Garage doors – avoiding limbo and lumbago

Is it just me or are some children naturally perverse?  I said “Don’t try to open the ‘up-and-over’ garage door by lifting one corner – use the handle in the centre”.  But advice from parents is often “In one ear, and out the other”, and in the case of this door it proved to be “In one runner and out the other” – one of the little wheels had jumped out of its track and now the door was well and truly stuck.

Fortunately it was open just enough to allow me to crawl underneath (a certain loss of dignity here), and prise the running wheel back into its channel and get it open just enough to get the car out.  After one glance at the rather formidable looking counter-balance springs, and thinking about how they might suddenly “un-spring”, I decided that in this case, a repair was best left to an expert.

So, I think the phrase “Sense of humour failure” is probable quite apt when the subject of garage doors is mentioned.  However back at work, I see that we at Mecmesin have helped out a French manufacturer of garage doors to improve their Quality Control by testing the raw material and the finished product to make sure that their doors always perform perfectly.  If only my door had been one of theirs I wouldn’t have needed to re-boot my sense of humour when my colleague suggested I take up limbo dancing.

Take a look at how we helped the French company by following this link:

http://www.mecmesin.com/test-solutions/solutions-by-industry/engineering/testing-metal-shutters-in-france

Why test top-load? Because top-load testing cuts down waste and brings savings to packagers

The article “Why Test Top-Load?” explains what top-load testing is and highlights the business case for effective and economical testing. The essence of the case for top-load testing is dual – less material usage and wastage, which means greater savings and compliance with environmental standards.

Many packaging manufacturers might find the prospect of investing in materials testing technology daunting, with complexity and cost as reasons for deferring a decisive move toward acquiring a good system. It seems however that top-load testing can be very straightforward – for typical applications, operators will require no re-skilling. Budget worries are likely similarly unfounded – sophisticated test platforms are in most cases not necessary. Easy-to-use touch screen-operated machines are available, and at a price that will not scare the accounts department. Of course, more sophisticated solutions are available too, and the article introduces the many options and advantages that higher end systems offer to businesses whose test needs are more specific.

If you still feel that investment in a top-load test system is a gamble, perhaps you should consider the alternatives – products whose material volume exceeds minimum requirements make expensive landfill. In packaging, less is definitely more. Less volume is less weight to ship and ultimately less waste to process. For businesses, this translates into more savings and more freedom from worries about environmental regulations.