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Keeping Children Safe

New technology is being develop to test the quality of the packaging industry. Proper packaging retains the freshness of consumer products as well as keep children away from harmful substances. Running constant quality control testing assures that packaging will remian in the highest standards. Mecmesin has launched a new testing system which will be of considerable interest to the packaging industry.

A child-resistant package can be described as one sealed in such a manner that it can be opened only by a person with a combination of dexterity, co-ordination, strength and experience well within the capabilities of a ?legitimate user?, but beyond the capacity of a small child. One example of such a package is a container with a ?Type 1A? closure (see ASTM D3472-97), i.e. a screw cap which requires a simultaneous pushing and twisting action before opening is possible. Closures of this type are in widespread use for protecting children from: paints, solvents, thinners, household chemicals, adhesives, cleaning fluids, garden chemicals and particularly pharmaceuticals.

The Mecmesin child-resistant closure tester is able simultaneously to measure the downward force and the release torque applied to a closure. This makes it a particularly suitable instrument for identifying designs of closures which either present an insufficient challenge to a child, or too great a physical challenge to an elderly or infirm adult.
An operator may apply to a closure both a top-load of up to 500N and a torque of up to 10N.m. The CRC tester can also measure ?reverse-ratchet torque?, i.e. the torque developed when rotating a closure in a counter-clockwise direction without any top-load being applied. Peak values of force and torque can be downloaded via RS232 output to printers, dataloggers or PCs for subsequent archiving and analysis.