As wall thickness in packaging products reduced over the years, mostly for economic reasons, moulds and machines were redesigned heavier to withstand the higher cavity pressures that goes together with a thinner wall thickness. Stiffness and stability of the mould clamping and support have always been the most important parameters in thin walled packaging. Stork IMM has therefore carefully fortified the machine, empowering it to effortlessly navigate the challenges of today's thinner walls and higher cavity pressures. The result? Improved stiffness and stability using every ton of clamping force in the most efficient way.
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Reuse
Yet new developments are under way. Not (only) for economic reasons, but mainly for environmental reasons. The new slogan for the plastic industry is ‘reduce, reuse and recycle.’ A part of the packaging industry is already developing more towards reuse, driven by legislation. Some packaging is redesigned with a bigger wall thickness in order to make them suitable for multi-use instead of single-use. For these packaging products the demand on the IMM and moulds will lessen.
Reduce
Some packaging products, where reuse is harder to achieve, wall thickness might even reduce further in order to reduce the use of plastics. By embracing thinner walls and pioneering new possibilities, Stork IMM is charting a course toward a more eco-friendly footprint. And let's not overlook the remarkable potential of using R-PET for food packaging. The use of (R-)PET for packaging products will most definitely lead to considerable higher cavity pressures, demanding a higher stiffness and stability.
For Stork IMM, these developments have been an important driver to redesign the clamping unit. Most importantly by changing the way how the high forces, caused by the significant cavity pressures during injection, are being diverted into the toggle mechanism. Furthermore, Stork IMM designed a broader linear mould support for an even more accurate mould alignment, ensuring impeccable precision, aligning perfectly with customers' needs.
What is in it for the customer?
Always the most important question, what is the benefit for the customer? A higher mould stiffness and stability will most definitely lead to a longer lifetime of both mould and machine. Elevate product quality while minimizing maintenance costs. Moreover, the innovative design empowers the customer to operate at a lower clamping force, unlocking new levels of energy efficiency and cost savings. The stiffer the clamping unit, the more of the actual clamping force can be distributed to the mould instead of being consumed by the clamping unit itself.
This new design and many other improvements could be seen during the Fakuma 2023.
