PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2012

PREFORM PRODUCTION 14 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 03/12 www.petpla.net Sipa to unveil all-new high-output PET preform moulding system A fast running workhorse At NPE, Sipa will introduce a new system based around a machine capable of handling moulds with up to 128 cavities, which will be added to Sipa’s present PPS reange of pre- form injection moulding machines, with more than 300 systems installed. With this new development, the company is now tackling the high end and high output volume sector. The Italian company will have its new system running full-time throughout the show. Sipa says that the machine, with a very robust design developed with a primary partner, is built to last. It has a very solid, compact construc- tion that is very low on maintenance. The company claims a TCO – Total Cost of Ownership – among the lowest in the industry. The icing on the cake is that it accepts moulds made not only by SIPA itself, but also by the sector’s other leading preform mould makers. This means that processors can install a SIPA system alongside its existing lines, and not have to worry about a major investment in new tooling. The machine is designed to run 24/7, and some people might call it a workhorse. But that could give the wrong impression, since workhorses are generally slow. This machine is fast. With a lock-to-lock time extremely fast, Sipa says that it can run quicker than some of its major competitors, without the minimum vibration. Mould change-over Time is also made up when the machine is not running, with mould change-over times said to be very short at less than three hours. This is helped by ease of access to the mould area, thanks to large tiebar distances. In addition, configuration changes to the preform post-mould- ing cooling robot system are rela- tively simple. This is because it is a single-stage system, which holds the preforms for six cycles. Sipa says it takes less than half an hour to change the cooling system. Sipa is already well-known for its low-maintenance preform tools. It has a patented system for blow- ing off dust from the mould, so that maintenance work on the hot side is only necessary after five million cycles. On the cold side the moulds exceed eight million cycles before The combined cooling and unload station of Sipa’s new pre- form system can be changed in 30 minutes