packaging | Preforms
Right: Husky claims an up to 12% productivity gain for the
fifth generation of its HyPET HPP preform system
The result is a claimed 60% extension of the time period between mould maintenance intervals and a tool life of up to 10 million cycles before onset of excessive wear or flash. The system works by detecting misalignment between the mould halves during production. If any mis- alignment is detected, sensors signal the operator via the Polaris control system, which provides specific instructions for correction. The mould is designed to enable the vertical positioning of the cold half to be adjusted and the mould aligned without the use of a crane. In addition, it is now possible to adjust the neck rings from behind the cavity plate, which is simpler and faster, while new anti-wear coatings are employed to extend greasing intervals up to 120,000 cycles, says Husky. The company has also looked closely at the mould
change process. Domodossola says Husky’s engineer- ing team identified 16 areas for improvement, including automatic water purging and hydraulic-lifting clamps. This has allowed mould change times to be reduced from four hours for the previous generation to one hour without compromising compatibility with existing moulds. “Compatibility packages are available for HyPET, G-Line and select X-Line moulds to allow customers to run these legacy moulds in the HyPET HPP5 system,” he says. However, he points out that in this case any productivity gain will depend on the specific mould and application. Domodossola says the CoolPik dehumidification
Below: Netstal’s new PETLine 4000 model is claimed to be 10% more energy efficient than its predecessor
system has also been updated on the HPP5 to improve energy efficiency. The desiccant wheel and air-to-water heat exchanger has been replaced with a refrigeration system combining cooling and dehumidification. This results in a claimed more than 20% reduction in air cooling and dehumidification energy consumption. This, combined with the HPP5’s improved melt control and other productivity improvements, translates to a 3% reduction in cycle time in carbonated soft drink preform applications, he says.
Other improvements include the introduction of a
new robot that incorporates staggered end-of-arm tooling to allow an additional cooling phase to be incorporated. Four cooling cycles are now included in both the standard package and in the performance package for large diameter neck rings (30mm and above). Meanwhile, integration of the Altanium hot runner controller into the Polaris control system (which now also gains a larger 19-inch display) simplifies start-up, ease of use, and maintenance. KraussMaffei Group’s Swiss-based Netstal operation has also been developing its preform hardware, introducing two updated production systems last year that are claimed to deliver an energy efficiency gain of up to 10% along with higher performance. The PET-Line 2400 and PET-Line 4000 models
– intended for applications up to 72 and 128-cavity respectively – both use Netstal’s new Eco Powerunit drive, which combines a variable speed main motor with an efficiency-optimized pump, servo-hydraulic valves, and kinetic energy recovery system. Both models retain the two-stage injection system used on the previous systems, but available injection pressure has been increased and injection times shortened without applying more stress to the resin. The robotic demoulding and downstream cooling unit has also been updated. Highly dynamic servo motors are used to allow movements to be carried out in parallel to further reduce the required demoulding time. Kinetic energy is also recovered. Options include integration of the company’s Calitec light base and Preblow preform geometry technologies. A PET-Line 2400 was demonstrated in public for the
first time at the DrinkTec trade fair in Munich last year running a 72-cavity Hofstetter mould producing a 500ml lightweight preform on a 5.4s cycle. The system used material handing and air dryer equipment from Piovan of Italy and chillers from Switzerland’s EF Cooling. Meanwhile, at the K show in Germany last
year Italy-based Sipa showed its new X-Mould
technology, which it claims allows producers to mould longer preforms with thinner wall sections
16 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2014
www.injectionworld.com
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