring across the entire seal bar. The basic INFOSENSE places four error values, known from calibration, on small tags attached to each sensor. Users simply enter the values into an INFOSENSE compatible controller's standard menu. Entering the codes immediately improves sensor accuracy by a factor of two.

INFOSENSE^TM-P Sensor Technology
INFOSENSE^TM-P includes additional value information and automates the installation of each value with plug and play IEEE P1451.4 smart sensor technology. These sensors have an EEPROM that is programmed with varying levels of information, such as manufacturer, serial number, measurement range, sensor identity and full calibration data. INFOSENSE-P effectively provides error-proof linking of the application to Watlow's NIST-traceable calibration lab. This data enables an RTD to be 10 times more accurate at 600°C (1112°F), and the initial accuracy of standard thermocouples to be improved by a factor of three.

WATCOUPLE Nonstandard Thermocouple
With the new IEEE P1451.4 technology, any thermocouple can now include its own voltage table, which allows entirely new levels of performance to be achieved. Watlow's new WATCOUPLE uses alloy 600 and nickel-silicon to create a thermocouple that is four times more accurate than type K special limits, lasts three times longer and has three times less drift. The result is a temperature sensor that can handle higher temperatures in very small sizes and be more accurate than class A RTDs above 100°C (212°F).

DeviceNet^TM Temperature Transmitter
Watlow's new compact and accurate DeviceNet^TM temperature transmitter allows users to install a sizeable amount of sensors onto a simple DeviceNet network, simplifying the installation process and saving money on wiring and input hardware. The new DIN-mountable transmitter also allows all the latest smart sensor technology to be accessible to most PLCs and networks.