PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2010

BOTTLE MAKING 30 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 05/10 www.petpla.net Used but not spent Systems supplier offers complete range of PET machinery, plant layout support and services. Older machines (“used but not spent“) represent an investment choice worthy of consideration - and not only in times of tight financial circumstances. Such value analysis usually pays off and applies equally to equipment for the production of pre- forms and bottles made from PET, PEN or PLA. Since 1994 Glocon Technical Sup- plies & Trading GmbH of Schwerin in Northern Germany has offered such equipment as well as systems/pro- cess related support services includ- ing support for process relevant aux- iliary equipment such as resin dryers, dehumidifiers, chillers, compressors and tooling. Following inspection Glocon buys pre-used equipment and transfers it to its plant, sets it up for production, repairs and overhauls it there after another thorough audit. Before ship- ping it to a buyer it is testrun – usually assisted by the buyer’s technical staff. In 2004 the company moved into its own factory premises in Schwerin with 3000 m 2 under roof, renovated and partitioned it into a workshop, separate blow and injection moulding equipment installation and test run areas, spare parts, a walled-in high rack spare parts storage section, sup- port equipment room for the 40-bar blow air compressor and the PET-bot- tle regrinding mill and the office area. The two assembly halls are equipped with overhead crane runways. The technical assistance encom- passes advice on bottle design (inclusive of lightweighting efforts) as well as on preform compatibility and pertinent lab testing. Glocon counsels on machine and auxiliary equip- ment sizing and layout, installation and startup services, line relocation, overhaul, upgrading and retrofitting with the objective of extending and/ or enhancing the useful life of existing PET-process and support equipment. In order to also serve the down- stream side of the process more fully Glocon have reinforced their technical team and now provide layout engi- neering services as well as supplying conveyor systems for blown bottles - either air conveyors for cylindri- cal bottles or vacuum conveyors for special custom containers. They have supplied and commissioned such bottle transfer conveyors for CSDs (PCO1810-28mm) as well as for 38 mm iced tea applications. The equipment offers the following features: automatic adjustment for bottles  with 28 mm and 38 mm neck fin- ishes by electronically remote-con- trollable pneumatic cylinders symmetrical guide rail adjustment  (both guide rails) asymmetrical guide rail adjustment  (single guide rail) straight-line channel layouts, differ-  ing customised layouts, customised curves and ups and downs climbing and descending channel  layouts automatic shunting systems from 1  to 2 channels or 1 to 3 channels, as well as 2 to 2 and 3 to 3 channels Other details that make a difference are support ring guides with gentle handling plastic strips (project and client dependent with clips as wear parts) or, if staff is at a premium and maintenance must be minimised, metal guides (cold hardened stain- less steel) with minimised coefficient of friction. Along the length of the air chan- nels inspection hatches are arranged at regular distances in a clearly laid out manner. The driving air stream passes through individually selected filtering stages and applies pressure and air volumes to suit individual transport and hygiene requirements. Careful manufacture of the air chan- nel segments, often using precision manual skills, ensures precision assembly of the conveyor and so min- imises bottle jams that may otherwise occur on the line during production. Filled bottle conveyor Transporting system