Step On The Box

Improving the surface of a (freshly blown) PET bottle without the use of additives

We are looking for:
Students in the field of Material Science, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or any other related fields

Status
Finished
Spots
6 available
Registration deadline
30 Nov 2024
Sprintday
4 Dec 2024
Location
Jacob Marisstraat 2, 5753 DB Deurne, Netherlands, Onsite
1. Description of the challenge

From time to time the application of a shrink sleeve label on a (freshly blown) PET bottle is disturbed by unwanted forces between bottle and sleeve. The source of those forces is not known and it doesn’t happen always. But several years of experience have learned us that bottle blow molder settings (i.e. temperature, timing, preform material) in combination with environmental conditions (i.e. temperature & humidity) have an influence on the surface condition of the PET bottle which translates into a changing coefficient of friction between bottle surface and shrink sleeve. This friction potentially increases to a point that the application of the shrink label on the bottle is negatively affected: the sleeve gets stuck on
the bottle.

Today a food grade lubricant is sprayed on the PET bottle. This lubricant lowers the Coefficient of Friction of the bottle. Besides the fact that this lubricant is costly, it is also an extra unwanted, difficult to control step in the bottle sleeving process. There is an urgent desire to eliminate the need of lubricating the bottle and define another way of minimizing/stabilizing the surface friction condition of a PET bottle.

2. Expected outcome

The development of a (detailed) concept to reduce and stabilize the surface friction of (freshly blown) PET bottles in order to enable smooth application of shrink sleeves on these bottles without the use of lubricants.

About Fuji Seal

We provide reliable and high-quality solutions that boost the decorative impact of your products on the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market.

Shrink sleeve labels, self adhesive labels (pressure sensitive labels), spouted pouches and label machines can be provided on a global scale, to overcome your decorative
packaging challenges across a wide range of areas, such as food, beverage, dairy, home & personal care and pharmacy.

By using our global and local presence, we bring the global technology and capabilities of our entire Fuji Seal Group into your local facilities.