Mold-Masters’ MPET division will present line-up of new product developments at drinktec

Latest developments enable running 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, the company stated.

Mold-Masters says that a recent MPET case study on a 96-cavity system for a 9.8g 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% shorter fill time - even with 24 additional cavities and at equivalent injection pressure due to the iFLOW technology. In addition, 45% shorter cooling time due to iCOOL technology and a 15.5% shorter cycle time was achieved.

Next to the MPET product showcase at drinktec there will be the hot runner solution for beverage closure systems called the Sprint. Mold-Masters touts that the 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 two seconds."

Mold-Masters says the system also features the industry's fastest color changes as well as 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.

Additional technical features also include brazed heaters for temperature control and a 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, the company stated.

And the new Sprint 2.0 offers energy savings through optional heating and cooling performance within the entire system. This new tooling solutions revitalizes, recapitalizes and revs up existing systems. The new nozzle design runs below 1.9 sec cycle time and has created a large demand from several industry leading companies, the company stated. Standard solutions are available up to 128 cavities for single face and stack molds.

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 the IRIS co-injection for PET solutions. Since its introduction in 2012, Mold-Masters says 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.

Also at drinktec, Mold-Masters will discuss new synergies within the Milacron group of companies.