PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2013

PRODUCTS 31 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 01+02 Injection to blow Engel Austria and Italian company Cantoni have jointly developed an injection moulding and blow-moulding process that operates in the same machine. The Inject2Blow process has been demonstrated with a cycle time of 14sec for the production of wide-necked jars, on an Engel Victory injection moulding machine in Cantoni 2+2 mould. The companies say that combining the processes in one piece of equipment can significantly reduce cycle time and costs in the manufacture of packaging for the cosmetic, drug and food markets. They further claim that additional benefits include lower system investment costs, a smaller system footprint, higher system availability, simpler quality control, and no maximum clamping force. The inject2blow method can be used to process a wide range of thermoplastics from polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonates to PET. Energy is saved because preforms do not have to be heated up again before the blow moulding part of the pro- cess, and Engel’s ecodrive is designed to match consumption levels achieved by fully electric machines. Cavity inserts make product changeover easier, and can also make small batch production economical. Engel and Cantoni can supply the inte- grated production systems from one source. They include an Engel Victory and e-Victory series injection moulding machine, adapted to the application’s requirements; Cantoni sliding table mould and an Engel Viper linear robot, which removes finished parts from the mould. Both processes are monitored and con- trolled by an Engel CC 200 control unit, which means that oper- ators will not necessarily have to learn to use a new system. www.engelglobal.co m Laser processing capabilities R&D Leverage claims that the the launch of its laser pro- cessing capability means that consumer packaged goods makers can now offer custom, machine-based textures, structures and surface treat- ments that can increase visual appeal. The company says its experience is that the feel of a package is as important as its visual cues and that its total approach incorporates “tactile tactics” that interpret consumer preferences and dislikes regarding “feel”, and builds these preferences into the creation of a custom texture. A distinctive organic or non-organic texture can be created without the use of chemicals or mechanical processes. The company’s laser processing capability can machine metal to 0.0005 of an inch – one-eighth the thickness of a human hair. Examples of organic textures include cus- tom-designed raindrops, wood grain, leather look, pebble patterns and even fingerprints. Non-organic textures include geometric shapes, herringbone patterns and plaids. The new process is aimed at consumer packaged goods, implantable medical devices, and precision micro components. www.rdleverage.com