Blow molding machine makers tout efficiency, ease of use at K 2025

The UIB 129.E is the second of three machines planned for the UIB electric line. The UIB 85 was released in 2024, and the UIB 180 is planned for 2026. This is Uniloy’s first series of electric injection blow machines. The three-machine UIB line replaces a 13-machine conventional hydraulic line.  

The three-station injection blow system UIB 129.E has an injection clamping force of 105 tons and blow mold clamping force of 18 tons. At the K show, it produced 60-milliliter HDPE pharmaceutical containers with a 20-cavity mold.  

Uniloy said it needs only 18 kilowatts of energy under normal operation, which is up to 60 percent less than similar hydraulic systems.  

It uses the Uni-Smart control system, which has an interface that provides fast setup and intuitive user experience for operators.  

Uniloy UIB systems offer advanced multilayer technology for barrier applications. Through co-injection, two resins form a three-layer melt stream, controlled at each patented nozzle to customize barrier placement and thickness.  

The UCS 35 J.ED Coex 3 continuous extrusion shuttle machine has 35 tons of clamping force and a 700mm carriage stroke. Post-cooling stations are adjustable. 

At the K show, the unit produced three-layer, 20-liter stackable jerrycans with a view stripe.  

Three extruders created layers that were 20 percent of the total thickness on each outside layer and 60 percent in the middle layer. Uniloy’s optimized screw design allows for the use of up to 100 percent regrind in the middle layer.  

Uniloy said the machine uses about 40 percent less energy than traditional hydraulic shuttle machines and is well-suited for clean rooms and aseptic packaging.  

The UCS 35 J.ED series also uses the Uni-Smart control system.  

The machine completes Uniloy’s UCS Electric series, which ranges up to 44 tons of clamping force.  

Nissei ASB 1.5 step unit molds directly from resin 

Nissei ASB took the wraps off three new machines: a 1.5-step injection stretch double-blow heat-set molding machine, a one-step hybrid electric injection stretch blow molder and a compact vertical preform injection molding machine. 

Described as the world’s first 1.5-step, double-blow heat-set machine, the HSB12-4N/111N  is capable of molding double-blow heat-set PET bottles directly from resin.  

The company said the new machine combines one-step and two-step molding in a compact footprint. The double-blow heat-set technology increases material crystallinity and reduces stress, which makes the bottles more resistance to stress cracking.  

The unit produces round, square or oval bottles that are suitable for all carbonated beverages and capable of more than 25 return-and-fill cycles. The bottle demonstrated at the K Show weighed 90 grams and was made with 30 percent recycled PET.  

Using a full mold set in the double-blow mechanism will allow molding containers that are capable of being filled at up to 203 degrees Fahrenheit. These machines provide a good fit for small- to medium-scale filling companies, according to Nissei ASB.  

Based on one of Nissei’s best-selling models, the new one-step machine, the ASB-70DHP/50E, is targeted at trigger-style bottles used primarily for household cleaning products. It’s been fully redesigned, so all major movements are now electric, including the advanced injection unit and preform stretching. Hydraulics are used only for high clamping force.  

Servo-driven stretch rods improve molding consistency, especially with sensitive resins or complex designs, according to the company.  

The new machine comes standard with ASB’s trademarked Vision1 control and monitoring system and is compatible with existing molds.  

Nissei ASB’s advanced preform conditioning station enables molding of specialty shapes. HDPE resin used for trigger containers has typically been used only for round containers.  

The PM-90/111N + Preform Molding vertical clamp machine can produce up to 20,000 bottles per hour in 100 percent recycled PET.  

It can accommodate 12, 18, 24 or 36 cavities, depending on the preform size. It is aimed at small- to medium-sized preform production. A 10-gram preform is suited for generic water bottles.  

The vertical mold clamp and injection systems are derived from ASB’s PF36 machine series.  

Preforms pass through an integrated cooling system for 3.5 cycles.  

Nissei ASB said the PM-90 series requires about 40 percent lower investment, uses 30 percent less floor space and up to 20 percent less energy per preform compared with similar machines.   

It comes standard with ASB’s Vision1 control system.  

Kautex adds electric line to familiar KEB series 

Kautex Maschinenbau System GmbH added an all-electric line to the KEB machine series it relaunched last summer. Both single-station lines are designed for medium-output production.  

The KEB Green line follows the fully hydraulic KEB Grey line. Both series come in three sizes, 13.5 tons, 27 tons and 42 tons of clamping force, and from one to six cavities. Both series are designed for a variety of products, including containers such as bottles to jerrycans up to 20 liters and technical parts such as air ducts or bellows.  

The company said the all-electric Green line uses significantly less energy than the Grey machines.  

Kautex said the KEB series provides maximum flexibility. It features in-line clamping, fast mold changes and integrated deflashing, post cooling and push-contact takeout. A swiveling extruder platform facilitates quick die-head replacements and startups.  

The KEB10 Green, the smallest of the line, has a clamping platen of 470mm by 500mm and one to five cavities. The KEB30 Green, the largest, has a clamping platen of 610mm to 700mm and can have up to two cavities. The KEB20 Green, the middle size in terms of clamping force, has a clamping platen that is 590mm by 600mm and goes up to six cavities.  

Dry cycle times are 2.1 seconds for the KEB10, 3 seconds for the KEB20 and 3.9 seconds for the KEB30.  

A wide range of options is available for the KEB Green line, including a remote access gateway, integration of downstream equipment, flexible blow station configuration, additional cooling stations, proportional blowing air control, versatile head configurations, advanced wall thickness control, oriented article takeout and wide-neck rotary cutter.  

The BC6 control system includes a 24-inch widescreen panel.   

At the K show, a KEB20 Green produced a three-layer, 5-liter jerrycan that weighed 240 grams and had an average wall thickness of 1.24mm. Kautex said the KEB line can easily accommodate post-industrial and post-consumer resin.  

Automa by Magic highlights smaller machines 

The AbM series from Italian manufacturer Automa by Magic includes all-electric, continuous extrusion shuttle blow molding machines for processors that need smaller machines.  

The series comes in three sizes in single- and double-station configurations. The three sizes are the AbM3 with approximately 3.4 tons of clamping force, the AbM6 with 6.7 tons of clamping force and the AbM12 with 15.7 tons of clamping force. The machine range is suitable for products from small bottles up to 2.6-gallon jerrycans.  

AbM models can be equipped with extruders from 30mm to 110/25Dmm diameter, with plasticizing capacities up to 728 pounds per hour. They can be configured for PE, PP or co-extrusion of multilayers.   

The AbM line is a completely new design. Automa has been manufacturing blow molding machines for more than 40 years and became part of the Magic Group in 2018.   

All previous Automa by Magic blow molders have been hydraulic or hybrid models.  

The company said the new series was designed to combine energy efficiency, mechanical precision, low maintenance costs, consistent performance and long-term reliability.  

It incorporates a regenerative energy recovery system that stores energy generated during motor braking and feeds it back into the circuit.  

The clamping system has a patented, symmetrical lever-type design to provide a linear closing motion. A kinematic chain consisting of an eccentric cam, dual rocker arms and synchronized connecting rods guarantees that both mold halves approach the parison axis at the same speed and distance. This provides platen parallelism and prevents mechanical stress or flash defects, the company said.  

The system eliminates asymmetries typical in lever mechanisms and provides a smooth, vibration-free closing cycle, Automa said in a press release.  

The carriage moves on linear guides powered by servo motors, which the company said provides micrometric positioning accuracy and quiet operation. A patented head and extruder retraction system allows the extrusion head and extruders to move automatically along rectilinear and orthogonal axes.  

This enables fully automatic mold changes without manual disassembly and perfect repositioning after maintenance and setup.  

The control system has a 15-inch touch-screen interface. It controls up to 150 temperature zones.  

The control system also monitors process parameters and includes graphical display of parison wall thickness profiles up to 300 points, alarm and cycle recording, motion analysis and automatic heating start-up programming.  

The multilingual control system also includes video tutorials and digital manuals for operators.  

BBM’s new controller incorporates AI 

German blow molding machinery manufacturer BBM Maschinenbau und Vertriebs GmbH demonstrated the prototype of a user-friendly control system powered by AI.  

“It is like ChatGPT for blow molders,” CTO Schulte said. “Our customers need some help from machine builders. AI can help them solve minor problems.”  

Operators can get help solving processing problems by asking questions of the new system through a keyboard or by voice.  

BBM demonstrated the AI system on a new all-electric, compact BBM 180 designed for technical parts. It has a clamping force of about 180 tons and can accommodate molds up to 10 feet long, 5.3 feet wide and 1.6 feet deep. Opening stroke is 700mm.  

All of BBM’s compact blow molders have a stationary, three-platen clamping system. The rigid clamping unit has solid tie bars.  

They can accommodate continuous or accumulator head extrusion with parison transfer.  

The new machine, designed for low energy consumption, starts faster since there is no oil to heat. It operates very quietly, Schulte said.  

Mold thickness and clamping force adjustments are made through the BBM BlowControl 2 control panel, which has a multi-touch screen and remote control capability.  

There are now seven blow molders in the series, with the BBM 180 being the largest.  

Bekum unveils new SmartLine series 

Bekum has designed a new all-electric extrusion blow molding machine series from the ground up and claims a 30 percent lower investment, 20 percent reduction in energy use and 10 percent savings in material.   

The new SmartLine series is designed for small and medium-sized processors in consumer packaging markets. Bekum also said it is a good choice for newcomers to extrusion blow molding.  

The first two SmartLine models are the SBlow 5 S/D and SBlow 15 S/D. Each comes in a compact, single-station and double-station configuration.  

The SBlow 5 S/D has 5.6 tons of clamping force and a 380mm opening stroke. Maximum mold width is 370mm and mold height is 350mm. The 15 S/D has 17 tons of clamping force and a 560mm opening stroke. Mold width is 560mm, and mold height is 500mm.  

An electromechanical rotary servo motor drives the SmartLine clamping unit. The clamping unit uses a swivel drive, which moves precisely to the required angle and stops. Bekum said this allows for a compact design, simple control and better accuracy.  

The machines feature the energy-efficient HiPEx 36D extruders with Bekum’s proprietary extrusion heads. The company said the extruders deliver good melt quality at low temperatures. This enables high process stability, maximum output rates and good melt homogeneity, and works well with sensitive materials.  

Spiral mandrel extrusion heads provide multi-layer capability with recyclates, chalk fillers and post-consumer resin.    

The machines have the proven Bekum Control 8.0 control system with a 24-inch high-definition portrait touch display. Industry 4.0 functions are integrated into the system.   

Bekum’s SmartConnect system can provide real-time remote support.   

The company said the machines’ modern design supports easy maintenance access, faster mold changes and operator convenience in daily operations.   

New sourcing and manufacturing concepts result in lower investment costs, the company said.  

“A strategic milestone is the world premiere of our fully electric SmartLine series,” said Managing Partner Michael Mehnert. “We clearly understand that our customers, particularly in consumer packaging, must calculate sharply. With the new SmartLine, we were able to reduce machine investment costs by 30 percent.”  

FlexBlow claims 5-minute mold change 

Stretch blow molding machine builder FlexBlow unveiled the two-stage, all-electric FlexBlow 2.   

The new machine is aimed at products such as food jars as well as dairy, alcohol and personal care containers. It can accommodate two-cavity molds for containers as big as 1.6-gallons with neck sizes ranging from 12mm to 120mm.  

Maximum output is 3,000 containers per hour.  

Regional sales manager Rokas Balsys said a new feature is that molds, which are mounted with magnets, can be changed in as little as five minutes. The platform provides access from the front of the machine.   

Another new feature is an integrated vision control system that inspects each container from the top and side and automatically rejects questionable products.  

There is also an integrated near-infrared (NIR) wall-thickness monitoring feature, leak test system, automatic lamp positioning and servo-assisted setup that the company said can save up to 30 minutes in tool changes.  

FlexBlow manufactures seven all-electric machines with the FlexBlow 2 being the second-smallest. Ropkas described it as the company’s most versatile blow molder. It also produces hybrid machines in three sizes.  

The family-owned company, based in Lithuania, has been building blow molding machines since 1994. It has more than 500 in service worldwide.  

FlexBlow also builds 85 percent of its components in-house.  

North America is FlexBlow’s biggest market.  

ST Blowmoulding unit for ultra-clean products 

There is a growing demand for processing machinery suitable for ultra-clean applications. To meet this demand, ST Blowmoulding introduced a new electric machine dedicated to production of 220-liter L-ring drums that fits this category.  

The CXT 810 HT CoEx 3 continuous extrusion blow molding machine has 100 tons of clamping force. It has a fully electric, three-layer coextrusion head from W Müller so it can process regrind or recycled material. The clamping unit is a multi-toggle electric unit.  

The CXT 810 uses adiabatic H extruders for gentle plasticizing and high throughput. A PWDS parison-shaping system from Feuerherm GmbH, Troisdorf, Germany, provides high-precision wall thickness. ABB SynRM supplied the motors.  

The machine uses the least amount of energy ever achieved in this category, and is very appropriate for clean rooms, producing very low dust and metal ion contamination, the company said.  

The machine is designed to produce large containers for transporting and storing wet electronic chemicals used in the semiconductor industry. The drums are made from high-molecular-weight HDPE. The drums are also used for liquid pesticides and other sensitive chemicals, including acids.  

The ultra-clean drums are needed because any oil or dust contamination can ruin silicon wafers. The so-called wet chemicals are sprayed onto wafers before circuits are etched.  

L-ring containers are industrial drums, typically in 120-liter to 220-liter sizes, designed for the safe storage and transport of liquids, chemicals and food products. They are identified by an L-shaped plastic ring at the top for easy handling and stacking. They are usually UN-approved for hazardous materials.   

ST Blowmoulding designs and builds extrusion blow molding machines for industrial applications. It is headquartered in Stabio, Switzerland, and builds machines in Italy. It is also constructing a plant in China.