The guy we really need to find and punish is the one who invented "rigid plastic clamshells".<p>The kind that "conveniently" transforms from product packaging into a razor-sharp weapon while you are trying to open it.
I love learning about things I would never come across in everyday life, like how a packing machine works and the problems no one would ever think to think of like air pressure and altitudes. Then also the restrictions put in place and how to come up with a creative solution to a problem. This is the kind of stuff I live for.
I think the most interesting part of this post was the comment about how they use multiple scales with chips to get closest to the desired value.<p>This is really a neat hack that probably allows for much less precise chip dumpers. I'm reminded of how awesome randomized algorithms in CS can seem, but in real life it is just extra magical.
At 4:10 in this video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqBbr7Ewsw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqBbr7Ewsw</a> you can see a VFFS machine in action.<p>(I find 'how its made' to be musak for nerds but that is a different post :-)
I find this article to be quite frustrating. It's like reading about how some process was too slow, so they looked at the variables which include a faster processor, more RAM, and larger storage. Ultimately, they chose more RAM and developed a new algorithm and all was solved. But then they never tell you what the algorithm is. Or why it allowed them to keep within the constraints of the same processor and storage.<p>In this case, it's a new adhesive. But how was that developed? What makes the new adhesive better suited to high-pressure applications while keeping the temperature and time constant? Inquiring geeks want to know!
When i started skiing, I used to have bags of chips explode on me while driving from the California coast to Lake Tahoe, scared the crap out of me. I just decided to buy vacuum packed stuff up there.
<i>"The point here is that while technical options exist to prevent premature opening of the bag, such as reducing the initial air pressure in the bag, attempting to add this to the existing processing equipment would be a nightmare. So it was necessary to increase the seal strength."</i><p>You could also reduce the air pressure <i>in the factory</i>, e.g. by building it in one of the aforementioned high-altitude regions.
I'm usually pretty disappointed, because on a failed opening attempt I end up crushing those chips, and then feel like I didn't really get my money's worth.
<i>so when trucks would drive their chips out to California, some of the seals would open up due to the pressure difference between the high altitude air and the air sealed inside the bag</i><p>This is backwards, isn't it? Less dense air from Colorado would shrink the bag in California.
> Other options besides a stronger seal are technically possible, but not economically feasible.<p>It would have cost next to nothing to attach slabs of foam rubber or gentle spring plates to the sealer. As the two sides move together, the air is gently squeezed out of the bag first. Sheer incompetence.