PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2016

PRODUCTS 32 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 01+02/16 www.petpla.net New addition to Liese’s Flexximal family Liese GmbH’s Brau Beviale 2015 stand hosted the public debut of its new Hygienic clamping unit, the latest addition to its Flexximal range. The German manufacturer, based in Walzbachtal, says that the unit is intended for use in fillers, infeed, discharge and transfer starwheels. In common with other products in the Flexximal range, including “Crashsafe“ and “Light“, the Hygienic’s clamp is designed to work with a range of bottle forms, with diameters from 60-90mm. The unit operates independently of the rotation and running direction and can be controlled from both above and below. Ms Carmen Schreiber, Liese’s Marketing Manager, said that the clamper’s simple design has no complex contours or components, such as compression springs, it offers good access for cleaning as well as lighter weight and reduced wear characteristics. Its compact construction enables it to be installed and used in small spaces and is particularly appropriate for use in hygiene-sensitive areas, as its name indicates. Development of the Flexximal Hygienic was undertaken in accordance with guidelines from the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG). Liese’s product portfolio includes capping machines, inspection machines and specialist label removers for returnable PET bottles and glass. Its 2014 takeover of the portfolio of Adelski, a mechanical engineering company based in Mannheim, enabled the company to expand its range of products and services to include capping systems for beverages and food applications, as well as to non-food industries. www.liese-gmbh.de Shrinking dispenser bottle Large PET dispenser bottles are often used for storing and dispensing water in the office or at home. Starting with five gallon glass-version weighted 20kg, the regular multi-trip PET dis- penser bottle fitted on a dispensing unit has a weight of 650g. The next step was a single dispenser bottle, minimum weight 330g. This saves on materials, as well as on transport costs. Following the development Sipa engineered a new dispenser bottle collapsing on it selves as neatly as possible. Collapsing sequences were simulated using Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis to find the buckling mechanism that would best suit the client’s requirement. “FEM analysis accelerates the time of investigation and reduces the number of trials aiming at the correct solution,” says Dino Zanette at Sipa. “It also aids in determining a minimum weight at which the col- lapsing mechanism is still functional.” Different bottle shapes, square and round, were analysed along with the shape of the ribs and base. Graphs of volume vs. pressure and base center displacement vs. pressure, together with photograms of the simulation, helped the Sipa experts to understand the collapsing phenomena and how to modify the bottle structure to get the best performance. Physical prototypes were built to verify the “virtual” results. Trials have proven the reproducibility of the collaps- ing mechanism that was studied during the development stages. Now fully self-collapsible containers that require the application of no external mechanical forces to deflate are in industrial production at Sipa. Collecting for recycling or putting them in a recycling bin is simplified. www.sipa.it