Feature Article K 2004 NEWS PREVIEW Blow Molding | |||||||||
By Joseph A. Grande, Senior Editor |
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Extrusion blow variety Meanwhile, the ranks of all-electric machine suppliers slowly expands, as Plastimac SpA of Italy (represented here by American Jet Stream) will launch single- and double-station electric shuttles that deliver low energy consumption and are oil-free. The PB1/S has two cavities, clamp force of 3.5 tons, and a 50-mm extruder. It is targeted for 1-liter cosmetic bottles. The PB5/D is a double-station electric unit with six cavities, 80-mm extruder, and clamp force of 10 tons. It’s aimed at 5L detergent and oil containers and has an output of 2400 bottles/hr.
A new shuttle machine, described as “value-packed” with lots of features at no price premium, will be introduced by Uniloy Milacron. Model UMS 16D boasts an exceptionally small footprint, tiebarless accessibility to the mold area, in-machine trimming, and closed-loop position and speed control. It can handle two to six parisons in single- or dual-station configurations. Clamp movement is strictly horizontal, so the machine can accommodate a bobbing extruder. This model was designed to accept existing molds built for almost any other machine—no other machine is so adaptable, Milacron claims. Graham Machinery Group will focus on reciprocating-screw technology and will introduce a proportionally controlled, high-speed hydraulic clamping system for high-cavitation molding of gallon dairy containers. Graham will show a cutaway of an air-cooled reciprocating extruder, a standard feature on its newer machines. Graham will also highlight its latest high-throughput extrusion heads for polycarbonate water bottle production and other applications on its Hesta-Graham linear shuttle machines. New from Jomar is a version of its EBM 6.0 extrusion blow machine with a 90-mm extruder and longer stroke (685 mm). The dual-station model EBM 6.0-D-L/S will run two eight-cavity molds for 300-cc Boston round HDPE cosmetic containers on a 12-sec cycle, producing 4800 bottles/hr. The latest wheel machine from Wilmington Machinery is the Series III, a large-platen unit with 30 stations and up to 60 cavities (with dual parisons). It combines six-layer coextrusion, energy-saving electromechanical clamp system, and improved bottle handling to boost throughput. Wilmington says mold changes are fast and simple and positioning of the molds to minimize flash and scrap is made effortless with the company’s “radial positioning” feature. The Series III is offered in sizes for single-serve juice and dairy containers and in larger models for 5L and 6L containers. Output can range from a few thousand to over 20,000 bottles/hr. Another new wheel system comes from Urola S.C. of Spain, which just recently opened its first U.S. office. At K 2004, the company will introduce a 20-station wheel designed to compete with large rotary-machine makers like Graham Machinery and Wilmington, says Urola USA general manager Lou Maiero. Previously, Urola primarily served the European market with smaller rotary machines of up to 14 stations.
The new M20 rotary consists of two 10-station wheels with a common center plate and two extruders. The two streams of bottles pass through a common trimmer. Maiero says this side-by-side wheel design is the first on the market and costs less, uses less energy, and occupies less floor space than bigger competing wheel machines. It is targeted for HDPE containers for chemical, dairy, and food applications. Versatile PET units Also notable about the SFR 9/27 are its small footprint (one-half to one-third that of competing machines), its simple mechanical set-up, and a preform heating and stabilizing system that reportedly allows a wide processing window. In addition, Automa of Italy will unveil a one-stage injection stretch-blow molder for wide-mouth PET containers. Model NSB 140 has a 140-ton injection clamp, up to 14 cavities, and an electric-powered injection unit. Dry-cycle time is said to be just 3 sec. Injection-blow targets PET Jomar Corp. is introducing two high-production injection-blow units. The M-40 model with 38-ton preform clamp will run a six-cavity mold at the show, producing 10-cc oval PET bottles for cosmetics or hotel amenities. The machine boasts a 10-sec cycle and produces 2160 bottles/hr. Jomar said many of its late-model injection-blow machines can be modified to produce small PET bottles up to 150 cc. Jomar’s new M-85-S (72 tons) will be shown running a 10-cavity mold producing 100-cc HDPE pharmaceutical containers. The machine runs a 11.5-sec cycle, producing 3130 bottles/hr. It can run bottles from 5 cc to 1L. |
Sunday, February 10, 2008
plastics technology
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