Netstal to demo production of 44 oz stadium cups at NPE 2015

DEMONSTRATING its system expertise in thin-walled packaging, Netstal will produce 44 oz stadium cups with IMLs on a hybrid Elion 3200-2900 at the NPE 2015, which will run from March 23 to 27 in Orlando, FL.

As the production of drinking vessels is highly complex, the company has devised a method called thin-wall centering. This uses rheological flow paths and varying melt pressure levels to center the core, according to Sven Hallauer, project leader for Business Unit PAC.

In producing thin-walled packaging, the ratio of flow path to wall thickness (F/W) denotes the level of difficulty involved. For the 44 oz cup, the ratio is 300:1, which requires a machine with corresponding injection performance able to fill the cavity quickly. Any slight core shift such as the lack of concentricity between the mold (= outer contour of the cup) and core (= inner contour) can impact product quality directly.

A Swiss partnership, the manufacturing cell comprises the machine made by Netstal and the mold made by Glaroform and Beck Automation, which manufactures IML robots.

With its extensive application know-how as a general contractor, Netstal completed the entire project, from the order through to the start of production in Kansas City, in just six months. The manufacturing cell was fully assembled, commissioned, and accepted by the customer at Netstal's headquarters in Näfels.

Many years of experience and extensive IML knowledge enabled the company to carry out the turnkey project for an American customer, according to Mark Dal Pian, vice president for Sales & Marketing.

Nijaz Husidic, head of Sales for Business Unit PAC, said, “Production systems that deliver maximum availability, the shortest cycle times and the best product quality are our forte. Thanks to these factors, we will be able to safeguard our leading position in the thin-walled packaging sector in the future, too."