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12/27/2010

New KHS stretch blow molder/filler monoblock offers extensive advantages

Since its launch to the market, countless beverage companies have been convinced by KHS' InnoPET BloFill stretch blow molder/filler monoblock system.  Among others, Coca-Cola China, Swire Coca-Cola, and various well-known enterprises from Central and South America have invested in the monoblock concept.  For in addition to specifically saving on the cost of an air conveyor and decreasing the space requirements by eliminating the need for an air conveying segment, the system also has the advantage of gentler PET bottle handling. A redesigned KHS stretch blow molder/filler monoblock has recently been brought onto the market that now boasts even more extensive advantages in addition to those it already offers.  The many positive aspects of the new monoblock concept lie in the fact that here the new generation of KHS Corpoplast InnoPET Blomax Series IV stretch blow molders is being implemented.  Another plus pertains to the new modular monoblock concept. The new InnoPET BloFill stretch blow molder/filler monoblock is capable of processing a wide range of plastic bottle sizes and shapes, with PET bottles holding anything from 120 ml to 3 liters.  The monoblock setup is able to process up to 72,000 PET bottles per hour, with typical efficiency levels exceeding 96%. The first point of optimization within the new monoblock system is directly downstream of the stretch blow molding process.  Removing bottles from the blow station and adjusting the distance of finished PET bottles to one another according to the configuration of the filling system is now handled by just one modular transfer wheel.  An in all instances identically designed airlock is used as the second monoblock module.  If carbonated beverages are to be filled, the PET bottles are conveyed through a modular cooling segment before being passed on to the filling system.  A special feature here is that a minimum amount of water is used for the highly efficient and economical cooling process.  A system of nozzles constantly sprays a mixture of water and air onto the bottle bases covering them with fine drops of mist.  A maximum of nine nozzles is used in the system, with each nozzle spraying just one liter of water an hour. Implementing the new generation of KHS Corpoplast InnoPET Blomax Series IV stretch blow molders is yet another advantage of the new monoblock concept.  InnoPET Blomax Series IV machines are equipped with a new heater based on a heating technology that nearly halves the time required to heat preforms versus the InnoPET Blomax Series III system.  This has the advantage that the heater segment only takes up half as much space as the previous heater and only half the number of the preforms are inside the heater element  which means that only half as many preforms need to be channeled out if an emergency stop is triggered within the monoblock as opposed to the previous setup.  At the same time, this minimizes the buffer area required between the monoblock and a downstream labeler.  What's more, it is now possible to start up the monoblock setup much more quickly, i.e. within only 15 seconds instead of the previous 2 minutes, thereby increasing the overall system availability. Another key factor is that the stretching processes in the blow stations are controlled by servo motors.  The stretch speed is now independent of the machine speed, which facilitates adapting different bottle sizes to the filler.  In addition, an optimum distribution of material within the produced PET bottles is achieved.  This has the advantage that in a stretch process driven by servo motor, preforms can be used that have been optimized down to the last tenth of a gram of PET material.  KHS Corpoplast provides a full consultancy service here within the scope of its Bottles