What is your first requirement in terms of bottle containers? Attractive appearance or portability? In the beverage industry, the familiar bottle containers are plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum bottles, cans, etc. PET, PP, PC, PE, and other materials are examples of plastic bottles. PET bottles are the most common in the beverage industry due to their high plasticity, portability, and low cost. In the following article, we will discuss the machine for making PET bottles – the bottle blowing machine.
Steps for making PET bottles
Generally, there are two ways to make PET bottles, the one-step bottle-making machine, and the two-step bottle-making machine. A one-step bottle-making machine can complete the entire process, from the plastic particles to the final plastic bottle. The one-step bottle blowing machine is primarily used to produce small-size bottles, such as those used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Today’s main topic is the two-step type bottle blowing machine.
The two-step type bottle blowing machine produces PET bottles in two steps:
Step One: PET plastic particles – Injection molding machine – PET bottle preforms
Step Two: PET bottle preforms – PET bottle blowing machine – PET bottles
PET bottle-preform injection molding machine
PET bottle-preform injection molding machine consists of the main machine and auxiliary machine (crusher, autoloader, hopper dryer, chiller, air compressor). Small and medium-sized beverage manufacturers typically do not purchase the PET bottle-preform injection molding machine, but instead, direct buy ready-made bottle preforms.
The price of PET bottle-preforms
The weight of each PET bottle-preform determines its price. The bottle-preform price varies slightly depending on the pricing of raw ingredients in each nation.
This year, the Chinese bottle-preform price has risen significantly due to the rising raw material prices. The pricing of the 30/25 type PET water bottle-preform in China is currently usd0.00215/gram, implying that a standard 18gram PET water bottle-preform (500ml water bottle) costs usd0.0387/piece. You can check prices in your area and decide where to buy (don’t forget to factor in shipping fees).
The weight of the PET bottle-preforms
We know that the bottle-preform is a significant material cost for the beverage factory. How can the weight of the bottle preform be reduced without compromising its firmness of the bottles? We can accomplish this by using a short neck bottle and adding more strength lines to the bottles.
Type of bottle blowing machine
The bottle blowing machine can be classified as semi-automatic or fully automated, depending on the level of automation.
We can divide the full-automatic bottle blowing machine into two types based on the driving model: cylinder drive and servo drive.
We can divide the bottle blowing machine into two types: linear type bottle blowing machines and rotary type bottle blowing machines.
Cylinder drive type bottle blowing machine
The main driver of the blowing machine includes preform taking, stretching, mold clamping, and so on. If the driver models of bottle blowing machines are all cylinder drive types, the speed is about 2000-6000bottles per hour (based on 500ML).
Servo drive type bottle blowing machine
If some or all of the bottle-blowing machine’s drivers are servo drive types, the speed will be substantially higher, with a maximum speed of 20,000 bottles per hour (based on 500ML).
Rotary type bottle blowing machine
All the above are linear-type bottle blowing machines, the other is the rotary bottle blowing machine. It is mainly applicable to production lines with more than 20,000 bottles per hour. It is usually combined with filling and capping, which is called blowing filling capping combi block.
Remember to consider the maximum bottle size when selecting a bottle-blowing machine.
Bottle blowing machine for special bottles
Heat resistant bottle
We know that the filling temperature of some fruit juice is hot filling (usually 85 degrees), so its bottle must have heat resistance, thus we called this kind of bottle blowing machine the heat-resistant bottle blowing machine. The heat-resistant bottle blowing machine’s speed is usually half that of a regular bottle blowing machine.
Bottle blowing machine for bottles with handles
Aside from the heat resistance in temperature, there are also some bottles with handles. 5L, 10L, and edible oil bottles, for example.
The bottle blowing machine for the handle bottle has two types: pre-insert type machine and post-insert type machine. The pre-insert type machine is the one-step machine. The post-insert type needs two steps, the bottle blowing machine and the handles-put machine, which is mainly used in the high-speed production lines.
Concerning bottle molds
Bottle mold materials include iron mold (P20) and aluminum mold (aluminum 7075). Aluminum molds have become popular in recent years because they are light (easy to change molds), and blown bottles are more transparent. Of course, the aluminum mold costs more than the iron mold.
The auxiliary machine of bottle blowing machine
Air compressor
The air compressor has two parts: low pressure and high pressure. Some machines can switch from high to low pressure, eliminating the need for a low-pressure compressor.
The air compressor has a piston-type air compressor and an oil-free screw-type air compressor. The oil-free screw-type air compressor is preferable in the food industry (air source cleanliness is higher, less lubricating oil and oil filter and filter consumables, low noise). Atlas of Sweden and Ingersoll Rand of the United States are currently the most well-known air compressor brands.
Three-stage compression is more efficient and produces less noise than two-stage compression in piston-type air compressors.
Air storage tanks
The air storage tank is for storing compressed air.
Cooling dryer and air filters
The primary purpose of the cooling dryer is to dry the compressed air to avoid water lines on the finished bottle.
Grade T (particle size 1m) and Grade A (particle size 0.01) are the two types of air filters based on the size of the filter element.
Chiller
The chiller has the air-cooling type chiller and the water-cooling type chiller according to the cooling type. The water-cooling type chiller needs to be used with cooling towers. You can select the corresponding chiller according to the actual situation.
Piping
When it comes to air compressors, there is no doubt that the piping, which includes high-pressure steel piping and low-pressure air piping, must be taken into account.
Seamless steel piping for high-pressure compressor system
Air piping for low-pressure compressor system
This is all about the plastic bottle blowing machine. I believe that through this article, you already have a general understanding of this machine, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to talking with you!
