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Mould breaking | Technology Focus – thermoforming   Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

In the world of thermoforming, blow moulding and injection moulding, it’s all about making packaging more sustainable. Lynda Searby reports.

Mould breaking  Technology Focus  thermoforming blow moulding

HOW LIGHT SHOULD MY BOTTLE BE?

Paul Chapple, technical manager at Krones UK, weighs up the complex, varied and many factors that need to be considered in answering this seemingly simple question.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

Modern stretch blow moulding equipment is capable of running bottles at high speed and at weights most likely below what you would be happy to supply in to the market. For example, Krones, with its latest generation Contiform 3 pro blow moulder in an Ergobloc-L arrangement (blow/label/fill/cap all close coupled), is manufacturing 500ml still water bottles at a speed of 81,000 bottles per hour with a weight of only seven grams (excluding cap).Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

Under test conditions as ‘proof of concept’, bottles have even been run successfully and reliably below this weight.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  
So, if blow moulding technology isn’t the major limiting factor, what is?

● Product – firstly a still product can be filled into a lighter bottle than a sparkling product due to the pressure generated inside the bottle. Much of this is because the bottle base for a carbonated beverage needs to be stronger and hence contain more material. This is constantly being improved with, for example, Krones now using improved vented base moulds and linear motor variable speed stretch rods for better material distribution. However the increased pressure still demands extra material for a stable bottle.

Is your product hot filled, or sensitive, demanding a clean/sterile fill process? Hot fill products traditionally required heavy bottles with ‘panels’ to allow for the reducing volume once the liquid cools. Other technologies are now available, such as Krones Nitro-Hotfill, where a bottle without panels can be used due to the addition of nitrogen in the filling process. Whilst not as light as a water bottle, this is significantly lighter than a panelled bottle.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

● Market placement – if you are aiming for a premium feel, is the lightest possible bottle the most desirable solution for your brand? Conversely, with a high focus on plastic and sustainability in the market, is a heavy bottle sending the right message to consumers? The truth very often lies somewhere in between. However is also heavily affected by…

● Bottle design – a well-designed ‘light’ bottle may feel stronger than a poorly designed heavier bottle, due to the bottle features and also the optimum matching of the preform to bottle design.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

● Cost/price point – regardless of market placement, cost is important. The ability to reduce material from a premium bottle without losing the luxury ‘feel’, or to achieve the lightest weight possible on a high-volume product directly hits the bottom line.

In summary, there are many relevant variables, the key is to consider a balance of factors and then choose a quality partner to work with to achieve your goals.

CAN THERMOFORMING BE ‘GREEN’?

Mark Reeves, thermoforming product manager, Multivac UK, offers some suggestions for making thermoformed packaging more eco, without spending a fortune on new equipment.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

Since the recent launch of the UK’s new agenda for the environment and The Courtauld Agreement 2025, the reduction of avoidable plastic packaging waste has become one of the hottest topics for UK food producers today.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  
We have started to see retailers respond to these agendas: Iceland has announced plans to go plastic free; Aldi’s own-label products aim to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022; and Asda has set a target to reduce its plastic packaging by 10% this year.

As more retailers announce their plans to be more eco-friendly, this has an impact on producers and in turn impacts those who support producers with their packaging requirements.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  
Switching existing packaging to a more sustainable alternative won’t happen overnight and as big producers look to reduce their plastic packaging waste, others are likely to follow suit. This doesn’t necessarily mean that manufacturers need to ditch their existing equipment.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

We have identified three ways in which companies can be ‘more green’ whilst continuing to use their existing Multivac thermoforming equipment:

● Recycle: producing packaging out of recyclable materials is one way of reducing plastic waste. Producers can look to swap usual APET / PE packs which are not recyclable, for 100% recyclable materials such as mono APET trays or carton trays. Mono APET is a solution that is easily applied to existing thermoformers. Multivac can assist customers in this process with our easy cut mono PET base webs.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

● Replace: producers can replace plastic packaging with more sustainable eco-friendly materials such as foam APET, pulp trays or PLA. Foam APET is also recyclable and manufactured from recycled materials – this material is another solution that can be used on existing thermoformers and is currently being tested to fully understand the material’s potential. PLA, which is made of renewable resources, such as potatoes, corn, sugar cane, bamboo or wheat, is also suitable for use on thermoformers, whereas pulp trays are more suited to a tray sealer.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

● Reduce: by switching to the materials mentioned, producers can reduce the amount of plastic used in their packaging. Other solutions to help reduce plastic include: vacuum packs and envelope packs. As an example, changing an existing APET mince tray for a vacuum envelope pack would reduce plastic by up to 50%. Additionally, the simple down-gauging of your existing material can assist in reducing the total amount of plastic used. For example, replacing premade trays for an in-line thermoformed pack. A typical 750-micron tray could be replaced by 350-micron film, which means one transport container of premade trays would be replaced by a pallet of film, reducing not only plastic but also transport, logistics and storage.Mould breaking Technology Focus thermoforming blow moulding  

NEW TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

Friedheim International is now selling Shawpak’s thermoforming machines to the non-food and non-medical markets in the UK and Ireland. Developed by a team of engineers at Riverside Medical Packaging in Derby, the Shawpak is said to be a competitively priced, compact, energy efficient machine that overcomes many of the disadvantages of generic thermoforming machines. It can run a variety of films and is suited to an “almost infinite” range of applications due to a “revolutionary” method of thermoforming, says Friedheim. The heart of the machine is a servo-driven indexing drum which transports the webs through the process. The thermoformer is designed to have no gripper chains and no trim for minimal maintenance and downtime.

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