A diagnostic method for analysing the operation of at least part of a production line in the tobacco industry includes feeding through the line a probe having the shape of a smokers' article and provided with an electronic card configured to acquire one or more parameters; the method includes a step of activating the probe with the possibility of temporally synchronizing the data acquired by the probe with the data acquired by the line at the same time.

A measurement apparatus includes a horizontal plate. The horizontal plate includes a first plate end, a second plate end disposed away from the first plate end in a longitudinal direction, a first plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end, and a second plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end. The second plate surface is disposed away from the first plate surface in a normal direction. A first support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A second support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A measurement bar contacts the first support member and the second support member.

A measurement apparatus includes a horizontal plate. The horizontal plate includes a first plate end, a second plate end disposed away from the first plate end in a longitudinal direction, a first plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end, and a second plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end. The second plate surface is disposed away from the first plate surface in a normal direction. A first support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A second support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A measurement bar contacts the first support member and the second support member.

In a marijuana cone filling machine, accurate and repeatable dispensing of marijuana powder into marijuana cones is achieved by including a sensitive scale to measure the weight of powder dispensed into each of the cones.

The embodiments disclose a method including creating a blunt rolling device for rolling blunt smoking products, rolling a wrapper on a wrapper roller tube to create a blunt wrapper tube with a glass tip, tamping smoking material into the blunt wrapper tube at a user defined density, twisting, cutting and tucking wrapper excess into the glass tip, and controlling the operations of the blunt rolling device using a computer, wireless communications and a blunt rolling method and device program for sequencing processes, operating solenoid drive motors and humidity and temperature devices of a smoking material humidor, adjusting settings of devices using predetermined data stored in digital memory devices and accessed using digital processors.

The embodiments disclose a method including creating a blunt rolling device for rolling blunt smoking products, rolling a wrapper on a wrapper roller tube to create a blunt wrapper tube with a glass tip, tamping smoking material into the blunt wrapper tube at a user defined density, twisting, cutting and tucking wrapper excess into the glass tip, and controlling the operations of the blunt rolling device using a computer, wireless communications and a blunt rolling method and device program for sequencing processes, operating solenoid drive motors and humidity and temperature devices of a smoking material humidor, adjusting settings of devices using predetermined data stored in digital memory devices and accessed using digital processors.

Smoking-related article inspection systems and associated methods are disclosed herein. In some aspects, the systems include an x-ray imaging device configured to capture at least one image of the smoking-related articles, a smoking-related article transporting device configured to sequentially introduce the smoking-related articles into the imaging zone; and an analysis unit in communication with the x-ray imaging device and configured to analyze the at least one image captured by the x-ray imaging device for each of the smoking-related articles, the analysis unit being configured to execute: an inspection tool to determine values for one or more parameters of each of the smoking-related articles based on the analysis of the at least one image; and a comparison tool to determine an acceptability of the smoking-related articles for further processing based on comparing the determined values for the one or more parameters to ideal values for the one or more parameters.

A process for detecting oil or lubricant contamination in a manufactured product, the process comprising adding a fluorescent taggant to oils or lubricants contained in processing machinery for the product, irradiating the product with radiation, such as infrared or ultraviolet radiation, and detecting radiation emitted from the irradiated product.

There is provided a method of making rods having predetermined values of cross-sectional porosity, and a cross-sectional porosity distribution value for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, including providing a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming material having a specified width and a specified thickness; gathering the sheet transversely relative to a longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; severing the rod into a plurality of discrete rods; determining values of cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution for at least one of the discrete rods; and controlling one or more manufacturing parameters to ensure that the cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution values of subsequent rods are within the predetermined values.

There is provided a method of making rods having predetermined values of cross-sectional porosity, and a cross-sectional porosity distribution value for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, including providing a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming material having a specified width and a specified thickness; gathering the sheet transversely relative to a longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; severing the rod into a plurality of discrete rods; determining values of cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution for at least one of the discrete rods; and controlling one or more manufacturing parameters to ensure that the cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution values of subsequent rods are within the predetermined values.