Mold-Masters’ MPET Division Presents Comprehensive Line-up of New Product Developments at drinktec

Mold-Masters will unveil latest developments on their PET mold program as well as on the unique co-injection technology, IRIS, used to inject barriers into PET preforms, closures and a large variety of packaging solutions. Latest developments enable to run a 96 cavity MPET system on a 300t machine setup whereas the market standard for this type/size of systems is currently 400t. With ongoing research and development, the MPET team at Mold-Masters now also managed to run 128 cavity systems on a standard 400t machine. A larger setup is no longer required for this size of mold and higher output volumes can be achieved with lower capital investment.

A recent MPET case study on a 96 cavity system for a 9,8 g water preform has proven to increase productivity and enabled for large annual savings, based on the new micro pitch technology by comparing and replacing a 72 cavity 50 x140 pitch system with a 96 cavity 50 x 110 micro pitch. The replacement resulted in 13 percent shorter fill time—even with 24 additional cavities and at equivalent injection pressure due to unique iFLOW technology. Furthermore, 45 percent shorter cooling time due to iCOOL technology and a 15,5 percent shorter cycle time was achieved. Internal comparison calculations showcase an overall 54 percent higher productivity (358,8M vs. 233 M preforms/year) resulting in an annual net benefit of over 200.000 US$. Plus, additional energy savings apply based on comprehensive iCOOL and iFLOW features.

Next to the MPET product showcase at drinktec there will be the hot runner solution for beverage closure systems, Sprint. This system has raised the efficiency benchmark to a new level and has become a new industry standard for Hot Tip and Valve Gate high speed beverage closure applications running as the fastest cycles with below 2 seconds. The system also features the industry's fastest color changes as well as extraordinary fill balance on high cavity tools. Gate design allows for optimum gate cooling and top panel cooling in front of the nozzle and is designed for effective mold decompression. Furthermore, the Sprint Valve Gate is available with pneumatic actuation or electrical synchro plate, the E-Drive system, which provides highest precision, is unmatched in the industry. Proprietary iFLOW and iCOOL technology reduce cycle times while improving balance, lowering injection pressure and increasing dimensional repeatability.

The unique iFLOW manifold technology also adds value and ensures a superior fill balance decompression as well as overall lower pressure drops. All Manifolds and gate seals are designed to deliver industry leading color change. Additional technical features also include brazed heaters for superior temperature control and ultra-long system life. Easily removable tip seals are interchangeable with alternative systems and individual thermocouple tip control enables for precise gate vestige tuning, even for the most challenging applications. This all sums up in overall higher efficiency and makes the Sprint system the economical choice for any of today’s closure molding challenges. And the new Sprint 2.0 offers even more energy savings through optional heating and cooling performance within the entire system. This new tooling solutions revitalizes, recapitalizes and revs up existing systems and keeps total costs of ownership down. The new nozzle design now even runs below 1,9 sec cycle time and has created a large demand from several industry leading companies. Standard solutions are available up to 128 cavities for single face and stack molds. With faster color changes and faster cycles, the new Sprint 2.0 provides significantly lower installed wattage through nozzles and manifolds compared to other industry designs.

The comprehensive Sprint features have now been pushed even further by including a PurgeWizard™ system into all TempMaster M2 controllers. The PurgeWizard™ is a semi-automated process for chemical and mechanical purging and steps the operator through purge sequence for the selected tool. The system takes the operator by the hand and provides support in the selecting the correct type and amount of purge material required as well as automatically increases and decreases hot runner temperature as required during the actual purge process. Features such as “Purge Log” enables for full purge and maintenance control and compliance. The PurgeWizard™ app now comes pre-installed on all new TempMaster M2 controllers.

Another highlight at drinktec will be Mold-Masters showcase on IRIS Co-injection for PET solutions. Since its introduction in 2012, this co-injection technology for barrier molding has created many breakthroughs by applying Mold-Masters core technology to closures and thin wall packaging applications that required a more cost effective solution. The latest development now provides a proven solution to mold multilayer preforms to accommodate requirements such as higher shelf life through injection molded barrier or enables for even completely new bottle designs based on this layer technology.

Further showcase at drinktec will also focus on Mold-Masters growing global sales organization, the comprehensive service and manufacturing scope and new synergies within the Milacron group of companies.