CAPS & CLOSURES 22 PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 01+02/25 www.petpla.net Husky’s advances in design, manufacturing and sustainability of caps & closures PET closures come into their own Based on an article by Michael White, Director of Business Development, Beverage Closures Beverage closures are integral to the sustainability of beverage packaging, influencing material usage, recyclability, and consumer experience. Husky Technologies, known for its injection moulding systems and services, has focused on enhancing sustainability in closures through three primary strategies: material light-weighting, tethered closures, and the development of PET closures. Material light-weighting The light-weighting topic is straightforward: remove as much resin from specific closure features without negatively impacting the closure performance or the resulting user experience. A lower part weight lowers the raw material cost per piece and can enhance manufacturing productivity (lower cycle time). Husky makes extensive use of mechanical and melt flow simulation tools, known as finite element analysis (FEA), to develop its closure portfolio. The process begins by breaking the closure down into its specific elements (see Figure 1). The following step focuses on material removal from a specific feature. This light-weighting can include weight removal solely or weight removal and geometry changes. New feature proposals are then rigorously tested through running simulations to predict the performance outcome. This is an iterative approach. This methodology is applied to all closure features until the performance and flow criteria are satisfied. Husky applies this methodology to all its closure designs, achieving key benefits such as faster time-to-market, optimal balance between weight and performance, and reduced development costs. Simulation tools predict how much material can be removed from each feature without negatively impacting performance and usability. Tethered closures Husky has developed an intuitive tethering system. This solution is availCAPS & CLOSURES Figure 1: A typical 29/25 still water closure (divided into its fundamental elements) able for all industry standard (Cetie/ ISBT) neck finish types in the water, CSD, and JSDT beverage segments. To ensure a positive consumer experience, tactile and audible responses (“click”) are incorporated into the design to provide immediate consumer feedback on when the shell is locked into position. Moulding complex tethering geometry is possible with the moulded in bridge approach. The tethered features (arm, flap, and hook) are created using mould slides that form the tethering system (see Figure 2). The slides maximise design freedom and avoid any post mould operations (scoring) of the tamper evident (TE) band and
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