PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2019

PREFORM PRODUCTION PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 12/19 www.petpla.net 20 PREFORM Special Nissei ASB 1.5 step moulding For issue 12 we paid a visit to Retal Pennsylvania, where they were set up to produce, amongst others, three bil- lion preforms on 400 or 500t machines. Our way led us also to Sipa’s Open House in Vittorio Veneto where the latest development was shown, the Xtreme blocked with a stretch blow moulding and filling line. So the process from PET flakes to bot- tles can be realised in one thermal cycle. The energy input in the preform injection-compression moulding is suf- ficient to produce the finished bottle. Sacmi widened their IPS machin- ery range to achieve 60,000 pre- forms/hour. Lightweighting could also be improved, resulting in preforms weights of 4.5 g (25mm neck). Retal explained in the same issue the adjustments which had been made to realise a 6 l container as a successor of a 5 l container, but with the same weight and improved perfor- mance. 2019 Nissei ASB moved preform cooling from the injection station to the con- ditioning station (issue 1+2). Called “Zero Cooling”, the injection station is ready for the next cycle without cool- ing waiting times, increasing produc- tivity by a factor of 1.5. In issue 3 we reported on Huay- an’s journey to the US. Many of their designs are intended to lightweighting, just as the then new 4.0 g preform for 250ml bottles (photo next column on the top). GDXL featured at Chinaplas its multi-layer co-injection solutions, allow- ing gradual colour change along the preforms. The solution can be achieved by modifying injection equipment into a co-injection system. (issue 5) How preform storage can affect a bottle’s performance was discussed in an article by PTI in issue 7+8. As a rule of thumb, the older the pre- form, the more difficult the process- ing; and while drier preforms stretch less, moisture is more impactful on the properties of larger diameter pre- forms. Stefan Bock, CEO of ReduPET explained in issue 10 why injection moulding and stretch blow moulding do not fit perfectly together, and how weak points can be overcome. During our Editour India we learned at Chemco that the trend towards small packaging sizes means that overall output is declining. The company manufactures preforms for Coca Cola’s 250ml bottle, and planned developments in the area of multi-layer. Nishant Mouldings from India manufactures almost 200 different preform designs, from 7.6 g to 735 g and 25-120mm neck size. Sustain- able manufacturing was on the com- pany’s top agenda (issue 11). Each preform manufacturing process has its advantages and disadvantages. How can a con- verter find the right process for his requirements? Moraldo Masi, Sacmi: “First of all, every- body should be aware of the various different technology existing in the market to produce bottles/containers. You may use single or double stage, injection, compression or a mix of different technologies. Although the main driver for the correct choice remains the TCO and operating costs, it is becoming more impor- tant every day to reach high quality standards, and this feature may change a lot from one technology to another and from one market to another. In our portfolio we have several technologies and we are quite accustomed to support our customer in their choice with this way of thinking.”