By Karen Hanna
With its launch of a purpose-built system combining an injection molding machine with a mold, hot runner and auxiliary equipment, along with after-market services, Husky is striving to help its customers introduce new products to the market more quickly and cost-effectively.
Made up of components that are engineered to work together, the new NexPETsystem can make preformsfor containers as large as 5 litersfor water, carbonated beverages, food, juices and teas, as well as home and personal-care items. Husky said theNexPET system enables processors to manufacture a wider variety of products in the mid-volume preform market sector.
It can accommodate molds with between eight and 48 cavities and can run varying mixes of recycled and virgin resin. Three screw diameters, for shot sizes ranging up to 5.5 pounds, are available.
“Consumers are increasingly demanding more personalized products catered to their unique lifestyles and tastes. The global climate created by COVID-19 has amplified this trend, forcing many producers to rapidly adapt operations to scale up new applications, like hand sanitizer, disinfectant and other health-care, personal-care or cleaning-related products,” said Robert Domodossola, Husky’s president of rigid packaging.
“Taking into consideration feedback from our customers, as well as assessing the current market landscape, we saw the need for a more flexible, adaptable PET preform molding solution. As we present NexPET to the market, I look forward to continuing the conversation with our customers to gain an even better understanding of what solutions they need to remain successful and competitive — even during these unprecedented times.”
To provide flexibility, mold change times are about 25 percent less than comparable systems that don’t have the quick mold change option.
Intuitive, easy-to-use controls enable fast setup, maximized uptime, optimal energy management and central control of auxiliary equipment.
The system also features a robot with a rotating end-of-arm tool and as many as three cooling positions to ensure that preforms are ejected at ideal temperatures. In addition, the system automatically adjusts oil pressure to suit specific applications while conserving energy.
Its proprietary Reflex clamp evenly distributes force to reduce mold wear.
Karen Hanna, associate editor
Contact:
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., Bolton, Ontario, 905-951-5000, www.husky.co
Karen Hanna | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna covers injection molding, molds and tooling, processors, workforce and other topics, and writes features including In Other Words and Problem Solved for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She has more than 15 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.
