Sidel Unveils High-Speed PET Bottle Blow Molding Machine

EvoBLOW addition is for virgin or recycled PET bottles of up to 10 liters

Blow molding machine maker Sidel has expanded its process capabilities with the EvoBLOW XL unit for high-speed fabrication of large PET bottles for water, edible oil and food markets. The company, based in Octeville-sur-Mer, France (U.S. office is in Norcross, Ga.), says the XL addition to the EvoBLOW line of rotary reheat stretch blow molding machines processes bottles of virgin PET or up to 100 percent recycled PET in formats from 8 to 10 liters.

Sidel says that the EvoBLOW XL, a stand-alone or combi unit, produces up to 18,000 bottles per hour (bph) and has an Overall Equipment Effectiveness rate of 98 percent. The machine has an optimized process and blowing curve due to a newly designed powerful blowing circuit and valves that deliver even material distribution at speeds of 1,500 bph per mold at low blowing pressure.

The machine is engineered for flexibility and efficient changeovers. It is equipped with an embedded mold handling tool whose ergonomic design allows safe positioning of heavy molds. A mobile mold storage unit provides fast, safe access to molds close to the machine.

Machine Connects to Sidel Equipment and Software

The model can be integrated with other Sidel equipment like the rapid Bottle Switch changeover system introduced earlier this year. Bottle Switch can be applied to gravimetric preform feeders, ovens and blowing wheels to support fast changeover of preform neck finishes and bottle shapes. The unit allows blow molders to select and apply the right equipment process and configuration for each stock keeping unit. Bottle Switch reportedly achieves bottle quality and high production performance immediately after changeover with up to 98 percent efficiency.

The blow molding unit can also be connected to Sidel’s Evo-ON software suite, which aids in optimizing production lines.

The XL model features flexible oven configurations with a range of bottleneck dimensions that demonstrates its flexibility in handling different types of large bottles. The unit has 75 percent of its parts in common with the current EvoBLOW range. Future developments are being focused on extending the technology to hot-fill products.

EvoBLOW XL also offers lightweighting opportunities that provide significant savings on PET costs and minimize CO₂ emissions. This includes the possibility for end-users to switch from HDPE to PET large bottles in order to reduce their carbon footprint. The new blowing circuits and valves help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, as well.