PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2012

PET products 34 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 01+02/12 www.petpla.net Cooling efficiency Sipa has launched a new range of solutions aimed at improving the cooling efficiency of PET preform moulds, under the CoolLife brand name. Sipa says that the system’s new layout provides better cool- ing performance at a higher water temperature, through improved dis- tribution of the cooling channels to each cavity. It combines series and parallel distribution of the water to the cavities and effectively halves the amount of water required, while increasing water flow per cavity. The layout allows the permissible differ- ence in the temperature (ΔT) of water flowing into and out of the cooling circuit to be 3°C, rather than the 1°C in existing systems. The CoolLife system allows input water tempera- ture of 14°C rather than 8°C. With reduced water consump- tion, it is claimed that less expensive pumps are required, and higher input water temperatures lead to lower cooling capacity requirements. A ‘double-deck’ arrangement for the cooling channels around the preform neck increases the total channel surface area. The IceCool option has cooling chan- nels that better conform to the geometry of the neck, have an even greater surface area and induce turbulent flow, to provide further optimised cooling when necessary. IceCool is claimed to save energy, cut cooling times by 25% and total cycle times by nearly 15%, while minimising preform distor- tion and reducing condensation. www.sipa.it Automatic leak detection American company Plastic Technologies, Inc. (PTI) is launching an upgraded version of its LeakMonitor device, which now has the ability to detect leaks at the produc- tion speeds achieved by contemporary blow moulding equipment. LeakMonitor uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect the noise that is generated by pressurised air passing through an orifice, and turning it into an elec- tronic waveform. A deviation from pre-set parameters identifies defects in the product or machine components. During the production process, the LeakMonitor listens for leaky bottles, tracks them through the machine and triggers an eject mechanism when they are in the correct position. Routine background noise is also monitored and graphed and if it reaches an unacceptable level the ultrasonic sensor can trigger an alarm. The upgraded version features automated calibration, including a dis- play of the relative severity of air leaks and where they are located on the blow wheel. As the percentage of rPET has increased, along with the trend towards light- weighting, the incidence of holes increased up to 1000 times, compared with virgin PET. PTI says that its Leak- Monitor helps to ensure that rPET usage does not result in defective bottles leaving the operation. As well as bot- tles, it can identify and locate leaks from equipment such as valves, faulty lines, compensation gaskets, stretch rod seals and misaligned tooling. www.plastictechnologies.com Pre-glued, roll-fed labelling P.E.Labellers SpA, Italy, developed a labelling amchien called Adhesleeve system, which uses white or clear pre- glued roll-fed films with thicknesses lower than the films normally used on classic roll-fed labellers. The company says that the elimination of hot melt in its pre-glued film system offers a number of attractions, including a more sanitary and ecologically friendly working environment; the elimination of fumes; and complete recyclability. It is available with a thermal shrinking system and is claimed to be user-friendly in operation. It is also able to create a sleeve-type packaging with one labelling machine, by simply changing the type of film being used. www.pelabellers.it Slat lane dividers in-house After a period of analysis, design and development, end-of-line packaging machine manufacturer Cermex, part of Sidel, has been designing and manufacturing slat lane dividers totally in-house since the beginning of 2011. Twenty machine orders had been placed by the end of the year. The company says that it can supply its dividers either as standalone machines or integrated within a full packaging solution. The advantages Cermex claims for its new product line include alignment of man- agement process for lead times and quality, and the abil- ity to exercise greater control on the synergy between its machines and upstream operations. www.cermex.fr