Professional Documents
Culture Documents
@
ASPET
Edited by:
Y.Somasundaram, B.E, PGD-PE, PGD-EE, PGD-TQM, PGD-MM
First Edition: 12/03/2005 Second Edition: 20/10/2005 Third Edition: 20/03/2006 Fourth Edition: 20/12/2006
Polyesters have hydrocarbon backbones with ester linkages, hence called polyesters.
The structure above is called poly(ethylene terephthalate), or PET for short, as it contains ethylene groups and terephthalate groups.
The ester groups in chain are polar, with the carbonyl oxygen atom having a negative charge and the carbonyl carbon atom having a positive charge. The positive and negative charges of different ester groups are attracted to each other, allowing nearby chains to align up in crystal form, so they can form strong fibers.
One largest Poly condensation melt line producing 500 MT/day. Two SSP reactors working in tandem with Poly condensation line, ensures two product IVs at same time. Zimmers low temperature profile and high residence time ensures low residual AA in resin. Zimmers technology ensures better L color. Low oligomer & Vinyl ester content ensures, lower AA generation in down stream injection molding process.
Units
.dl/g .meq/Kg PPM % PPM PPM Gms o C CIE CIE
ASPET 21C
0.84 +/- 0.02 30 max 1 50 100 max 2500 max 1.7 2 90 -0.5 to 1.2 High strength / pressure applications Carbonated soft drinks Sparkling water Beer Packaging
Parameter
Intrinsic Viscosity Carboxyl end group Acetaldehyde Crystallinity Dust content Moisture content Weight / 100 chips Melting point L Color .b color
Units
.dl/g .meq/Kg PPM % PPM PPM Gms
o
ASPET 22CJ
0.90 +/- 0.02 30 max 1 50 100 max 2500 max 1.7 244 +/- 2 90 -0.5 to 1.2 Thick wall containers 20 ltr water bottles. Thick wall cosmetic bottles. Clear preforms for wall thickness up to 10 mm Low processing temperature. High co-polymer content, 5.5%
C CIE CIE
Applications
Performance Highlights
Date ASPET 21 CF % Kw 6.70 3.35 18.60 9.30 13.10 6.55 17.70 8.85 36.70 18.35 40.70 20.35 29.50 17.70
C C o C Amp % BPH
Table 3: Power saving achieved in ASPET 21CF resin in SIDEL SBO20, with 29.3gms preform.
Zone 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Oven settings % 10 11 12
13
18
19
20
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 94 254 32 65
o o o
80 60 35 75 80 75 50
C C C %
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
80 % 80 % 50 0.3
Process Time, in Seconds Preblow Exhaust Blowing Compensation Process 0.150 0.400 0.960 1.560 1.630
Angular position, in degrees Point 0 55.9 Point 10 67.95 Start of preblow 55.31 -0.5/10 Nozzle down 26 Nozzle up 293.8 Stretching up 180 Stretching Speed 1.059 m/s Pressures
Stretching 14.00 Diameter 8.00 Shoulder diameter 120.00 Shoulder height Gap between rod and mold base 2.50 1.06 Stretching Speed Preform ASPET 21C Material Clear Resin color 28PCO Type of neck 29.30 gms Weight 100.00 mm Total length 21.00 mm Preform Neck height 23.00 mm Exterior diameter Neck diameter 25.00 mm
mm mm mm mm m/s
13 3 39
Max
Blowing SV control pressure Capacity Type Shape VXBO On mold - Neck & Bases On mold - Bodies Blowing rate
5.7
6.7
30682
Table 1: SIDEL SBO20 blow molder setting for ASPET 21C, with 29.3gms preforms for 500ml Carbonated Beverages.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1 1
Oven Temperature Preform temperature Process Time, in Seconds Preblow Exhaust Blowing Compensation Process
216 oC 84 oC
Production start up
Ventilation
Angular position, in degrees Point 0 55.9 Point 10 67.95 Start of preblow 55.31 -0.2/10 Nozzle down 26 Nozzle up 293.8 Stretching up 180 Stretching Speed 1.059 m/s Pressures
Stretching Diameter Shoulder diameter Shoulder height Gap - rod and mold base Stretching Speed
mm mm mm mm m/s
13 3 39
Max
Blowing SV control pressure Capacity Type Shape VXBO On mold - Neck & Bases On mold - Bodies Blowing rate
5.7
6.7
Preform ASPET 21CF Material Grey Resin color 28PCO Type of neck 29.30 gms Weight 100.00 mm Total length 21.00 mm Preform Neck height 23.00 mm Exterior diameter Neck diameter 25.00 mm 48.00 hrs Preform age
30682
Table 2 SIDEL SBO20 blow molder setting for ASPET 21CF with 29.3gms preforms for 500ml Carbonated Beverages.
H2O+ R0-CO-O-CH=CH2
AA + R0-COOH
The AA thus generated remains in the preform / bottle wall, after the processing is completed. This residual AA in the container, migrate slowly into the content of the container, when the temperature is above the boiling point. The AA in the bottle is reduced in long-term storage, by migration to air. But, there will hardly any change in AA during the Stretch Blow Molding of Preform to Bottle. The boiling point of AA at normal pressure is 21 C.
o
5.1: ASPET 19C High Lights Manufactured in latest Zimmer Technology with low temperature profile ensures low vinyl ester & oligomer content. Low residual AA in pellets around 0.6PPM. Low temperature processing due to higher copolymer content, so low AA generation, easy blow-ability. Low AA generation in molding due to low vinyl ester content. Low fines content. Low catalyst Low Global Migration.
The above are some of the tips for reducing the AA, a combination of the same will help to have the AA under stipulated norms of 4 PPM for water preforms / bottles. Drying has considerable impact on AA generation. Higher moisture content will lead to hydrolytic degradation. Hence moisture content to be maintained less than 40 PPM, for lower AA preforms.
= )=
Red
RV 1
Sp /
Red
at Zero Concentration
The intrinsic viscosity value is very specific to a solvent and set of condition, because, interaction of PET with different solvent is different; there are various solvents and conditions used in the PET industry. ASPET method Equipment: Ubbelohde Viscometer Solvent: Phenol + 1-2 Dichlorobenzene (60 : 40 w/w) Temperature: 25C 6.2: Color (L, a, b): L, a, b are the three-dimensional characteristic for appearance of an object, light source. L defines the lightness, a & b defines the chromaticity. L denotes - Black to White: 0, for Black, and 100 denotes white. a denotes - Red to Green: +ve value indicates Red & -ve value indicates Green. b denotes - Yellow to Blue: +ve value indicates Yellow & -ve value indicates Blue.
The color values are measured using colorimetric spectrophotometer, which measures the wavelength distribution of reflected or transmitted light by the sample. Overall appearance of Resin, Preforms & Bottles is based on the various combinations of the above said color components. These values will vary from technology to technology and recipe to recipe.
2.20 2.00 1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 J/g.K 0 1.13 50 1.26 100 1.51 150 1.70 200 1.88 250 1.99 280 2.05
Temperature, C
7.1: Dew point of hot air Most advance de-humidifying dryers have the dew point meter, to measure dew point of hot air at hopper inlet. A hand held dew point meter can be also used for dew point measurement. Engineers who are conversant with the age-old practice of measurement of dew point with dry ice can do the same with the help o of thermometer and dry ice in a glass tube & stirrer. The recommended dew point for hot air is 40 C, and in o no condition the dew point should drop below 20 C, for effective drying and good product quality. Following experimental graph gives the IV of the preform produced with various dew point values, from a base resin IV of 0.74 dl/g, with a moisture content of 1500ppm.
These curves indicate that having a low dew point is important, but it is not as critical as it was once thought. If the air temperature with flow rate, and pellet dwell time are optimum, a reasonably low I.V drop can be obtained. Even so, the dew point should always be kept as low as possible, preferably 40C or lower.
This give the actual pellet dwell time in the hopper, but the effective dwell time for the calculation of drying should be arrived at by reducing the time required for increasing the pellet temperature to the drying temperature. This for practical purpose is approximated to hr. Thus the effective pellet residence time in the hopper
7.3: Airflow rate The amount of air required to dry pellets to less than 40 ppm of moisture content by weight, depends of following factors, Dew Point of hot air. C Pellet Dwell Time, hrs. o Inlet Air Temperature, C Moisture content of pellets. % wt.
o
7.3.1: Procedure of airflow rate calculation: Note: The dryer should have processed at least its full capacity for recording parameters for this calculation. (.i.e. approx. 8 ~ 10 hrs from the start of the dryer, depends on the temperature used) Steps for the calculation 1. Calculate the pellet residence time in the dryer. 2. Measure the actual air inlet temperature of the dryer. 3. Measure the air exit temperature at the exit hose of the dryer hopper. When fresh pellets are dumped into the dryer, the return air temperature will typically drop 1525C. The temperature will start to recover and peak will be reached at the just before the next dumping of pellets. The peak temperature must be used in estimating airflow rate. 7.3.2: Deducing the airflow rate from the experimental curves Once the pellet dwell time and the return and inlet air temperatures have been determined, the appropriate graph for a given pellet dwell time is selected. The point at which the inlet and return air temperatures intersect will indicate the approximate airflow rate. For example, assume the following values have been determined: Pellet dwell time = 4h Dryer inlet air temperature = 155C Dryer return air temperature = 95C
By referring to Figure A-1, it is seen that the point the temperature values intersect will indicate an airflow rate of approximately 0.037cmm/kg/h. In such a case, an investigation should be conducted to determine why the airflow rate is so low. Potential causes include: Air filters needs cleaning. Perforated screen in the bottom of the dryer needs cleaning. Dryer blower is undersized for the PET throughput rate.
The air flow rate change with the dwell time because the drier has constant flow rate of air and with increase in resin throughput the specific air volume for Kg of resin processed / hour decreases and vice versa.
The second experimental graph has the entry moisture level of pellets increased from 0.15% wt to 0.35 % wt. Higher moisture of chips has resulted in the narrowing of optimum processing region, and the dryer process window gets reduced, and it requires close control for effective drying of pellets and thus the final preform IV.
Considering all conditions, let us assume a process engineer encounters a wet bag, where the moisture content may be as high as 1.0 % due to external moisture on the pellets, then how does he effectively process the material. The best possible procedure for the lowest possible IV drop in product may be as follows. Opt for a mold with minimum throughput, so that the residence time can be kept more for the dryer. It also does another added benefit, which is very crucial, the specific airflow for dryer throughput, increases, as the blower capacity is constant. In case the dryer residence time shots beyond 11 hours reduce the hopper fill height to control the residence time to 10 ~ 11 hrs. Select a dryer inlet air temperature of 130 C, and maintain the pellets hopper inlet temperature of not less than 125 C. Under these conditions, always maintain the lowest possible screw speed, as the resin has to pick up additional 30 C from the extruder feed zone, as compared to normal optimum temperature of 150 ~ 165 C at the feed throat of extruder. A lower speed will help to reduce resultant shear with lower temperature of resin at hopper throat. Under these conditions, ensure that the specific air flow rate in the hopper is about twice that of normal (0.10cmm/kg/hr. min)
7.7: Dryer Maintenance After selecting a good dryer, it is very important to maintain well, so as to achieve best performance. Following checklist is suggested to observe optimum performance; 1) Air filters - Check daily. Fines or other contaminants will clog the filters and thus reduce the airflow. A flow rate of at least 0.062 cmm of air per kg of pellets being processed per hour is essential. 2) Dew point - Check daily. Air having a low dew point (40C) is needed, so that the air can absorb the moisture from the pellets. A high dew point is usually caused by a) Air leak, in the dryer circuit. b) Poor regeneration of the desiccant, or a bad desiccant. If the desiccant is believed to be bad, the dryer manufacturer can provide assistance in testing it. Most manufacturers suggest changing the desiccant every year or two. 3) Heaters - Check weekly. This includes process air heaters and desiccant regeneration heaters. Consult your dryer manual for the proper regeneration temperature. Normally, it should be around 220C. 4) Hoses and connections - Check weekly. Air leaks can increase dew point and reduce airflow through the dryer.
Barrel: The barrel is a hollow tube, which houses the screw. Screw does the function of pumping and plasticification of pellets into a homogeneous melt. The barrel is surrounded by heaters, which supply around 33 % of the heat required for plasticization of the polymer. The barrel heater does the critical function of softening the pellets during start up, to enable the screw to start rotation at a lesser torque, without any damage. The heater also maintains the surface melt temperature and prevents from sticking to barrel. Nozzle: The nozzle forms the front end of injection barrel, it injects hot melt into the cavity, either directly through a sprue, or a Hot runner manifold as in case of a multi cavity mold. Nozzle normally houses the Shut-Off valve, which closes the extruder during the plasticizing process and avoids drooling of melt through the nozzle. Shut-off valve is present in all PET injection molders, as PET melt has low viscosity, which causes it to drool during refilling.
8.1.1: Dryer: The function of the dryer is to dry the material to less than 40 PPM of moisture, so that the material does not undergo hydrolytic degradation / deterioration in properties. (Drying is discussed in Drying of PET) 8.1.2: Plasticization & Injection system: The plasticization & Injection system may be same in case of normal machine, where extruder also functions as injector for the melt into the mold cavity. There are machines having independent shooting pot to inject the material into the mod cavity, where the extruder function is to only plasticize and supply the melt into the shooting pot. Some systems have packing ram in tandem with extruder, which takes over during hold phase, so extruder can start plasticizing melt during hold phase and thus saves cycle time. Extruder should have variable backpressure for optimum melt plasticization, depending on the IV and product requirement. Backpressure should not be excess to cause shear degradation of melt or too low to allow passage of air / bubbles into plasticized melt. 8.1.3: Hot runner: The hot runner forms most vital part of the mold. Hot runner conveys the plasticized melt from the barrel to cavities; this should be done with utmost care to avoid any melt separation, which can result in poor clarity, degradation & separation of colors. To ensure the same, following aspects needs to be considered during design and manufacturing; 1. Melt should not encounter sudden sharp corners. 2. Melt velocity should be constant from the moment it enters the sprue to the time it enters the cavity. o 3. Melt temperature should not drop or increase more than 5 C, of melt temperature at metering Zone. Any major change will lead to separation of melt layers, color, black specks and splay defects.
Ejection
Cooling
Injection side
Cycle time Break up for Direct Screw Injection Machine 8.4.1: Term Definitions: Dry Cycle time: The dry cycle time basically comprises of mold closing, clamping, unclamping, opening of mold and ejection stroke. Normally they are from fraction of second in advanced machines to 2 seconds in slow systems. Mold closing: The moving platen moves forward and closes with the fixed platen; on completion of closing the clamping tonnage is applied. Mold Opening: The clamping tonnage on the mold is released and the moving platen moves backward separating the two halves of the mold so that the product can be ejected. Ejection: During the process the components formed during the molding process is ejected from the core side. Basically the components stick to the core side as the product shrinks on cooling. The product may be ejected down or can be collected by a robot. Plasticization: Plasticization is the process of melting the polymer and mixing the same into a homogeneous melt. Injection Phase: During this phase the hot plasticized melt is injected into the mold, at high pressure, for PET the injection pressure range is 600 ~ 1400bars. Hold Phase: This phase starts after the entire cavity is filled with the melt. During the hold phase a reduced melt pressure is applied, about 30 % of the injection pressure. The additional material required for compensate the product shrinkage is filled in hold. Cooling: This time is given to cool the preforms, so that it could be handled without deformation in the handling system. This may differ from machine to machine. In case of machine with ROBOT handling o system, the preform may be ejected at around 80 C, whereas in case of direct ejection system, the o preforms may be cooled to as low as 45 C.
Mold Clamped
Extruder Side
Cycle time Break Up for Shooting pot Injection Machines Screw idle time: This is the time when the screw is idling without plasticizing or injecting / transfer. This should as low as possible, may be 1 ~ 2 seconds. Transfer: This phase is only in machine having a separate shooting pot for injecting the melt into the cavity. During this phase the plasticized melt in the extruder is transferred to the shooting pot through the distributor. Packing: This phase is also applicable for the shooting pot type machine. During this phase, the shooting pot is packed with polymer under pressure. This follows the transfer phase, to adequately pack the polymer into the Pot. 8.5: Preform Molding Process Setting Parameter Significance Typical Values Process Temperature 1 Hopper Throat First zone in the feed section of the The temperature set should not induce the screw. The function of temperature in softening of pellets, leading to this zone is to increase the heat agglomeration, hence the temperature, o content of the material, aiding the should be lowest, about 15 C less than melting in the transition zone plasticizing temperature, 270 ~ 275 deg C. 2 Barrel The barrel heaters provide around ASPET 19C: 275 +/- 5 deg C temperature 33% of heat required for ASPET 20 C: 280 +/- 5 deg C plasticization. Balance is provided by ASPET 21 C/CF: 285 +/- 5 deg C screw shear. ASPET22 CJ: 270 +/- 10 degC 3 Distributor The melt flow through distributor 2 ~ 5 deg C more than the Last zone in temperature without any change. Hence, maintain the extruder. temperature equal to melt temperature, to avoid melt separation 4 Shooting Pot The melt is stored here for next shot. 2 ~ 5 deg C more than the extruder temperature Temperature set should maintain the temperature. melt without separation, as crosssectional diameter is high.
6 7 8
Screw Speed
10
Back pressure
11
12
Extruder Cushion
13
Transfer pressure
13 14
17 18
The time required for filling the cavity with melt. Pressure required for packing the melt into the cavity, to compensate shrinkage during solidification.
19
Hold Time
20
Cooling time
The time required for packing the melt, to compensate shrinkage during solidification. Time required to cool preforms to packing temperature or handling temperature in case of robot m/c. The position of the Screw / Ram at which cavity is filled. Any additional melt injected further goes for compensating the shrinkage of Preform on solidification. Melt density is 1.2gms/cc, and Preform density is 1.33gms/cc. The shot size is equal to weight of the product produced in each shot + Cushion
21
Transition position
22
Shot Size
23
Cushion
Process parameter setting for injection molding is critical, as the machines gets faster and faster and their throughput ever increasing any time consumed in setting a process right will increase the waste generated. To start the machine and run it with least start up waste, it is very important to have the basic right. Following are the basic parameters in injection molding, for which the values can be even set before starting the machine, with the experience the PET industry accumulated.
In the one-stage process, preforms are injection molded, conditioned to the proper temperature, and blown into containersall in one continuous process. This technique is most effective in specialty applications, such as wide mouthed jars, cosmetics, where production rates are low. In the two-stage process, preforms are injection molded, stored and blown into containers using a reheatblow (RHB) machine. This technique is best suited for producing high volume items. 9.1: Benefits of Stretching PET There are two major reasons for stretching PET. The first is purely economic. Stretching allows thinner, more uniform sidewalls and thus less expensive containers. Second, with the stretching orients the polymer matrix, and hence dramatically improving the physical and barrier properties. Orientation is a physical alignment of the polymer chains in a regular configuration. Figure 1: Polymer Matrix
Elastic materials, like rubbers have memory effect, they return to the original shape after the force is relieved. In the contrary the Viscous materials, like the tar, does not have any memory it retains the newly formed shape, readily. PET falls into Plastics. A typical stretching sequence for PET is shown in Figure 3. As force is applied to the material, there is a region where very little stretching occurs (A). Here PET behaves somewhat like an elastic material: if it is stretched only a small amount and released, it will shrink back to its original size. If stretching continues past the yield point (B), however, the material will start to stretch and become thinner, causing permanent deformation. In this region the stretching continues at almost constant force. Once the material has been stretched past its natural stretch ratio (NSR) (D), a dramatic increase in force is required for additional stretching to occur. This is known as the strain-hardening region (E). It is here that the highly desired increases in physical properties are maximized. Therefore, it is critical that the natural stretch ratio be surpassed slightly during the stretching process. Figure 3: Typical Plastic Behavior
9.3: Factors affecting the Stretching Behavior of PET Preforms A number of factors can affect the stress/strain curve. Four major factors are Intrinsic viscosity (I.V.) Copolymer level. Temperature of blowing Moisture level of PET preforms.
Since, all four factors have effect on the Stress Strain Curve, a fundamental of stretch blow molding process, a thorough understanding and control of these parameters is necessary to have a good bottle.
Number of variables can prevent the formation of the proper prebottle. These include: Preform I.V. too low due to improper drying. Preform I.V. too low due to the use of too much regrind. Preform temperature too high. Preform moisture level too high. Preform designed for a different NSR resin.
In SBM, prebottle condition defines the NSR position of the preform. The pre blow pressure and the stretching of the rod will be able to take the preform to the pre bottle condition (NSR), beyond which additional force required would be delivered by the high blow pressure. The surface area of the mold should be more the Pre bottle (NSR, at the particular blown condition for the preform) by 5 ~ 10 %, to get a final bottle with best performance, in tensile & barrier properties. If prebottle is larger than the mold cavity, when preform is blown, the surface of the mold stops expansion of the preform before the NSR. This results in bottles having thin sidewalls and thick shoulders / bases.
Pearlescence, on the other hand, occurs on the inside surface. It is due to two factors. First, the inside surface of the preform must stretch approximately 35% more than the outside surface for a 2-liter bottle. Second, the inside surface is the coolest part of the preform and therefore does not stretch as easily as the warmer areas toward the outside. The combination of both factors causes the PET to stretch much too far into the strain-hardening region, producing thousands of very tiny cracks. These micro fractures affect the passage of light and cause a somewhat hazy appearance. Pearlescence can be distinguished from crystalline haze by its luminous sheen that is similar to an oyster pearl. When the preform I.V. is correct, it is relatively easy to find an RHB temperature setting that will heat the inside surface enough to avoid pearlescence but not so hot that the outside becomes hazy. If the preform I.V. gets too low, however, it may become impossible to make clear bottles. In these cases, increasing the temperature to eliminate pearlescence will make the haze worse, whereas decreasing it to eliminate haze will make the pearlescence worse
9.6: Establishing Optimum Reheat-Blow Conditions To produce a uniform bottle sidewall thickness, RHB conditions must be properly adjusted. 1. The stretch rod should be used only to center the gate of the preform in the bottom of the bottle; do not use it to obtain orientation. If the speed of the rod can be adjusted, reduce it to the point where the gate moves off center. Then increase the speed in very small increments until the gate is again centered. Hold that speed setting. 2. Increase the line speed until a slight pearlescence appears. Then adjust individual heater temperatures to make the pearlescence uniform. Clear areas indicate the preform is hotter in that location; temperature in these areas should be reduced. Once the pearlescence is uniform, decrease the line speed to its normal setting. 3. If the machine is normally run at its maximum speed, a different approach will be required. Reduce the temperatures of the heaters until a slight pearlescence appears; then adjust the individual
9.7: Bottle Shrinkage and Creep After a bottle is blown, it will shrink as the internal stresses relax. While most of the shrinkage occurs immediately after blowing, the bottle will continue to get smaller for several days. The reverse of this occurs when the bottle is filled with carbonated soft drink; the high pressure [typically 0.41 MPa] will cause the bottle to "creep" or expand. It is important that the degree of shrinkage and creep be controlled since most bottlers have strict specifications on the maximum limits. Reheat-blow conditions have a great effect on shrinkage and creep. Bottles blown from preforms that were heated to a temperature just slightly above the pearlescent point [approximately 95C] will shrink the most but will have the best resistance to creep. The opposite is true of bottles made from preforms that were heated to a higher temperature, just slightly below the haze point [approximately 105C]; these bottles will shrink less but creep more. While preform temperature generally has the greatest effect on the level of bottle shrinkage, it is important to note that the temperature of the blow mold will also have an effect. Warmer mold Cold mold Higher post mold shrinkage. Lower post mold shrinkage.
This is because a warm mold tends to promote relaxation of internal stress. For the same reason, bottles stored in a warehouse will shrink more during the hotter months.
Ejection Station Eject the bottle 4 Station Stretch Blow Molding Machine
Ejection Stage: Eject the bottle 3 Station Stretch Blow Molding Machine The conditioning station consists of two features; the provision for heating the outer wall of the preform is called a POT, this normally provides additional heat to the external surface, which is cooled faster in the injection mold, due to higher cross sectional area of cooling water channels. The feature to heat or cool the inner surface of the preform is called the CORE. Cooling cores are normally used in unsymmetrical cross section bottles. They basically cool the preform interior for the particular sector, for which the thickness needs to be increased, or which forms the farthest surface of the bottle from the center. The conditioning core temperature is maintained by circulating water / oil from thermo-regulator. The schematic diagram shows the operation of a conditioning core, with elliptical cross section bottle. Here, you can see the major diameter of the ellipse is more than 2.5times the minor diameter. Hence the sector, which forms the minor surface needs to be stretched faster, before it comes in contact with the blow shell wall, vice versa, the sector which form the major surface of the ellipse, to be stretched slower, so that it does not thins, thus achieving uniform wall thickness along the entire circumference. To achieve lower temperature at sector which needs to be stretched slower, the conditioning core is brought in contact, to cool the sector. The sector which needs to be kept warm is relieved so as to maintain higher temperatures.
Conditioning core: Cool the sector, and increase wall thickness. Conditioning core operation Cross sectional view
Heating cores are normally deployed in conical preforms, which have thick shoulder area, which needs to be heated more to distribute the wall thickness evenly. They are heated by electrical systems.
Conical preform
Heating pot consists of heating elements, heated electrically; there may be 2 to 5 horizontal zones depending on the length of the preform.
Bottle
Blow Station: Blow station, blows the conditioned preforms into blown final bottle. The blowing is accomplished by means of primary blow, which is a low pressure blowing operation, in the order of 4 ~ 10 bars, which helps in forming the pre-bottle, during the stretching operation. The secondary blow or the high pressure blow is in the order of 25 bars to 35 bars depending the bottle stretch ratio and intricacies. Once the bottle is blown it is cooled by the blow mold surfaces to solidify the polymer matrix. Normally the blow mold is maintained at temperature of 20 ~ 25 degC.
The inspection aids for Level 3 process: 1. Vernier caliper 2. Screw gauge 3. Profile projector 4. Preform cutter 5. Go No Go gauge
2 3 4 5
Gate crystallinity
Critical
Level 1
7 8 9 10
Hazy preform Knit line / crack in neck finish Black specks Flash at neck finish
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Heat splay Preforms buckling Gate pin hole Color variation Spider web Void in gate Wall thickness variation, > 0.2 mm IV drop > 0.03 dl/g Higher AA, > 4 ppm Neck finish Go No Go failure Neck finish ID Go No Go failure
23
Level 4
24 25 26
All the defects can be present in various degrees of intensity, which may call for difference in opinion than the ones discussed above, which require expert opinion or the final end user comments.
Shelf life: Normally the shelf life of the preform can be safely taken as 6 months, beyond which it may require further testing to ascertain the suitability for the particular application. The storage ambient conditions of temperature and humidity play a vital role in the shelf life of the preform. High moisture absorption of preforms can lead to increase in Natural stretch ratio of the preform, which may lead to not optimally strain hardened bottles, with lower strength, barrier properties etc,.
4.0%
0 1 1 2 7 8
1 2 2 3 14 15
3 4 5 6 21 22
Bottle testing; Bottle forms the final product of the PET chain, and it is used in direct contact with the food material, which is stored, transported and protected by the inherent strength of the bottle. Hence the bottle testing should consider the product packed and the conditions it is subjected during the shelf life for design of a specific test method. The bottle test method and specifications will vary from product to product. All PET bottle testing methods are in-process in nature, to help aid the blow molding engineer to tune the machine to produce bottle to meet specifications. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Bottle sectional weight. Bottle wall thickness. Bottle volume. Bottle top load Bottle drop test Bottle burst test. Bottle stress crack test. Bottle head space AA Bottle shelf life.
Base Section
Label Section
Shoulder Section
Bottle wall thickness: Bottle wall thickness is measured to ensure that there is no variation in the wall thickness along the circumference of the bottle in a particular plane / section, due to gate offset or any other blowing variations. It is also helpful to ensure proper wall thickness at intricate sections, which are critical for the strength of the bottle like the petaloid legs. Bottle wall thickness is measured using a magnetic wall thickness tester, or by means of CCD scanning. As the scanners are quite expensive in normal circumstances a magnetic probe is used.
Bottle drop test is done to understand failure of bottle in drop fall during handling of bottles. Drop test are conducted under three conditions; 1. Vertical drop 2. Horizontal drop o 3. Oblique drop (45 ) All the drop tests are conducted for 1.5 meter fall of filled bottle up to the fill point. Vertical drop test: The bottle is filled up to the fill point and capped. The bottle is held by the neck and allowed to fall from 1.5 M on a flat concrete surface. The drop is done for 3 times for the same bottle continuously and the failure if present is recorded. Horizontal drop test: The bottle is filled up to the fill point and capped. Then it is held by the body horizontally and allowed to fall horizontally on the concrete surface for three times continuously and the failure if any is recorded. Oblique drop test: The bottle is filled up to the fill point and capped. Then it is held vertically above a o concrete slab inclined at 45 to the horizontal plane at distance of 1.5 M, the drop is repeated for 3 times and failure if any is recorded.
Sample quantity: 2 set for each cavity of blow mold. Procedure: 1. Bottles should be less than 2 weeks old, then aged at 50C +/ -1 C and 50% RH for 24 hours. After aging, the bottles should be stored at 22C +/ -1C for a minimum of 16 hours. Label the bottles. 2. Prepare the solution of 0.2% NaOH solution. (Alkalinity 2.4 -2.6 g/l CaCO3). 3. Fill each bottle with the target net contents of water. (2L bottle would contain 2000ml of water) The water should be equilibrated to 22C +/- 1 C. 4. Pressurize each bottle with compressed air to internal pressure of 5.31 bars. 5. 5 minutes after pressurizing the bottles mark the liquid level on each bottle and then gently place each bottle into beaker of 0.2% NaOH solution at 22C +/-1C. The solution must cover the base. Start the timer and check at following frequency. Time Frequency of check 0 ~ 30 Continual check 30 ~ 60 Every 2 minutes 60 ~ 90 Every 5 minutes 6. Record the time to failure in minutes for each bottle. Failure is defined as a burst or a slow leak. A slow leak is evidenced by a visual fill point drop.