33 EVENT REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 06/24 www.petpla.net Modular system for flexible optical online inspection and sorting of plastic pellets Sikora has exhibited the Purity Scanner Advanced that is used for inspection and sorting of plastic pellets. Even t he sma l l es t , critical contamination is rel iably detected and sorted out by the system, says the company. Thanks to the modular concept, different camera types can be used depending on the inspected material. In addition to optical 25 μm high-resolution cameras, which detect black specks and discolourations, an X-ray camera can be installed to detect metallic contamination down to 50μm in the pellet. Purity Scanner Advanced automatically sorts out detected contamination via a blow-out unit. For optimising the by-catch, Sikora has developed a “hybrid blow-out” feature. The customer defines in advance which contaminants in the material are uncritical and selects a smaller blow-out unit for these, so that their by-catch is reduced. Both the reliable detection and hybrid blow-out are claimed to ensure high material quality. At the same time, production processes are optimised, and the reduced by-catch contributes to cost-efficient and sustainable production. www.sikora.net John Dognazzi, Managing Director of the Sikora daughter company Sikora International, in front of the Purity Scanner Advanced Improving properties with OpenairPlasma and PlasmaPlus Technologies Opena i r -Pl asma t reatment enhances the surface energy of predominantly non-polar plastics, thereby modi fying their surface properties. This activation process prepares materials for subsequent industrial treatments by increasing surface wettability, which in turn improves adhesive and coat ing strength as well as material printability. For cases where act ivat ion alone is insufficient, Plasma Plus technology offers an alternative. This process applies nano-coatings to surfaces, creating functionally enhanced surfaces with superhydrophilic properties, leading to improved adhesion. In the soft drink industry, PlasmaPlus nano-coating can improve the barrier properties of PET bottles. The nanocoating is transparent like glass yet flexible, shock-resistant, and friction-resistant, says the company. This coating reduces diffusion and extends the shelf life of soft drinks. The process applies the coating to both the inside and outside of the packaging. Securing ink bonding on caps Plastic bottle caps must be airtight while remaining easy to open. Silicone-modified compounds have low surface tension, making printing with solvent-free, food-safe inks challenging. Plasma treatments are claimed to increase surface tension on bottle caps. Plasma jets are integrated directly into high-speed pad printing machines. According to Plasmatreat, their processes are solvent-free, offer locationselective applications, and can be seamlessly integrated into existing production lines. www.plasmatreat.com Plasma treatment on bottle cap (photo: Plasmatreat GmbH)
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