R&B Plastics Machinery LLC of Saline, Mich., has built what it believes is the largest continuous- extrusion shuttle blow molding machine ever made.
The press has two clamps that are 52 inches wide by 34 inches high, and generate 60 tons of clamping force. Two 6-inch extruders can push out more than 3,600 pounds an hour in a three-parison, dumbbell configuration, for a 12-cavity mold.
The press runs at a 20-second cycle time, running 4-, 5- and 7-gallon containers, or 2,160 containers an hour.
Other features include in-machine deflashing, tail removal, automatic takeout and quick product changeovers and color changes.
R&B did not identify the customer.
In other news, R&B introduced a new Siemens machine controller that uses a programmable logic controller instead of dedicated motion control cards. R&B has integrated parison programming into the PLC.
Tel. 734-429-9421, fax 734-429-1805, e-mail [email protected].