The present invention relates to a system and method for the production of gypsum board using starch pellets. In accordance with the present disclosure, the starch necessary for board formation is provided in the form of starch pellets. These pellets are mixed with a gypsum slurry in a mixer. The pellets are initially insoluble and do not dissolve. However, during subsequent drying stages, the pellets become soluble and dissolve into the gypsum phase. This both provides the desired starch component and also results in the formation of voids within the set gypsum.

A dual roll fabric welding or seaming machine is configured to seam pieces of sheet material to one another as the pieces move downstream. The machine includes modular gantries and various actor devices which may be readily mounted on any of the gantries to interact with the moving sheet material to achieve various functions, such as seaming pieces of sheet material together, forming hems, applying grommets to the sheet material, printing on the sheet material, connecting reinforcement strips or ropes to the sheet material and cutting the sheet material.

It is an object of the invention to improve the production efficiency in sealing a thin film integrated circuit and to prevent the damage and break. Further, it is another object of the invention to prevent a thin film integrated circuit from being damaged in shipment and to make it easier to handle the thin film integrated circuit. The invention provides a laminating system in which rollers are used for supplying a substrate for sealing, receiving IC chips, separating, and sealing. The separation, sealing, and reception of a plurality of thin film integrated circuits can be carried out continuously by rotating the rollers; thus, the production efficiency can be extremely improved. Further, the thin film integrated circuits can be easily sealed since a pair of rollers opposite to each other is used.

A label applying apparatus and a related method are provided. The label applying apparatus may include a label applicator and a receptacle. The label applicator may include a displaceable piston with an applicator surface configured to receive a label. The receptacle may include walls that define an interior compartment. Further the receptacle may include a pivotable cover member that pivots about a hinge between a closed position that covers an upper opening of the receptacle and an open position in which articles of material may be inserted into the interior compartment. The distal end of an upper portion of the pivotable cover member may engage the articles such that the articles are retained in a position whereby the displaceable piston extends into the interior compartment and applies a label to a label application surface of the most proximate one of the articles to the applicator surface of the displaceable piston.