Graham Engineering will show MINI Wheel
Compact, blow molding system makes Graham Wheel Technology affordable to smaller molders and smaller markets.
Graham Engineering Corporation, the York, PA, USA-based manufacturer of extrusion blow molding equipment, will exhibit a rotary MINI Wheel blow molding machine at NPE 2009, from June 22-26. On display will be the rotary portion of the blow molder, along with a complete 5-material, 6-layer extruder system and controls.
Due to customer requests, Graham has recently expanded the MINI wheel line from 12 stations to include 9 and 10 station versions. This gives its customers the option of running larger containers than those that could be accommodated on the original 12-station MINI wheel.
The MINI Wheel is a compact system based on its popular Wheel blow molding systems for high production environments, a technology it has been providing since the 1960s. - The Graham name is synonymous with Wheel machines and Wheel machines are synonymous with mass-produced packaging - notes David Yenor, Vice President for Global Business Development. - The MINI Wheel represents a breakthrough for smaller molders looking to dramatically increase throughput. This opens up the market — Graham rotary wheel technology is now available to mid-sized blow molders who previously did not have quantities to justify the purchase of a Graham Wheel machine.
The MINI Wheel is small enough to ship in a standard freight container. Like all Graham Wheels, it combines continuous, rotary motion, upward extrusion, and bottom takeout. Graham developed the MINI Wheel specifically to produce co-extruded plastic containers in high growth areas such as flavored milk, organic drinks, coffees, teas, nutraceuticals, yogurts, probiotics, packaged fruit, smoothies, fruit juices, drinks with fruit chunks, specialty milks (Lactose reduced, Omega 3, Acidophilus), as well as ketchup, jellies, salsa, and other oxygen-sensitive food products that have to be packaged in barrier plastics.
With the introduction of the MINI Wheel, molders who need up to 12 cavities of production now have a superior processing alternative to a five- or six-parison, double-sided shuttle machine. Advantages of the MINI Wheel are numerous. The MINI Wheel has only one flowhead to control. The parison is captured on both ends, between the preceding mold and the flowhead, and is thus always the same length. As a result, there is no possibility of parison curling or movement due to static electricity or air currents. This enables the operator to more accurately “program” the thickness of the neck, sidewall, shoulders, or bottom of the bottle.
This aids bottle-to-bottle weight consistency, as well as light weighting capability. With a single flowhead, the layer thickness distribution is also much easier to control on the MINI Wheel. Tight parison programming using Graham’s high-speed XBM Navigator PC control system ensures minimal variation from target weights and specifications.
The MINI Wheel is significantly more energy efficient than shuttle machines. It offers the advantages of all-electric drive technology yet employs simple mechanical timing mechanisms for maximum consistency and repeatability. The high-speed parison programmer uses only a small, low-flow hydraulic power unit for the servo valve to control the die gap. The hydraulic unit typically pulls less than one percent of the total system power when the machine is in operation. This hybrid design approach makes the most of all available technologies while retaining the simplicity and repeatability of a mechanical cam actuated system.
Considerable flexibility is designed into the MINI Wheel. For instance, mold weight is only 9-10 kg (20-25 lbs), so molds can be handled without a lifting hoist and changeovers can be accomplished in times competitive with shuttle machinery. The clamp units are balanced in design and the spool and frame of the machine do not bear clamp loads.
Graham can supply the MINI Wheel with co-extrusion configurations up to six layers. The metric sized 28:1 L/D extruders and flowheads can be customized to accommodate unique layer structures, including separate materials for the inner and outer layers. The MINI Wheel extruders, like those across the complete Graham product range, feature CMG motor gears from Knödler, with four AC three-phase motors configured around one larger gear; a thrust bearing; a simple water hose connection for cooling; a cooling plate to cool the motor and gear; and a standard three-phase controller and encoder with over 2,000 points for position and movement control.
Graham Engineering offers a complete line of monolayer and multilayer extrusion blow molding equipment: shuttle machines up to 10 L capacity; reciprocating screw and shot pot machinery for lightweight HDPE containers; multi-cavity, single and dual parison, rotary wheel blow molders for up to 30 L packaging applications; single and dual head accumulator machinery from 5 to 50 lbs (3 to 30 liters) capacity, and multi-parison shot pot technology for smaller industrial applications.