PETpla.net Insider 07 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 10 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 07/17 www.petpla.net With the increasing need for non-standard packaging solutions that not only help to stand out in the fierce modern market environment, but also reinforces innovative product development, PET bottle prototyping is becoming paramount for launching new and rebranding existing products. As some bottling companies often demand an entirely customised PET bottle solution within a matter of weeks and sometimes days, the lead time for PET bottle prototypes is becoming shorter. There are several com- panies that offer a service from initial concept to actual bottle samples, and one of the key factors that enable rapid proto- typing is the complete control of all processes along the way. One of the entrepreneurs in the field is Terekas. The company offers a comprehensive quality programme from design concept to injecting preforms and finally to blow- ing samples on the machines built in- house FlexBlow – all under one roof. Bottle design New bottle development begins with the creative design session. The aim of this session is initially to define the customer’s needs and come up with a set of bespoke PET container visualisa- tions with the help of bottle designers. The main advantage of having creative artists in-house is that technical limita- tions are not a restriction at this stage, and therefore coming up with ideas that are fresh and innovative in the market becomes possible. A number of visu- alisations can be prepared overnight, allowing the customer to choose their favourite option within 24 hours after the initial meeting. If the customer is unable to visit personally, a mobile design bureau service is available – bottle designers will come within a reasonable time period to discuss the design devel- opment possibilities. Technical drawing Subsequently, when the favourite artistic bottle design has been selected, a technical drawing is made. With the drawing in hand engineers carry out a container design and PET preform com- patibility study to determine whether a customised preform is needed or an existing one is available for the particu- lar bottle. An in-depth report highlights potential risks and recommendations are made should the initial design need to be altered to fulfil technical require- ments. In the case of a specific neck finish, bespoke preform geometry or non-standard weight, a custom preform design is developed and single injection cavity is made for the prototype pre- forms that are injected in-house. Mould production During the process of choosing or manufacturing the correct preform, the PET bottle blow mould is manufactured by the use of 5-axis milling technology. After CMM precision testing, the ready- made mould is fitted in the versatile PET blower that is capable of accom- modating moulds from all blow mould- ing machine suppliers, and the proto- type bottles are made. A wide range of different neck standards is available for prototyping, and no investment for additional tooling is normally necessary. The universal PET machine enables the production of hot-fill containers, wide-mouth jars, oval bottles, large-size containers, deep-grip bottles and much more. Bottle testing Blown bottles undergo comprehen- sive lab testing afterwards. Bottle sam- ples are tested in the PET laboratory and an in-depth quality report is gener- ated. Testing includes top-load check, complete wall, base and neck thickness measuring, vacuum chamber test, pre- form quality inspection, visual analysis, etc. Quality bottles are dispatched to the customer on the same day. Having the whole infrastructure under one roof enables some companies to offer a Quick Sample Program: customers receive a box of bottle prototypes deliv- ered to their door within 7-14 days after the bottle drawing confirmation. All in all, the possibilities for non- standard PET bottle prototype produc- tion are increasing, and Terekas claims to offer a speedy turnaround, quality and competitive rates for both blow mould and bottle prototype production due to the fact that all processes from A to Z are controlled in-house. www.flexblow.com bottle making Answering the market’s need for rapid quality PET bottle prototyping