PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2020

BOTTLE MAKING 51 PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 06/20 www.petpla.net Adjustable, adaptable, accurate The ECS machines have adjustable strokes for injection and stretch-blowing, according to preform length and bottle diameter, which help to optimise cycle time and energy consumption. While they have been designed to work with Sipa moulds, they can be adapted to run with moulds from other OEMs. Sipa recently undertook a signi fi cant redesign of the operator interface (HMI), which incorporated lessons learned from the experience in practice of machine opera- tors. The company analysed operat- ing procedures and created a set of shortcuts, with the aim of simpli fi cation. The result is an HMI that is designed to enable the operator to get where they need to be, quickly and with the minimum of actions. Individual preform cavities can be provided with their own conditioning parameters, determined according to the design of the preform. In the bottle blowing section, it is also pos- sible to manage conditions separately in each cavity in the bottle-blowing section, to maintain quality across any number of bottles in a production run. Short maintenance times The use of needle valve gates with simple geometry in hot runners in the preform injection section enables them to be purged quickly, which helps to cut set-up time. The hot runner system can feed up to 10 cavities. Loading and unloading the preform core plate is an automated procedure. The system incor- porates additional sensors to ensure that the mould opening stroke is adjusted correctly to the preform length. Sipa says that changing the blow moulds is an easy procedure and claims that the ECS SP 25 and ECS SP 80 have a best-in- class lock-to-lock time. Value for money According to Sipa, the ECS range offers converters a higher cavitation capability than rival machines of a simi- lar size, claiming a level at least 25% higher for the same size of container. Their ceramic heaters offer fast heat- ing and good material distribution for oval shaped bottles, without having to rely on complex shaped injection tools; and robust construction and smooth operation for durability and repeat- ability. Sipa summarises the ECS SP range as offering competitive output for the level of investment and consequent bottle cost and presents it as an excel- lent solution for converters wanting containers with high-quality appear- ance and non-standard necks, in lim- ited production batches and in various colours, appropriate to personal care and pharma, cosmetics, food, liquor and miniatures businesses. www.sipasolutions.com ECS SP single stage ISBM moulds l l textile packaging