EVENT REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 0/24 www.petpla.net 36 Engel presents all-electric thin-wall moulding production cell Engel’s stand at the K show had as its centrepiece a full-scale demonstration of thin-wall injection moulding, using bottle-grade recycled PET (rPET). The specific product demonstrated was a yoghurt cup produced for a global brand owner, which already has a strong focus on sustainability. The shelf-ready formulation includes 30% food-grade rPET and meets the EU’s 2030 Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) targets. e-motion 420 injection moulding machine at the heart The core of the system is Engel’s e-motion 420 injection moulding machine, operating at 4,200kN clamping force and equipped with a 6+6 stack mould from Plastisud. The machine uses injection-compression moulding, during which the melt is injected into a partially-open mould that closes during injection. This helps to reduce pressure and shear stress. It enables stable thining, even under high-throughput conditions. Digital control Digital process control is key to the system’s performance. The iQ weight control module monitors and adjusts the injection process in real time. It automatically optimises switchover points and holding pressure, based on specified speed or pressure parameters. In addition, the iQ motion control reduces dry cycle time by up to 12% by refining clamping-side movements, which helps to improve both energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Automation Automation is handled by Pagés, whose IML (in-mould labelling) system precisely inserts labels, removes the finished cups, inspects quality in-line, separates rejects and packs accepted finished products directly into packing cartons. The PET-based NextCycle IML labels from MCC Verstraete are themselves made of PET. They are designed for easy, air-stream separation during recycling, enabling the recovery of dye-free rPET. A downstream recycling example is presented at the NGR stand, reinforcing the closed-loop narrative. www.engelglobal.com wall production while maintaining material integrity and part quality, and saving material consumption as well. 70/30 virgin/rPET blend The material is a blend of 70% virgin PET from Novapet and 30% rPET regranulate supplied by NGR, Austria. NGR is described as a specialist in advanced plastics recycling technologies. Its blending process pelletised the rPET flakes using liquid-state polycondensation to ensure food-contact compliance. The cups are manufactured by Polytainers, a Canadian company that specialises in high quality rigid packaging solutions. The application is designed to demonstrate technical feasibility and full-cycle circularity, from input preparation to post-consumer recycling, itself carried out by NGR. Short cycle times Cycle performance is an outstanding point that the company is keen to highlight: the system produces twelve 10g cups every 5s. Engel’s newly developed 2465 injection unit achieves injection speeds of 500mm/s, which, it says, is a 67% increase over standard systems. Combined with a dosing drive capable of 1m/s screw speed and a PET-optimised screw design, this is claimed to enable gentle melt process-
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