Ceepackaging

Profiles

PET blockages at the conveyor

Blunt surfaces stop the transport
The PIC technology is based on the assumption that the cause for the fan-like for-mation can be found in the surface quality of the PET bottles which is extremely blunt when leaving the stretch blow-moulding machine.  This will lead to a friction at the contact area between the bottles.

Due to this fact, the PET bottles cannot rotate freely around its longitudinal axis on the following transport conveyor, causing a forced rotation. Blockades in transport, especially in curves, ascents and at the end of downgrades result sup-ported by an unfavourable bottle design
The following solution approach leads to the PIC idea: If the surface is coated with an extremely thin sliding film, the PET bottles can rotate against each other freely. The blockades are minimised and the transport of the PET bottles proceeds more smoothly.

Coating more effective with PIC
Up to present, the preforms have already been optionally coated with a sliding film during manufacture. Steidle spraying systems have been used successfully for years for this coating process.
Instead of using preforms with precoating, the operator of the filling device can apply this coating on his own, that is PIC. The Steidle spray system is mounted at the en-trance of the blow moulding machine and integrated in the machine control. As a result, the coating can be applied automatically on the preform accord-ing to the form of the bottle, if required. The spraying quantity can be dispensed in an extremely low quantity (some ml per hour), so that no moisture remains on the bottles, which could eventually impair labelling. In addition some customers have found that PIC improves also the handling of PET at other parts of the filling line, for example at the separator of the packing station.

Today, PIC is used already by considerable companies worldwide, filling bottle wa-ter, beer, soft drinks, juices and juice-mixed drinks. As the sliding film applied does not have any negative characteristics on the wetting agent and the aseptic aspects, also several aseptic systems have been converted.

The PIC spray system
The PIC media itself complies with US FDA (section 21CFR175.300) and is applied by the Lubrimat PIC-L60, a spray system specially developed for this application. Exact metering piston pumps push the PIC-fluid to the nozzle tip, where it is sprayed on the preforms. The standard version for preforms up to approx. 150mm height has 4 nozzles. For bigger preforms or very complex bottle designs a 6 nozzle version is available on demand. Due to the quick coupling connection and the plain inside de-sign the system is easy to clean.