Page 62 - Food&Drink Business magazine September 2022

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Krones presents its
next-gen Contiform
Krones has released the fourth generation of its Contiform stretch blow moulder, which is developed with special attention to environmental compatibility, and to further improving efficiency and flexibility.
When it comes to stretch blow moulders, the greatest potential
for improvement, according to Krones, often lies in reducing energy consumption in preform heating, and in lowering compressed air consumption in the blowing process.
Krones’ R&D team has made the most of these opportunities – it has shortened the distance between the heaters, made
the heating space even
more compact overall, and redesigned the heaters with parabolic reflectors.
As a result, energy consumption has been cut by 11 per cent compared to the previous generation.
The team has also achieved substantial savings on compressed air. Unlike the technology customary on
the market to date, the new
Air Wizard Triple air recycling system uses a three-stage compressed-air recycling process, which can reduce compressed air consumption by as much as 20 per cent.
But, the focus on sustainability hasn’t been limited to the machine’s operation, as it also includes the materials used in the installation process, for example, the protective panels are made of recycled plastic.
In order to further improve total cost of ownership, the fourth-generation Contiform uses a newly developed skip- and-run technology, which monitors the mould-hanger locking device, and allows
a blowing station that is not locked to pass along the main cam, for instance, to eject
a defective preform without triggering an emergency stop of the entire machine.
This, according to Krones,
considerably reduces the scrap rate and eliminates the need for operator intervention.
The new Contiform is also now even more user-friendly – it features a large screen interface with the latest touch technology, and improved visualisation software. And, assistant systems guide the operating personnel through the settings, even making automatic suggestions, which makes operating the machine more intuitive and efficient.
Adding to that, Krones has developed Contiloop AI, an automatic process control system, and put it to use in the new Contiform.
The combination of AI- based software and newly
developed hardware makes
it possible to detect even the slightest variations in material distribution in the production
of PET containers, and to automatically adjust key stretch- blow-moulding parameters in real-time, to ensure the bottle quality meets specifications.
This factor is particularly important when working with rPET, Krones says. Quality and composition are critical factors when processing preforms made of recycled material – and they can sometimes be rather uneven.
So, any inconsistencies have to be offset in the blow moulding process, to ensure that every container meets the specified quality criteria. ■
MACHINERY MATTERS SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2022 ■ 10
Left: With the fourth generation of Krones’ Contiform stretch blow moulder, energy consumption has been cut by 11 per cent compared to the previous generation.
TRENDS & TECH