All-round advantage

8 May 2013



Machinery manufacturers are taking the holistic approach when it comes to building cost-efficient improvements into their systems, as David Longfield reports


While the issue of lightweighting remains high on the agenda for producers of plastic caps and closures, the approach within the industry is beginning to encompass the reduction of costs of manufacture overall: a plastic cap will always require a certain
amount of plastic, after all.

At Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK - a wholly owned subsidiary of injection moulding machine engineering specialist Demag Plastics Group in Germany - the focus is shifting towards the optimisation of packaging production as a whole. According to the company's area sales manager and packaging expert Kevin Heap, this means "more efficient pooling of process steps".

"Production and process efficiency are keywords that we now hear from our customers," says Heap, "with a greater
demand for an integrated system approach, which we offer as a system integrator through our collaboration of UK based technology
partners.

"We are able to calculate the total part price of a cap taking into consideration the capital investment, for either a hybrid or full electric
system, so that the customer can understand their ROI options."

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag recently installed one of its new El-Exis SP fast cycling injection moulding machines at a leading mineral water cap manufacturer.

Producing 72 screw caps in just 2.5 seconds the installed El-Exis SP 300-2500, with a clamping force of 3,000 kN, is producing caps
from HDPE and incorporates a 72-cavity hot runner mould for the 28mm 1.6g closure, which includes a tamperproof strip.

The company says the new El-Exis SP hybrid system delivers "market-leading performance benefits across the entire system", including a 15% increase in mould movement speed, 20% improvement in injection speed and the new enhanced NC5 plus control system, said to aid greater production reliability and a prolonged machine lifespan.

The system increases margins by optimising all motions, shaving "tenths of a second" off the cycle time through the use of drive technologies including a servo driven hydraulic clamp unit to achieve precise movements.

Range evolution
Germany-based Arburg - a leading global manufacturer of injection moulding machines for plastics processing with clamping forces
between 125kN and 5,000kN - has launched updated 'Packaging' versions of its electric and hybrid Allrounder machines, Alldrive-P
and Hidrive-P, which offer "cost-efficient production of high-quality closures and thin-walled articles". The new machines have been
optimised in as "complete, high-performance solutions" for packaging manufacturers, the company says.

The combination of 'distance between tie bars - clamping force - opening stroke' has been adapted to performance characteristics
to suit the requirements for packaging, hence the Allrounders 570 A (Alldrive) and H (Hybrid) feature a clamping force of 1,800 kN;
Allrounders 630 A and H, 2,300 kN; Allrounders 720 A and H, 2,900 kN; Allrounders 820 A and H, 3,700 kN; and Allrounders 920 A and H, 4,600 kN.

Special feature options for screwcap production include a servo-electric ejector with hydraulic booster function, with an increased ejection force of 250 kN.

"This ensures problem-free demoulding even in the case of shrunk-on closures," the company says. "The ejection and mould
opening steps can be synchronised."

The dropping of the moulded parts can also be adjusted with precision to keep the mould opening times short. "Higher screw
circumferential speeds enable correspondingly short dosage times," says Arburg. "This permits very fast cycle times."

Among a series of new product developments that are the focus at wrapping machinery manufacturer Ilapak in 2013, an upgraded version of the company's well-established Delta 3000 LDR flowrapper has been given enhanced sealing capabilities and a new control system.

The Delta 3000 LDR inverted, electronic flowrapper produces hermetically sealed MAP packs at high speeds of up to 140 packs/min,
and is designed for the hygienic and efficient handling of products such as tortillas, sliced meats, cheeses, fish and bakery products as well as wet wipes, medical and pharmaceutical products.

"High integrity sealing is ensured by the Delta's sealing head with 'oval' jaw motion profile to ensure a long dwell time," the company says. "This has now been redesigned to give increased pressure and even greater reliability."

The Delta 3000 LDR machine's control system has also been updated and now uses only commercially available electronic
components, an industrial Nexcom PC with ABB Servo drives and state-of-the-art B & R input/output. This is said both to improve
reliability and ensure spare parts are available worldwide. An iPhone or iPad can automatically communicate with the Delta's computer to enable remote access for production monitoring or maintenance.

The Delta 3000 LDR will be on display on the Ilapak stand at the Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition at the Birmingham NEC
in June 2013.

Germany-based processing and packaging equipment supplier Romaco is extending its Macofar LF 200 product family with two more models for filling liquids into glass and plastic bottles at high speeds. The new LF 200 FD and LF 200 FS series were specially developed for bottling pharmaceutical liquids, and were completed just in time for the April Pharmintech exhibition in Italy. Initially
launched at the Achema exhibition in June 2012, the Romaco LF 200 family now comprises five different models for the gentle
and efficient filling of a variety of applications of "almost any viscosity".

The LF 200 FD is used for high-speed filling of pharmaceutical sprays, nose and eardrops as well as ophthalmics and syrups. The machine boasts a maximum output of 12,000 bottles an hour with a filling volume of up to 100ml. With an "extremely flexible" dual
closure system, the LF 200 FD is equipped with two closing stations and is capable of handling a wide range of closure types,
including pipettes, droppers, dosing cups, spray pumps, plugs, plungers and screw caps.

The LF 200 FS is another new model belonging to the same family as the LF 200 FD. Romaco's FS machines were specially
designed for applications with a single closure system such as pump, pilfer-proof, child-proof, screw or press-on caps.

The Macofar LF 200 FS also fills the containers in a continuous process at a maximum rate of 12,000 bottles an hour, and is
said to be particularly suited for processing pharmaceutical liquids that are orally administered or applied to mucous membranes. The cap feeding system is described as "extremely ergonomic", so the changeover process is now "much more straightforward".

Sacmi has developed an annular lining machine for use with PVC-free lining compound. The PMA24L targets applications in twist-off metal caps (lug caps/PT metal caps) or plastic caps, with a ring-lining size range of 48mm-82mm, and a full-panel lining range of 33m-63mm.

While the first three PMA machines were delivered and installed during 2012, the company is developing an innovative version
dedicated to the ring lining process only, identified as "extrusion ring lining".

"In addition to liner weight savings and increased output, the technology of 'plastic ring extrusion' extends the ring-lining size range to 28mm-82mm," the company says.

According to the Italy-headquartered machinery manufacturer, the use of PVC-free material offers reduced migration levels versus
Plastisol/PVC solutions, since PVC-free compound does not contain plasticizers. Suitable grades of PVC-free compounds are
available for any application, and formulations are fine-tuned to meet the required standards.

"There are no more migration issues typical of Plastisol/ PVC when used in contact with oily and fatty food," says Sacmi closures &
containers marketing manager Iacopo Bianconcini, adding that another advantage is: "Easy storage of PVC-free granulated compound versus PVC and Plastisol."

There is also no requirement for a curing oven, meaning "reduced energy consumption and reduced pollution".

Available in 24-station and 12-station configurations, average changeover time is said to be 14 hours for the 24-station system (8 hours for quick changeover) and 8 hours for the 12-station.

www.arburg.com
www.ilapak.com
www.romaco.com
www.sacmi.com
www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu



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