POLYOAK puts more faith in SIPA with new investment in XFORM and SFL f...
One of southern Africa’s top rigid plastics packaging suppliers has once again chosen PET processing technology sp...
XFORM GEN4 XP
Setting a new standard in PET preform manufacturing
The new XFORM GEN4 XP technology complements the GEN3 in the product portoflio and aims to target the most demanding applications, guaranteeing the highest preform quality and process consistency at the lowest manufacturing cost.
While CEOs will benefits from possibly the lowest conversion cost in the industry coming from extremely fast cycle time, record-high energy efficiency, lower-in-the-industry maintenance costs and full flexibility in using legacy tooling, operators will enjoy a brand new experience, thanks to the totally redesigned 21.5" HMI, self-setting process set-up, preform troubleshooting tutorial which ultimately deliver a top-level user friendliness.
Highlights:
- Capability to install any generation of legacy tooling with no mold modification (including EOAT for the latest tooling generation)
- High injection speed
- Lock-to-lock below 2.5s
- New increased-throughput XFlow™ screw design
- More efficient post-mold cooling technology for record-low cycle times
- Reduced energy consumption
- GEN4 hot runner design for superior flow balance and low pressure drop
- XMold™ technology for reduced melt friction and higher L/T capability
- SmartLock™ stack design for unprecedented cooling for short-neck preforms
- LongLife™ stack coating technology for superior mold life
- Extremely low maintenance costs
- Record-long mold life
Process steps: main features & benefits
- Servo-driven
- Continuous low-speed screw rotation:
- No power peaks for screw restart, lower energy consumption
- @ 700 kg/h (0.80 IV): 34 RPM
- Lower stress on the material
- Lower IV drop (< 0.015 dl/g)
- Lower AA generated by the extruder
- Possibility to use color up to 4% with NO throughput drop
- 4 shooting pot designs:
- P105: 4.200 g
- P125: 6.000 g
- P140: 7.500 g
- P145: 8.200 g
- 2 screw designs:
- 120mm: up to 1.000 kg/h (low IV)
- 140mm: up to 1.480 kg/h (low IV)
- Best-in-class injection system for PCR (flakes) applications: the lowest throughput drop @ 50% PCR
- Very smooth closing profile
- less stress to the tooling components in the clamp closing phase
- less vibrations, affecting overall system reliability in the long term
- Perfect cleanliness
- durable clamp concept with encapsulated toggle levers & linear guidance of the moving platen
- Low machine and mold service costs
- no high-pressure hydraulic cylinder to rebuild periodically
- durable clamp design allows for very low maintenance costs
- best-in-class platen parallelism for long mold life
- High platen thickness for virtually no deflection & extended mold life
- Even tonnage distribution in all toggle links
- Active mold protection system, monitoring clamp closing profile at every cycle
- We design preform molds featuring:
- Largest operating window
- Maximized part quality
- Reduced maintenance cost
- Wear-resistant coating to grant a longer mold live
- Optimized cooling layout to support fast cycle times and save energy costs
- Lowest mold platen deformation, precision and reliability
- Our hot runner systems deliver:
- Xflow™ technology with low pressure drop: best in class balancing
- Increased injection speed, shorter cycle time
- Optimal preform weight distribution
- Thanks to the smoothed channels extremely low PET degradation and avoided dead spots (low AA)
- Easy maintenance
- Our cold half delivers:
- Proprietary LongLife™ technology: range of solutions capable to extend component life for preform mold cold halves. 8 million life cycles guaranteed (flash < 0.2mm) without need of components refurbishing
- Significant reduction of refurbishment costs
- Proprietary XMould™ technology: Sipa innovation which allows reducing the friction between the molten PET and the molding surface of the injection stacks during the injection phase. Two major advantages: shorter cycle times and ultra thin preform molding capability
- SmartLock™ stack design for unprecedented cooling for short-neck preforms
- Cooling air flows from the neck to the gate:
- cooler air inside the preform = better body and neck cooling
- pin follows the preform geometry = higher air speed, better cooling effect
- pin very close to the dome = better base cooling
- no need to cool air with separate dehumidifier = less energy
- Air cooler at the outlet of the transfer box to decrease air temperature for better preform internal cooling
- Air intake: 20°C
- Preform transfer system is independent from the clamp movement:
- better accessibility during mold changeover
- higher flexibility in adjusting the transfer box speed for guaranteed part removal
- Preform transfer system supported by 2 points:
- less stress on the whole structure
- no risk of misalignment with EOAT
- Excellent accessibility to non-operator side for mold changeover: up to 1m access
Applications
Preform production systems series XFORM 250, 350 and 500 GEN4 can produce a wide range of preforms with excellent performance.
Production range
| XFORM 350 : CAVITATION | MAX PREFORM THREAD | Z DIAMETER | ROWS X COLUMNS | PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 16 x 8 | 50V 120H |
| 96 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 16 x 6 | 50V 155H |
| 96 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 16 x 6 | 50V 140H |
| 96 | 38 mm | 43 mm | 12 x 8 | 60V 140H |
| 72 | 43 mm | 48 mm | 12 x 6 | 63,5V 160H |
| 48 | 48 mm | 53 mm | 12 x 4 | 75V 170H |
| 32 | 63 mm | 65 mm | 8 x 4 | 85V 180H |
| 24 | 70 mm | 72 mm | 6 x 4 | 95V 190H |
| 16 | 75 mm | 80 mm | 8 x 2 | 110V 360H |
| 12 | 110 mm | 110 mm | 4 x 3 | 140V 240H |
| 8 | 75 mm | 80 mm | 4 x 2 | 110V 360H |
| XFORM 500 : CAVITATION | MAX PREFORM THREAD | Z DIAMETER | ROWS X COLUMNS | PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 18 x 10 | 50V 110H |
| 144 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 18 x 8 | 50V 140H |
| 128 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 16 x 8 | 50V 140H |
| 96 | 38 mm | 43 mm | 12 x 8 | 60V 140H |
| 96 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 16 x 6 | 50V 140H |
| 72 | 30 mm | 34 mm | 12 x 6 | 50V 140H |
| 72 | 38 mm | 43 mm | 12 x 6 | 60V 140H |
| 72 | 48 mm | 53 mm | 12 x 6 | 75V 170H |
| 48 | 48 mm | 53 mm | 12 x 4 | 75V 170H |
| 16 | 75 mm | 80 mm | 8 x 2 | 110V 360H |
