Technology/Machinery at K2016 Thermoforming • Swiss machine maker WM Thermoforming Machines will debut the Twist700, designed to produce containers in PP, PP/EVOH, and PET that require high quality and narrow dimensional tolerances. • Italy’s OMV, which belongs to Swiss industrial group Wifag-Polytype Holdings, will showcase its fully automated RM77 Revolver, with in-mould trimming, for making cups and tubes. It has a revolving mould, hence its name, featuring three semi-moulds, one negative and two positive, on the same vertical axis. The negative mould half operates at full cycle speed, while the two positive mould halves complete the cycle every two cycles of the negative half. This design is said to allow formed parts to remain in the cavity for an additional cycle, which is said to improve quality and increase production speed to up to 174,000/hour of PP cups, which the company claims to be a world record. The 57-tonne thermoformer has a forming area of 770 x 480 mm. • Germany’s Illig will feature an in-mould labelling (IML) unit, able to decorate a variety of PP cups in different geometries, on an automated 18-cavity IC-RDM 70K roll-fed machine with a forming area of 680 x 300 mm and output of 17,280 PP cups/hour. Illig will also show a new flexible stacking and packaging system that combines stack removal, inspection and packaging. The removed parts can be packed as stacks in bags in conventional box sizes. It will be shown on a 12-cavity RDK54 thermoformer that will churn out cups made of transparent APET film with an antiblocking additive. • Italy’s Amut Comi will show its ACF820 former that combines the features of its V and F series. It can accommodate a wide range of materials to produce trays, lids, fruit/vegetable boxes, flowerpots, clamshells, nursery trays, and plates. With a modular design, ACF can be supplied in various configurations: forming, forming and cutting in the same station and in two stations, and forming, punching and cutting in three stations. Up or down stackers, three-axis robot as well as customised solutions are available to stack parts with different nesting. It can also be integrated with an IML system, using a side-entry robot to load labels inside the forming mould. The use of steel rule cutting moulds makes the IML more competitive compared to existing IMLs, says the firm. • Germany’s Kiefel’s new KTR 6.1 Speed produces cups at a speed of 45 cycles/minute. A significant rise in punching force is combined with a greater forming area to allow for an increase in the number of cavities. The newly developed pre-stretching plug is actuated by a linear motor. Faster pre-stretching has a positive effect on material distribution and processing speed. A new vertical stacking and picking
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Kiefel’s latest high-speed thermoformer
system allows the KTR 6.1 to produce even thinner cups. It works without the assistance of brushes or rubber elements to eliminate friction, for smoother and cleaner production. • Canada’s GN Thermoforming Equipment will debut its GN800 form/cut/stack machine, which launches its entry into the market and expands its plug-assist machine offerings. Developed in partnership with Italy’s Agripak, which manufactured and sold form/ cut/stack thermoforming machines until 2003, GN says it is to meet the growing use of the technology. With a forming area of 800 x 570 mm, it can form 150 mm above and below the sheet line. It also features a standard oven that is four times the index length of the forming area, with high-efficiency solar heaters and independent top/bottom servo-plug drives for better material distribution. It is able to handle sheet widths up to 880 mm and thicknesses from 0.25-1.5 mm. The company is currently targeting food, medical and industrial packaging.
GN Thermoforming marks its entry into form/cut/ stack market with its exhibit
• Battenfeld-Cincinnati will display a new XXL version of its Multi-Touch roll stack that features a novel combination of a roll stack with two rolls for precalibration and either three, five, or seven rolls in post-calibration. They are said to produce stress-free sheet with thickness tolerances of ±1% at high speeds. The new XXL roll stack has an output of 3 tonnes/hour (depending on width and thickness of the sheet). BattenfeldCincinnati’s XXL version of its multitouch smoothing mechanism