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,
Bruce Geiselman
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
