PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2016

BOTTLE MAKING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 17 the jaycap. KHS made the definitive weight savings in the bottle body. Using the finite element method (FEM), KHS engineers used their company’s extensive bottle shape database to analyse the existing design and optimised it, maintaining bottle stability despite the reduction in weight. “We have at our disposal a data- base of absolute quality which allows us to effectively simulate reductions in bottle weight, on the computer,” says Christian Rommel, Bottles&Shapes project engineer at KHS. A further advantage of this digital method is that a bottle is simulated much faster on a computer than it would be if physically developed in a laboratory, enabling bottlers to save costs for complex bottle designs. As well as saving development time, the com- pany was able to achieve a weight that was actu- ally well below the given target corridor. The 0.9 and 1.0l bottles now only clock up 26g on the scales; the weight of the 1.5l bottle has been reduced to 36.5g. “KHS has managed to make structural changes to our bottles that our custom- ers can’t see, but which have a positive impact on the overall bottle stability,” says Lauría, enthusiastic about the savings in mate- rial. The optimised style of bottle weighs less, has a better distribution of materi- als, features a grip that is both ergonomic and con- venient, and is modern and aesthetically pleasing. The new design alone creates cost advantages for AGD in the production process; on the one hand the producer of edible oil ascribes this saving to the lower use of resources per bottle. Processing less material during production also means lower over- heads for energy. In addi- tion, the reduction in weight You make a great product – why hide it? We’ve seen the future of canning and it’s Klear. Milacron’s Klear Can technology gives manufacturers a cutting-edge, cost-competitive alternative to metal cans for fruits, vegetables, soups, meats and other products – and it’s transparent, so you can show off your goods. Using the same machinery as metal cans, going Klear requires minimal investment. With the option to use colored plastic cans, in-mold labels, or standard labels, the possibilities are endless. Ready to see what you can do? Contact us or visit www.Milacron.com to learn more. cuts shipping costs – while bottle stability remains the same. New line technology for a higher output There was a gap of just 14 months between the initial query being sub- mitted to KHS and the first bottle being filled at AGD, which is, accord- ing to Lauría, a very short time indeed for the integration of such a complex bottle design. The development period saw the new bottle shape designed, the new stretch blow moulder built, the line technology inspected at the KHS site in Hamburg, Germany, and the new machinery commissioned in Gen- eral Deheza in the Córdoba region. It was clear even before the project was implemented: if KHS could design a bottle prototype according to the required specifications, the company would also be awarded the contract for the new stretch blow moulder. Two InnoPET Blomax 10 Series II systems