PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2020

MOULD MAKING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 07+08/20 www.petpla.net 36 High resolution 3D bottle surface decoration via laser machining Label-less design Moving a step forward in its environmental efforts to reduce the impact of all single-use PET bottles, the blow moulds manufacturer Moldintec has developed the technology to design a label-less bottle by taking advantage of the Advanced Laser Decoration. The label is the primary way of communication for the marketing team when designing a new pack- age, but generally, they are limited to cylindrical panels. Applying a label on a PET container implies the use of equipment, tooling, and adhesive in addition to the label itself. Successive technological advances to improve labelling or direct printing on the blown bottle indisputably create pack- ages of bright and attractive colours, even on-demand. Now, what is the role of bottle morphology in this seduction game to achieve commercial success? What else can industrial designers offer to differentiate and change the way a brand sticks in the consumer’s mind? Moldintec is known for its devel- opments of tooling for blowing PET bottles, in which it emphasises the ef fi ciency of the manufacturing pro- cess and how it affects the environ- ment. The mould manufacturing indus- try is technologically dynamic from its genesis. PET blow moulds are metal- mechanic assemblies that combine engineering solutions, industrial design, and manufacturing technology to achieve high dimensional precision that later translates into a stable, ef fi cient, and energy-saving blowing process. Advances in mould making equipment face us with new challenges but also opportunities. “This was the case of the arrival of the very fi rst laser machining equipment in our company in 2016”, says Diego Taboada COO of Moldintec. Initially intended for the simple task of texturing surfaces replacing obsolete chemical methods, the laser sparked initiatives within the company at an early stage. The R&D + I team quickly saw the potential for ablation. Histori- cally limited by cutting tool diameters and spindle RPMs, the light beam changed the rules and freed designers from previous limitations. This paradigm change required hundreds of design hours, as well as programming to create software plugins capable of generating 3D geometry wrapped on the skin of the bottle with complex surfaces without distortion. The etching is nothing more than 2D patterns that cover a cavity at a con- stant depth in general, but the R&D team expected much more. NoLabel development NoLabel has evolved over the last two years. More than 60 pilot cavities were tested, taking advantage of the MultiFlexM platform, Moldintec’s quick- change cavity inserts system. “Today