CAPS & CLOSURES | INNOVATION
Battling cap and wrap rage
Most of us have heard of road rage, but apparently there is also a phenomenon known as cap and wrap rage, the result of not being able to open a bottle or jar. It affects all ages, with the prising open of tightly sealed packaging causing injury and alienating consumers. “For packaging injection moulders it’s a fine balancing act between heightened product security using tamper evident closures and ease of opening, and keeping products fresh and visually appealing while using less packaging,” says Kevin Heap, packaging expert at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK.
Understanding changing demo-
graphics is central to R&D in in the packaging sector, Heap says. “Players within the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries are rapidly getting to grips with the impact of mandatory safety features. We have observed a number of moulding companies using the latest precision moulding tech- niques to address counterfeiting and product security. At the same time they
The tricky trade-off between tamper resistance and easy opening
are taking the opportunity to consider future packaging designs, without stereotyping older generations. “One of the greatest challenges
here is no person likes to think of themselves as elderly or aging,” says Heap. “Packaging designs need to subtly make products easier to handle and open in a universal way without categorising consumers into ages, while also incorporating anti-refill and tamper evidence features.” One concept being widely de- ployed for counteracting counterfeit- ing and product tampering are caps
change tips make it possible to change colours up to 57% faster than the company’s original tips. Mold-Masters’ Core Ring Valve Gate, meanwhile, allows for radially injecting material into parts with centre holes, to achieve dimensional stability and no melt lines. “The Core Ring Valve Gate solution delivers perfected, close proximity cavitation and high-quality performance with every injection and is ideal for caps like those seen on sports drinks,” says the company. “Off-centre gating often creates an uneven filing and uneven shrinkage, causing the ‘chimney’ leaning to one side [and] creating high part scrap rate.” The Core Ring Valve Gate injects through the part hole, so any gate evidence is invisible gate. It also allows gating from the top, removing any need for compromise on core cooling. Finally, cycle time improved by 22%. Milacron also points to co-injection technology
that has been developed to produce one-piece barrier caps, closures and lids. “Using Kortec
www.injectionworld.com
containing sophisticated valve technology. Used by premium drink and pharmaceutical manufacturers, this technology can control the dispensing of product, while also preventing containers being refilled. A recent example developed on a Sumitomo (SHI) Demag IntElect system was a combina- tion aluminium and plastic tamper evident snap-on security closure. Comprising a non-refillable valve for high-risk markets, it also includes an innovative tamper evidence mechanism that provides an irreversible opening event to leave permanent evidence of initial open- ing. The cap is produced in high volumes and is modular by design, so that trade customers can adapt it to different brands. This cap works by releasing a plastic part when each bottle is opened. It is impossible to reinsert this part back into the cap’s neck and when it drops down it reveals a highlighted ring to indicate that the bottle has been opened.
Connect technology these caps, when used as closures on multi-layer containers, provide even better product freshness and shelf life than previously possible,” it says. “In addition, moulders of these caps can realise substantial cost savings since the barrier closure is produced in a single moulding operation.” Most barrier caps are made up of two or more
pieces, including a plastic cap and a seal. Kortec Co-injection technology eliminates the need for any secondary production process. The Kortec Connect system economically converts an existing single-shot injection moulding system to co-injec- tion capabilities. Kortec Connect involves the retrofitting of Mold-Masters’ E-Multi secondary injection unit in combination with a Kortec co-injec- tion hot runner system. Steve Morris, President Milacron Systems, says:
“Kortec Connect can be used on any qualified brand of injection moulding machine, it’s totally
July/August 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 21
PHOTO: SUMITOMO (SHI ) DEMAG
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