US-based Agr International has announced the commercial launch of its camera-based measurement system which is claimed to save energy and improve bottle performance.
Dubbed as CrystalView, the measurement system assists PET bottle manufacturers in automatic management of material orientation and crystallinity.
It works simultaneously with the Agr Process Pilot automated blowmolder management system.
As an add-on option to the Agr Process Pilot automated blowmolder management system, CrystalView has been made available for all new purchases.
The company said that a retrofit version is also there for Process Pilot systems in active operation.
According to the firm, bottle manufacturers by using CrystalView can operate the coldest possible process to optimize bottle orientation besides maintaining the distribution of the target material.
Overall bottle performance is claimed to be improved along with cost reduction as a result of the best strength to weight ratio achieved by implementing CrystalView for any bottle design.
Through an easy, reliable and hands-free method to achieve optimization of PET material properties, the CrystalView measurement system doesn’t overstretch or go beyond the temperature limits that can create pearslescence as per its maker.
By managing the process to an optimum point, the CrystalView system eliminates pearlescence creation through the detection of the very edge of where the process becomes too cold.
For any given bottle, CrystalView is claimed to be capable of decreasing the preform processing temperature to the ideal processing point, as much as 10 °C.
AGR said that test results had shown that bottle performance was improved by 38% compared to bottles produced on the same blowmolder without the use of the CrystalView system.
Among other findings in the tests, shell life of the bottles increased 10%, top load increased 17% while volume expansion came down by 38%. Apart from these, the company has reported that burst pressure increased 17% and the performance of oxygen transfer rate improved by 7% by deploying the CrystalView system.
