PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2014

PRODUCTS 52 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 04/14 www.petpla.net Draw the Attention! Systems for Decoration Inspection Booth E1T09 Winding instead of shrinking In collaboration with Polifilm Extru- sion and the Italian company Al.Ma.C. Packaging, Anta- lis Verpackungen has developed a system, which has been launched under the ”Cycle- packer“ label, packages bottles together by wrapping them in heavy duty Twistex PE film. In addition to a saving in materials of approximately 60%, eliminating the energy-intensive shrink tunnel in this new technology brings reduction in costs. Lower film consumption as a result of the use of winding technology simultaneously reduces the licensing fees for disposal by up to 60%. Using the Cyclepacker system means that the CO 2 emissions can be reduced by almost 80%. The Cyclepacker incorporates two winding rings per module with a total capacity of up to 6,000bph. Because of its modular construction, the system can be expanded as required to suit the capacity requirement. The low weight roller (12kg) and roller bracket make for easier changing of the film rollers. According to the manufacturer, the special Twistex film with its brilliant clarity offers particular com- pound stability and more robust loading units. www.cyclepacker.eu Improved shelf-life estimates Agr International, in conjunction with Container Science, has launched an update to its PPT3000 testing systems. The company says that the M-Rule shelf-life model will provide more accurate shelf-life estimates compared with current, time-consuming methods. The PPT3000 has the ability to directly enter wall thickness data. Along with other improve- ments, this feature is claimed to provide a more consistent and accurate estimation of shelf-life on current bottle produc- tion. Temperature, humidity, volume, carbonisation levels and other variables that can affect shelf-life are pre-defined as part of the model and reproduced for every test. Results can be obtained within the current production window, which means that the data can be used in process management. Pressure and volume expansion data on a given bottle is captured by the PPT3000 tester and analysed by a version of the M-Rule software. This data is used to map material utilisation in relation to shelf-life for the bottles being tested. In addressing the unique attributes of individual bottle designs, a custom “fingerprint”, created by Agr, holds the recipe for shelf-life testing of a particular bottle. Fingerprints can be built for specific end-use requirements, such as CO2 egress on CSD bottles, oxygen ingress, or water loss on lightweight water bottles. Fingerprint information is incorporated into the job for that bottle on the PPT3000 and called upon when test- ing bottles of the same type to determine material utilisation and shelf-life perfor- mance. www.agrintl.com