PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2020

MAINTENANCE PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 01+02/20 www.petpla.net 30 New cleaning system boosts production time and productivity Cutting cleaning costs Silgan Plastics’ use of Cold Jet i3MicroClean and Aero System for cleaning injection moulds, blow moulds and stretch blow moulds cut cleaning time from 2-3 hours to 45 minutes. Cleaning moulds hot and in-place significantly cut cleaning time and equipment damage caused by assembly and disassembly. Operator safety has been improved by reducing work undertaken close to hot equipment. Silgan Plastics is a leading sup- plier of metal containers for food prod- ucts in North America and of plastic containers for personal care products. It is also a producer of metal, com- posite and plastic vacuum closures for food and beverage products world- wide. With more than 22 production plants, it is one of the top 10 blow moulders in North America. Silgan’s Toronto, Canada, manu- facturing facility uses injection mould- ing, injection blow moulding and injection stretch blow moulding sys- tems to produces a variety of plastic containers, lids and caps, many using 72-cavity PET preform moulds. Its preventive maintenance program was developed to meet customers’ special product quality needs in the pharma- ceutical and PET segments. Scheduled downtime for routine cleaning Silgan’s manufacturing software generates a work order based upon cycles for each mould. Cleaning cycles are set-up with each customer to ensure that their moulds are well main- tained and in good working condition. This approach has become a stand- ard for all Silgan moulds and cus- tomers’ moulds. The 72-cavity moulds, which run 10 s pro- duction cycles, are cleaned by hand after every 15,000 cycles, using chemical and citrus clean- ers, degreasers, wire brushes, drills and pipe cleaners, a process that took 2-3 hours per mould. After 60,000 cycles, the moulds were removed from the presses and given a more thorough clean- ing. Despite the amount of time spent maintaining them, it was difficult to get the moulds completely clean. “Not only is it time consuming, it is difficult to get behind every slide and neck ring,” said Joe Pond, Setup Supervisor for Silgan Plastics. “The coatings and plastics we use tend to get on other parts of the equipment, which also adds to the challenge.” Moulds before cleaning... ...and after dry ice blast cleaning After a Husky Injection Molding Systems seminar, Pond asked Husky representatives what was the best method for cleaning high-cavitation moulds; they recommended Cold Jet dry ice blast cleaning systems. Cutting downtime and improving machine care Dry ice blasting uses non-abra- sive, recycled CO 2 pellets that won’t damage surfaces or equipment or compromise part quality consistency. +44 (0) 1254 584210 sales@petmachinery.com petmachinery.com Active for over 25 years, our global network and specialist knowledge makes us the go-to company for the sale or purchase of a PET machine. Commercially savvy, we work closely with our customers and our global network, to make sure everyone gets the best deal. Providing comprehensive advice throughout your sale or purchase; we can arrange dismantling, loading, packing, shipping, specialist insurance and commissioning. If you have amachine to sell or you’re looking to purchase, please get in touch. THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS