PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2016

BOTTLE MAKING 44 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 06/16 www.petpla.net Preferential heating on Serac Blow Linear (SBL) units Three steps to success Serac’s stretch blow moulding units, dedicated to on-site manufacturing of PET bottles, can now be equipped with a preferential heating module ideal for blowing new bottle designs used on the home care and personal care markets. This solution has already been adopted by the French leader of eco-friendly detergents products. Serac’s SBL technology is proposed as stand-alone machines as well as in single-block blow fills cap equipment, to cover manufac- turing needs, from mass production of wide and deep product ranges to niche markets. Preferential heating offering many possibilities Selective heating of PET preforms is necessary to obtain homogeneous material distribution on flat and oval bottles as well as complex shapes. The preferential heating solution pro- posed by Serac has been designed as a complementary device that can be installed or removed without any tools, in short time. This way, manufactur- ers can produce round and complex bottles on the same equipment. After a continuous heating in the first oven, preforms enter the second oven where cams operate predefined dis- continuous rotations. This way, some surfaces of the preform get hotter than others which results, at the blowing stage, in controlled uneven expansion into the mould. Integrated PET linear stretch blow moulding units Serac’s preferential heating solu- tion benefits from the high-quality SBL linear blowing technology that can stretch lightweight preforms up to their limits with a homogeneous bottle thickness with no risk of neck defor- mation. Ultimate control of the blowing process is achieved through precise heat profile management and smooth transfer system. Flexibility is ensured through fast and effortless mould changeover, that takes minutes and helps manage wide product ranges with reduced downtimes. Serac Blow Linear serie for various kinds of production needs The SBL serie has been designed to produce bottles up to 5l at output rates up to 18,000bph. SBL machines can be integrated as stand-alone units to existing lines, or supplied as global blow fill cap equipment. Combox single-block blow fill cap units are becoming increasingly popu- lar because of their cost-efficiency and flexibility. They represent a lower investment since they do not require peripheral devices such as silos, ori- entators and conveyors; they gener- ate savings on maintenance opera- tions with less devices and spare parts and can be driven by a single operator. They offer a higher OEE through a better integration of the different functions and much faster changeovers. With production outputs and price positioning optimised for small to medium-sized production batches, Serac’s SBL units equipped with the preferential heating option enable manufacturers are able to highlight their brand through new bottle designs and develop value-added market seg- ments. www.serac-group.com PET bottles with complex shapes Used for beverages, PET is increasingly preferred on other mar- kets for the benefits it offers in terms of raw material cost, energy-saving process and recycling properties. PET also enables to produce squeez- able bottles, a must for highly viscous products such as shampoos, skincare creams or dish soaps. First, it allows many possibilities in terms of design, which is a major advantage for products which require eye-catching packagings that are also easy to hold and use. Second, when used crystal clear transparency reveals the product it contains (colour, texture) and thus allows to have a single bottle for a whole range. Third, the extremely pre- cise neck finish offers perfectly tight closure for low viscous liquids and easy adaptation to different capping systems, the same bottle can be fitted with a spray gun for the first purchase and with a screwed cap for refills.