Tactilus® Gets Its Hands on Squeezable Tubes

March 17, 2010
In design engineering for squeezable tubes and flexible packaging, habits of the end user can now be evaluated quantitatively with Tactilus® surface pressure mapping technology from Sensor Products Inc.  Tactilus® is a valuable aid in research and development and quality control for evaluation of where and how a tube fatigues and dispenses product as well as how labels delaminate. The Tactilus® sensor system comprises a matrix-based tactile surface sensor element, software and electronic hub that plugs right into any Windows-compatible PC or laptop.  The sensor element is essentially an “electronic skin” that records and interprets pressure distribution and magnitude between any two contacting or mating surfaces.  The electronic hub assimilates the data collected into a powerful Windows® based software tool kit. Each sensor element is carefully assembled to exacting tolerances and individually calibrated and serialized.The Tactilus® tube testing sensor element is designed to encase a tube; when pressure is exerted upon the tube, a pressure profile will rapidly and accurately illustrate exactly where and how much force is being applied. From a human factor and an ergonomics perspective, Tactilus® aids by revealing the force required to expel contents from a tube and gives insight into squeezing techniques used by different demographic segments.  In addition, Tactilus® helps engineers in validating and confirming what is predicated by FEA models. The architectural philosophy of Tactilus® is modular allowing for portability, easy expansion, and simultaneous data collection of up to four discrete sensor pads. Tactilus® employs sophisticated mathematical algorithms that intelligently separate signal from noise, and advanced electronic shielding techniques to maximize environmental immunity to noise, temperature and humidity. The proprietary sensor design ensures the most robust sensor in the industry - an investment that will sustain thousands of uses.Through its Windows-based software, Tactilus® provides an array of viewing options including isobar and region-of-interest, graphical displays of data in bar charts, line scans and histograms, statistical analysis of average/minimum/maximum pressures, total force over any selected area, pressure versus time and more. An upgraded 8 to 16-bit technology yields greater internal sample speed and filtering.