PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2019

PREFORM PRODUCTION PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 12/19 www.petpla.net 16 PREFORM Special In the following issue, Husky published a table that showed a 216- cavity tool for the 65 t HyPET 650. 2007 Otto Hofstetter announced the next stage in the “more cavities, less tonnage” race (issue 7): 128 cavities on a 350 t system set a new bench- mark. We recall, in 2001, 96-cavities on a 600 t system made headlines! Also in issue 7, Sacmi presented their PAM preform compression moulding system. Netstal announced their new, small 200 t preform system in issue 11, covering the range of 24-60 cavi- ties. 2008 The continuous process of com- pression moulding preforms ensures that all preforms are exactly the same – as shown by Sacmi at an Open House in Italy at a prototype machine (issue 3). Processing the material at a 10-15 °C lower degree than IM elimi- nates the AA problem. In issue 5 we reported for the first time about Netstal’s Prelactia solution, the co-injected multi-barrier preforms for the dairy sector. 2009 Preform production taking place at an altitude of 5,000m: Husky reported the successful installation at Glacier Mineral Water in issue 5. Netstal managed to squeeze 60 cavities onto their small 200 t machines using an Otto Hofstetter tool (issue 9). Husky caught the eye in issue 10 with a special preform system for direct processing of PET containing a high percentage of flakes. 2010 For issue 3 we visited AMD in India which was then producing 18,000 t of preforms per year on a ver- tical KraussMaffei system. Netstal moved towards reducing energy consumption on their PETline systems (issue 4) but also towards achieving shorter cycle times. The newly developed Calitec system had been installed in Netstal systems with up to 192-cavities. In issue 7+8 GDXL featured its patented conical-base preform, saving weight and material. On the market since 2006, it had now come into operation at Coca-Cola in China. GDXL’s patented conical base preforms At K show, Netstal showed a new version of its PETline platform, operat- ing with 60 cavities at 2,000 kN clamp- ing force (instead of 3,500 kN previ- ously). 0.5 l preforms were produced at a cycle time of 9 s (issue 9). Also at K, Husky launched its H-PET AE (all electric) preform injec- tion moulding system (issue 10). The small system addressed the needs of consumers in emerging markets and low-volume producers. 2011 A new competitor in the preform tooling sector: in issue 1+2 Mold-Mas- ters presented its complete preform system. Using their patented confor- mal cooling technologies called iCool, the company developed a complete mould solution for preform moulding. Issue 3 saw preform production containing up to 100% of PCR. Sipa’s preform injection moulding equipment designed for this function ranged from 96 down to 24-cavities. In the same issue, Husky intro- duced a recycled flake system, the HyPET RF, with an injection unit spe- cifically designed for recycled flakes. Custom-made preforms were making a significant contribution to turnover for Retal Dnipro when we visited them in 2011 (see issue 4), and lightweighting was the need of the hour. For the 0.5 l bottle, the pre- form was slimmed down from 26 to 15.7 g. “Investing first, then getting orders” was the mantra of Rajat Kedia when we visited Manjushree in Bangalore (also issue 4). Being the first and then only company in India to have their own preform tools, they became the largest preform producer in India. In which areas do you see opportunities to further improve PET preforms and how do they influence your R&D work today? Moraldo Masi, Sacmi: “I think that many plastic packaging that until today have been produced with different material, could very soon be produced in PET. I’m referring to the dairy, food, pharma etc. sectors.” Pablo Fiorentini, Sipa: “Since we have been pushing towards unimaginable limits, the engineering of the preforms must be directly linked to the required characteristics of the final con- tainer. The study and application of the correct quality of PET material are increasingly the key to the success of projects.”