MHT Mold & Hotrunner Technology showcases 128-cavity mold at K 2016

What if you could drive 50% farther on the same tank of gas? Would you do it? Of course you would, said MHT Mold & Hotrunner Technology AG (Hochheim am Main, Germany), a preform manufacturer who uses a Husky HyPET injection molding machine to produce more preforms without needing to make changes to the machine.

“In the entire packaging industry, the signs point to more sustainability and saving resources,” said MHT’s information. With this in mind, the company’s development team set to work on this challenge. The result: An improved degree of effectiveness, better cooling and energy efficiency, and finally the ecological and economic possibility of continuing to operate an existing machine with higher output.

By moving the cavities slightly closer together and adding cavities on the left and right, the MHT team achieved a higher cavitation mold in nearly the same footprint and in the original mold. For example, in a HyPET 120 molding machine, a 32-cavity mold can achieve 50% greater productivity by becoming a 48-cavity mold. The stacks, i.e. the molds, in which the preforms are created, are identical to those that have been proven for years. The space savings, therefore, “do not go hand-in-hand with a more filigree mode of construction, which may be more susceptible to faults,” said MHT.

When the preforms are produced, they need to be post-cooled in order to be dimensionally stable for further handling as bulk material. This is where a self-developed, three- or four-stage, post-mold cooling solution appears, for which an international patent has been applied.

The upgrade set is available for preforms up to a maximum water thread diameter of 30/25. MHT assumes complete project management of the prototype production, right up to ramp-up of series production, and guarantees a smooth-running changeover to the new number of cavities. The upgrade set is offered within the context of a mold exchange or conversion, such as to a different preform design or weight.

After installation by an MHT service engineer, it is only a matter of “plug and play” for the preform producer, but with up to 50% more output than previously was possible. Another example is a 48-cavity preform mold that can be changed to 72 cavities, also realizing a possibility for 50% higher production.

You can visit MHT Mold & Hotrunner Technology AG at the K Show at stand C35 in hall 1.