PACKAGING | TECHNOLOGY
system as Plastinum Perfoamer), offers an autoclave system that operates away from the machine; depending on the material being processed, there is a window of between five minutes and a couple of hours between impregnation and moulding. Both systems require some add-on kit, but the
Above: Haitian debuted its high-speed MA/K at
Chinaplas 2021
injection moulding. EcoCore can use chemical foaming agents and physical foaming technology. Bockatech is collaborating with Trexel to develop several applications, for some leading foodservice and FMCG brands, where Mucell physical foaming technology offers particular advantages. Other companies offering technologies to rival
Trexel include Arburg with its Profoam and ProTec Polymer Processing with the Somos Perfoamer. These involve impregnating granules with a gas prior to plastication: Arburg does it on the injection machine itself, while ProTec, which has collabo- rated with the IKL Plastics Institute Lüdenscheid and gas producer Linde (which sells the same
ProTec version does not require any changes to the injection moulding machine itself; it is therefore “brand neutral.” Perfoamer output is quite modest: one autoclave produces up to 60 kg of gas-impreg- nated granules per hour, but ProTec is understood to be working on systems with higher outputs. “The inherent inefficiency of conventional injection moulding is the reliance on the screw to pack the cavity as the plastic solidifies and shrinks. The conventional use of the pack and hold phase imposes part design and processing limitations that the industry has accepted since its inception.” Those words come from Trexel, but they could just as easily have come from Procter & Gamble subsidiary ImFlux. However, ImFlux has come to a different conclusion about how to address that inefficiency. ImFlux has developed technology of the same name that involves the use of special hardware and software to provide a controlled low-pressure profile during injection and packing (see Injection World November-December 2018). The company now has partnerships with Milacron, Absolute Haitian (the sales and service partner in the US and
Transforming waste into crates
KraussMaffei recently reported on a collaboration with one of its custom- ers, IPASA in Mexico, to increase the percentage of recycled material in beverage crates. For the project, KM provides injection moulding ma- chines, high-tech screws and APC plus process control. IPASA belongs to Arca Continental, the second-largest beverage bottling company in Latin America. Aida Lopez, in IPASA’s Investigation and Development Department, says: “The world’s best known manufacturers of soft drinks are among our customers, and they are working very hard to use recycled materials. Therefore, it is also our goal to continuously increase the percentage of recycled material in our beverage crates. By changing additives and material mixes, this year
18 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2021
Left: KraussMaffei has collaborated with IPASA in Mexico, part of Arca Continental, the second-largest beverage bottling company in Latin America
we want to create a product made 100% of recycled materials — while maintaining the same quality and durability. The client is one of the world’s leading beverage manufactur- ers, which has devoted itself to the World Without Waste initiative.” The beverage crates for soft drinks
are made from damaged crates as well as caps from PET bottles contrib- uted by IPASA subsidiary PETstar. “In the future, we are striving to use no new materials at all and pass the savings on to our customers,” says Horacio Blanco, from IPASA’s Quality and Productivity Department.
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: IPASA
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