PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2020

PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 12/20 www.petpla.net 16 Systemic approach to advanced preform production Sipa counts itself among the very few PET technology suppliers around the world cap- able of providing cutting-edge equipment to make high-performance, low-weight preforms and containers. As far as preforms are concerned, it is alone in offering not only traditional injection moulding systems branded XForm, but also an injection-compression technology, Xtreme, capable of making lightweight high-performance preforms. PREFORMS Xtreme, already in commercial use at several customers, is claimed to take preform production into a new era, whether it involves virgin mate- rial or post-consumer recyclate, rPET. The advantages are especially sig- nificant when it is paired with Erema’s Vacurema post-consumer bottle recycling system in Xtreme Renew, a system, capable of producing high- quality food-contact preforms from up to 100% rPET flakes. Fourth generation XForm Sipa has high hopes for Xtreme and Xtreme Renew. The company also offers quality and quantity in the form of XForm. The system was intro- duced in 2012, and already last year it entered its fourth generation, XForm Gen4 XP. This incorporates advanced technology to deliver lowest conver- sion cost alongside unmatched speed, flexibility, and ease of use. As is well-known, XForm is avail- able in several sizes, with clamp forces of 250, 350 and 500 t. These can run with moulds holding respec- tively up to 96, 128, and 180 cavities. New technology incorporated into all these systems has been designed to handle the most demanding applica- tions. It delivers short cycle times; it offers high energy efficiency; and it has low maintenance cost. As with all previous XForms, the XForm Gen4 XP accepts virtually all legacy tooling produced by any major mould maker. Powered by the latest genera- tion of servo-driven hydraulic pumps, the XForm Gen4 XP has low lock-to- lock time, paired with an increased injection rate. Total energy efficiency has also been increased: in a typical configuration with the machine set-up to full screw utilisation and PET with an IV of 0.80 dl/g, the XForm Gen4 XP consumes just 0.195 kWh of energy for every kg of material processed. One of the reasons for the improve- ments in dry cycle time and energy efficiency is the introduction of a kinetic energy recovery system acting on the toggle drive. New accu layout Sipa’s XForm platform has already gained a reputation for its ease of maintenance, the Gen4 XP, it is even easier. One of the reasons for this is a modified accumulator area layout: the accumulators are now mounted on a pull-out rack inside the machine frame. In addition, the oil tank has been redesigned so that it does not need to be emptied in case of main- tenance. Those processors operat- ing in the hills and mountains will be interested to know that it can also be used at altitudes of up to 3,000m without any modifications. The net result of all these improvements is that XForm Gen4 XP users can oper- ate even more consistently, at higher speeds, spending less on energy and maintenance, using a machine that will reduce conversion cost to very low levels. The operator experience on the XForm has also been further enhanced in the Gen4 XP. This is achieved through an HMI with a large 21.5-inch touch screen with high- definition graphics, swipe functions just like a smartphone or tablet, a multi-function control knob for one- handed operation, and fast response times unaffected by processor load. The HMI incorporates an automatic