MOULD MAKING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 05/23 www.petpla.net 16 vations,” said Guilherme Magalhães, head of Coca-Cola Andina’s Packaging engineering team. Expansion - the essential factor The most common formula for defining a bottle’s capacity is “Brim-full capacity = Net content + Headspace.” This new approach challenges it by considering expansion an essential factor, especially for carbonated beverage packaging. Moldintec’s patent-pending new XpBottle integrates the expansion caused by the filling process itself into the calculation formula. This capacity increase integrates the new equation as a negative term with which Moldintec designs XpBottle. Something that has not been considered before in the basic equation for bottle capacity calculations, especially as a way to improve a particular attribute. Additionally, the term corresponding to headspace (HS) is no longer a value set by a position (distance from the TSS to the liquid) equivalent to a specific millilitre amount. The shape of that area and the transitions of PET thickness (inner side of the preform) play a predominant role in foam generation and minimising HS. The treatment that Moldintec gives HS is based on the minimum required by the filling equipment for a specific product and filling conditions. Factors inherent to the blowing mould and the packaging design are involved here. “When all these factors operate together, we face a bottle that dynamically changes, taking advantage of the filling process conditions in the bottling line. The deformation is projected and controlled by the blow mould itself. We have heard of overfilling or underfilling in the industry, changing a product’s net content for marketing or price reasons. But never from an engineering point of view as a resource capable of improving a physical attribute,” says D.I. Jorge Pucci, CSO and head of Moldintec’s R&D+I. He continues: “We want to integrate filling process information into the blowing stage to optimise the final packaging. The blow mould is a fixed tool during its life cycle now; our challenge is making it dynamic towards a preform weight change, materials, and filling conditions! Today, we work with discrete data taken from the filler. We trust that soon, we will be able to take advantage of the AI agents that equipment manufacturers are integrating into their machines to understand better how counterpressure, speed, and headspace parameters vary with each product. Why not consider adaptive moulds that adjust bottle capacity based on the packaged product and instantaneous filling parameters?” The collaboration of large bottlers allows running tests to be performed under industrial operating conditions, not just in the laboratory. The project is still in the development and operational testing phase at multiple locations. www.moldintec.com You can make 100 % clear preforms without additives Inquiries: marko.makinen@pramia.fi pramiaplastic.fi The world’s best rPET granulate from Finland
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