The next time you are in flight, pay close attention to the polystyrene (PS) cups used by many airlines. It could be there soon will be an in-mold label on the cup. That, anyway, is now a possibility, as proved by a trio of companies at last month's Fakuma exhibition. The three---injection molding machine manufacturer Engel, moldmaker Glaroform and Beck Automation- teamed for a molding cell processing PS cups which were in-mold labeled with PS labels.

The benefits include offering a one-material package which is easily recycled, and also that the labels can be as transparent as the cup (or other PS package).  Difficult though is handling of the PS labels, which generally are thicker and more rigid, compared to standard polyethylene or polypropylene in-mold labels. For the molding cell at Fakuma, Italy's Viappiani supplied the labels.

The cell included an Engel speed 180/55
running Glaroform's 4-cavity mold at 3.3-sec cycles.  Shot weight was 41 g, with each cup weighing 10.25 grams and having walls 0.5mm thick. Using a side handling system, Beck Automation (Oberengstringen, Switzerland) placed the labels and simultaneously removed the completed cups.