PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2017

TRADE SHOW PREVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 09/17 www.petpla.net 77 Integrated production of beverage caps Precision and process consistency In collaboration with partner companies, the injection moulding machine manufacturer and systems provider Engel, based in Schwertberg, Austria, will present a complete system solution in the highly integrated production of beverage caps. During the five days of Drinktec, under actual production conditions and at a cycle time of under 2.5s, the production cell will deliver 26mm caps made of HDPE and including tamper-proof bands. At the core of the energy efficient integrated solution is an Engel e-cap 2440/380 injection moulding machine with a clamping force of 3,800kN. A 96-cavity mould by Corvaglia from Eschlikon in Switzer- land will be used. Engel has integrated additional peripherals into the system including a DMS dry-air system by Blue Air Systems (Kundl, Austria), a TWIN model cap inspection system by IMDvista (Brügg, Switzerland), and material handling units by Piovan (S. Maria di Sala VE, Italy). The hot-runner temperature control is made by S.i.S.e. (Oyonnax, France), and partners for the raw materials are Borealis, (Vienna, Austria) and Gabriel Chemi- cals (Gumpoldskirchen, Austria). All-electric e-cap “In terms of geometry, beverage caps have reached their lightweight- ing minimum. This means that the demands on the precision and repeat- ability of injection moulding machines are higher than ever before”, says Frank Schuster, Sales Director of Engel packaging, describing a trend that is often decisive in the design of injection moulding machines and production cells for cap production. In addition, the sensitivity of produc- ers to energy efficiency continues to increase. In order to meet both chal- lenges, Engel is focusing on all-elec- tric high performance machines for cap production. With clamping forces of 1,100 to 4,200kN, the Engel e-cap series was developed specifically for this market segment. Among other things, the high- performance servo direct drives are responsible for the process stability and precision of the e-cap injection moulding machines. They ensure the required plasticising capacity and a maximum of usable parts even when using the new high-strength HDPE materials with a MFI significantly lower than 2 or even 1g/10min. In addition, the increased ejection and clamping forces help to achieve very short cycle times. In spite of its perfor- mance, the e-cap is claimed to require little energy and cooling water, even at constant high-speed. Fast project planning As a complete system, the produc- tion cell represents the state-of-the- art in efficient cap production. Both Blue Air Systems and IMDvista will be presenting their latest innovations at the Engel booth. The DMS series devices by Blue Air Systems allow for higher product quality and energy savings of up to 85% as compared to conventional mould dehumidifiers. What makes this series special is that it works without water. Without pre- cooling, it guarantees condensation- free production conditions regardless of the weather and the climate zone. With its TWIN flying closure system, IMDvista has solved one of the biggest challenges in the inline- inspection of beverage caps. Usually, the freshly produced caps undergo camera inspection while lying on a conveyor belt. This means that the top side of the caps cannot be viewed by the cameras. With the new technol- ogy, caps are lifted by a stream of air, and can thus be inspected from above and below without extending process- ing time. From a single source, Engel deliv- ers highly integrated and automated system solutions for the production of bottle caps worldwide. Advantages for the producer are that for one thing, efficiency and quality potentials can only be fully utilised when the indi- vidual components of the production cell have been precisely synchronised from the start, says Engel. Apart from that, the systems solution accelerates project planning and commissioning due to the fact that the producer does not need to coordinate various sup- pliers. www.engelglobal.com Hall A4 - Booth 324 During Drinktec, a fully automated e-cap injection moulding machine, equipped with a 96-cavity mould, will be producing 26mm caps including tamper-proof bands at a cycle time of under 2.5s.