Wheeling, Ill. — Magic MP SpA has set out on a goal to transition to sustainable bottle manufacturing, with a commitment to developing machines that are environmentally friendly and leading in design, function and longevity.
According to Pietro Spiga, sales and marketing manager for Magic North America, officials are focused on energy saving, the circular economy and automation.
"We start from the innovation," Spiga said at the Society of Plastics Engineers' Annual Blow Molding Conference, held Oct. 23-25 in Wheeling. "We did a comparison between an all-electric machine and a hydraulic machine for five days at the same time, running the same product on the same cycle times."
During this testing period, all-electric machines registered 114 rejected parts per million, showing high levels of efficiency and precision. During same testing, hydraulic machines registered 4,425 rejected parts per million.
All-electric machines create zero direct emissions and have more energy-efficient motors. They use 55 percent less energy than hydraulic machines.
The all-electrics also have built-in safety features and have less required maintenance, leading to reduced downtime and costs.
"Testing the machines at the same time for five days with the same material, with the same product and the same cycle time and we are able to present major alterations in energy consumption from our findings," Spiga said.
All-electric machines use about 0.23 kWh per kilogram, coming out to an annual cost of $16,392. Hydraulic machines use 0.55 kWh per kilogram, for an annual energy cost of $36,148.
With the impact of automation and downstream production line, machine performances can improve with precision.
"The production speed, of course, is much faster and more productive with automation," Spiga said. "Automation has advanced software that will be able to then to reduce downtime and the reduction of errors."
Automation also allows for flexibility within production lines to quickly adapt to different types and sizes of bottles.