thin wall moulding | Packaging
The Plastisud inection-compression technology ran on a Netstal 280-tonne Elion machine on the KraussMaffei group stand at Fakuma last year. This view shows the Machines Pages IML system
Yves Caunègre, group development manager at
Coveris Global Rigid, says he is confident that the injection-compression IML technology “will become a great success story for all parties involved.” He also says that Coveris has already started joint develop- ments of further lightweight packaging solutions for the consumer goods industry. Caunègre explains that the company (previously
known as Veriplast before it was bundled together with flexible packaging companies by owner Sun Capital Partners in 2014 to form the sixth largest global plastic packaging company in the world) has been working on new ways to down-gauge injection moulded polypropyl- ene packaging for many years. It has for example been using Trexel’s Mucell microcellular foaming technology since 2008 for production of tubs for Unilever (see Injection World January/February 2015). The Mucell technology has enabled part weights to
be reduced by around 5%, but Caunègre says that when the company considered the next step it realised it had reached the limit of what was possible with that technology. “So we spoke with Plastisud about other potential solutions, and we concluded that injection- compression would be ideal,” he says. In 2013, the two companies made a single-cavity
pilot mould and Coveris contacted Unilever to gauge its interest. The response was positive. Plastisud then modified an existing mould for the process. Tests with this mould showed that injection-compression could shave something like 2g off a 14g tub, a weight saving of 15%. Trials with the tubs at Unilever proved they would perform well on the company’s packaging lines and the next step was to upscale the technology to a 4+4 stack
14 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2016
No limitations Caunègre says injection-compression introduces no extra limitations on part geometry compared to standard injection moulding. The injection-compression process is capable of producing parts with wall thicknesses down to 0.4 mm, depending on flow length, and Coveris is currently using a 70-MFI grade of polypropylene, the same as it uses for injection moulding. However, he says the company has tested material with an MFI of 45 with good results and this could provide extra cost advantages, since high-MFI grades are considered specialities. A further cost advantage, already being realised,
comes through the ability to run the injection-compres- sion mould on a smaller machine than is needed for injection moulding. Caunègre says a “regular” 4+4 stack mould for 500g tubs would need a 500-tonne moulding machine. The ability to run the injection-compression mould on a 320-tonne model brings savings in terms of initial investment and running costs. Plastisud says that the technology allows clamping
force to be reduced by as much as 40% (Netstal is a little more cautious, putting the figure at closer to 30%). “This huge reduction, results in lower stress of the injected material and thus improved final container or lid quality,” claims Plastisud. Coveris is now also developing injection-compres-
sion for lids. Again with Plastisud, it has already produced a pilot tool that is capable of producing lids that match the weight of thermoforming – the preferred route for brand owners at present – but without the limitations on shape that come with that process. Line
www.injectionworld.com
mould, which was completed around mid-2015. By late November, Caunègre said that, after some debugging, the mould had been operational for six months and had produced “a significant number” of tubs, which have been going through market accept- ance trials with Unilever. Full production began in December, based on a Netstal 320-tonne Elion 3200 unit. Caunègre says Coveris has also been speaking with “all the big players” in the thin-wall packaging arena to attract further business for the system. Another, slightly smaller, production system is being used by Netstal and Plastisud for demonstration purposes. That system got its first public outing at Fakuma 2015 last October on the Netstal stand, where it was running on a 280-tonne Elion 2800 with an IML system designed and built by Machines Pagès (and running labels produced by Verstraete). The containers weighed 10.7g. At the time of writing this article this demonstration system was on a road trip around the US and Europe. It will also be on show at K 2016 this October.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62