The perfect finish

摘要

Following on from the presentations on drum and pail production in China and Japan detailed in the third part of this four-part report on the Asia-Oceanic Steel Drum Manufacturers (AOSD) (HCB February 2014, page 58), speakers turned to some technical issues relating to drum production and, in particular, means of reducing manufacturers' environmental impact. Yasushi Shimba of Japan's Yamaha Fine Technologies explained that his company's range of helium leak testers can process more than 720 drums per hour. However, customers can choose the option that best suits their need, viz high speed, manual or automatic. He ran delegates through the process of testing a drum, explaining that the first step sees the helium gas charged into the drum, which is then placed inside the testing chamber, where it is subjected to a vacuum. A sensor then checks for any helium present outside the drum, indicating whether there has been a leak or nor, before normal atmospheric pressure is returned and the drum is removed.