PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2011

PET products 48 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 04/11 www.petpla.net Upgraded design adds features on capper New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM), of Bradenton, Florida, USA, has introduced new design features of its rotary chuck cappers that are intended to make changeovers easier, reduce the machines’ footprint and cut dust-collecting areas. The new modular design upgrades include a compact frame, frame- less guarding and tool-free changeovers. New machines also incorporate a high efficiency main drive motor, which is intended to save energy, a re-designed lift drive, an option for corro- sive products, and an FDA lube option. Frameless guarding is designed to eliminate dust-collecting areas and is appropriate for pharmaceutical and clean-room operations. Similar machines can have interchangeable change parts, which allows operators to run the same product on multiple machines. The cappers now have electronic programmability, designed for easier setup and changeover. www.neminc.com Dry aseptics take step forward with non-objection from FDA Krones AG, of Neutraubling, Germany, has received a letter of non-objection from the FDA for a rotary dry- aseptic PET-bottle filling system featuring H 2 O 2 (hydrogen peroxide) as the sterilising agent. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) test includes verifying micro- biological safety when filling low-acid aseptic products in the range from pH 4.6 to pH 7. Krones’ process undertook a required validation procedure carried out by an FDA- approved ‘process authority’ with a rotary aseptic filling system in the low output category for one of Nestlé’s research centres in the USA, which led to the issue of the FDA non-objection letter. Krones is the first bottling line manufacturer able to provide a complete dry process fea- turing H 2 O 2 in compliance with the stringent stipulations applying in terms of sterilisation performance, residual concentration and shrinkage. The bottle and closure sterilisation process is completely dry and a seal sterilisa- tion feature is also based on H 2 O 2 . The isolator, after it has been cleaned with caustic and rinsing water and then dried, is sterilised in a dry process using evaporated H 2 O 2 . This process corresponds approximately to the procedure adopted in the pharmaceutical industry. The machine has been validated for 48h of continuous operation. Subse- quent cleaning and sterilisation takes 3.5h. www.krones.com OptiCheck sidewall and label inspection system Agr International, Inc., of Butler, PA, USA, has announced the introduction of its OptiCheck sidewall/label quality management system for plastic container produc- tion. The vision-based inspec- tion and measurement system uses multiple high-resolution cameras in conjunction with long-lasting LED lighting, for 360° inspection on bottles that are translucent or opaque. It is designed to take into consid- eration day-to-day variations in the production of plastic containers, including product changeovers, colour changes and limited line space. Defects that can be detected by the system include folds, contamina- tion, foreign materials, opaque spots, holes, missing or dis- torted features, flash and label defects. It is designed specifi- cally for bottle measurement and inspection applications, as well as process control. It is presented as a ‘drop-in-place’, ready to operate inspection system, using established bottle- specific test and measurement routines, so does not need custom programming. Modules are available for high-accuracy on-line finish gauging, seal surface defect management, and sidewall and label inspection, which can be performed at the same time as general sidewall defect detection. Agr says that the OptiCheck is appropriate for in-mould labelling processes, as bottles and labels can be inspected as a complete unit. The system is designed for use in tabletop conveyor applications and features a high-resolution touch-screen user interface. www.agrintl.com Label removing machine Herbold Meckesheim USA, a subsidiary of Herbold Meckesheim Germany, has announced the launch of a new Label Remover machine, which is designed to remove wrap- around polyvinyl chloride (PVC) labels from PET bottles. The machine achieves complete removal of labels and adhesives from bottles through friction between exchangeable rip-off elements bolted to the rotor and exchangeable pins fitted to stator elements. The design of the chamber has no spaces where bottles might pass through without undergoing full frictional contact and there are no surfaces to constrict the bottle flow, which reduces the possibility of damage to bot- tles. The design ensures even loads and dwell times as bot- tles are advanced by the rotor. The machine enables need for extra steam generation. The label remover is available with two different capacities - 4,500 or 8,000 kg/hr. it has been designed for ease of access for parts exchange, the self-aligning roller bearings are mounted outside the hous- ing to minimize contamination and anti-vibration mounting pads are standard. Herbold Meckesheim USA says that the removal of almost all wraparound labels early in the recycling process saves money downstream, where cutting blades will stay sharp for longer because they won’t be dulled by label residues. www.herbold.com