An Austrian injection moulding machine supplier and an Italian toolmaker have developed a novel technology said to drastically improve injection-blow moulding processes.

Moulding machine supplier Engel Austria has announced that a joint development project with Italian toolmaker Cantoni, Abbadia Lariana, has resulted in a combined injection moulding and blow moulding process in one mould on one injection moulding machine that significantly reduces time and costs in the manufacture of cosmetic, drug, and food containers.

Blowing past tradition

The injection blow method is said to have a cycle time of under 14 sec. for the manufacture of wide-necked jars on a 90-tonne clamping-force Engel victory  injection moulding machine  in a 2+2-cavity mould from Cantoni. "Traditional methods simply cannot match the production efficiency of injection blow," Engel said. Preforms normally have to be made using injection moulding first and then subjected to a second process on a blow moulding machine before they become a final product, but the new method allows small ready-to-use containers to be manufactured in one process, the machine builder noted. This combination method is said to be the first of its kind available on the market.