Rocheleau introduced the RS-90 at NPE2018 equipped with the company’s VT-3 deflash automation package, which transfers parts in an upright orientation for punch trimming. The VT-3 is used to trim scrap from bottles that have handles.
The HT-1 shuttles the parts from under the machine to a conveyor that takes the bottles to an auxiliary trimming station.
While Rocheleau has engineered the HT-1 automation system to work with the RS-90, it has yet to manufacture and sell the first combination of the RS-90 with the HT-1 system. The company is looking at applications such as wide-mouth gallon containers.
The RS-90, Rocheleau’s largest reciprocating-screw machine, is targeted at HDPE and PP containers. Cycle times with the hybrid-drive machine can be significantly faster than comparable shuttle machines because operators do not have to account for the movements of the clamp shuttle, head-mold, parison cutter and calibration station. The extruder comes equipped with an energy-efficient extruder drive, a 150-horsepower, variable-frequency-drive electric motor with a fixed-displacement gear pump and a hydraulic motor, the company said.
The RS-90 can accommodate molds with one to 16 cavities. With a six-cavity mold, the machine can produce containers up to 1 gallon in size. However, company engineers said the machine is highly configurable and can make a variety of products for multiple industries with containers ranging in size from 4 ounces to 10 gallons or even larger, depending on head configuration and the specifications of the molded part. The RS-90 has a 2.6-pound maximum shot size and processes 750 pounds per hour of HDPE.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Rocheleau Tool & Die Co. Inc. Fitchburg, Mass., 978-345-1723,
