PET Container Debossed Support Flange for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current PET containers face challenges in achieving optimal crystallinity and clarity while maintaining material integrity, particularly in the production of lightweight and recyclable packaging solutions that are suitable for hot-fill applications, where traditional methods result in either opacity or insufficient crystallinity.
Innovation Solution
The development of a PET container with a debossed support flange and a tamper-evident band, featuring a unique thread profile and construction process that includes biaxial molecular orientation through stretch-molding and heat-setting, allowing for improved weight reduction and clarity while maintaining structural integrity for hot-fill applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional injection molding is used to form the finish portion, then structural integrity is maintained, but weight reduction is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two distinct formation processes: the body is formed through injection molding while the finish portion is formed through blow molding. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently - the body for structural integrity and the finish for weight reduction - resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and manufacturing complexity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If thermal processing is applied to increase crystallinity, then material integrity is improved, but clarity is reduced due to spherulitic morphology
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the container are given different molecular orientations through biaxial stretching during blow molding. The sidewall region achieves high crystallinity through thermal processing while the finish portion maintains lower crystallinity to preserve clarity. This local differentiation allows simultaneous optimization of material integrity and optical properties.
3Stability of the object's composition
If biaxial orientation is achieved through stretching, then crystallinity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blow molding process simultaneously achieves biaxial molecular orientation and forms the container body in a single integrated operation. The preform is stretched and blown into its final shape while achieving the desired molecular orientation, combining what would otherwise be separate processing steps into one operation, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a PET container with enhanced clarity and crystallinity, achieving a 5-10% weight reduction over traditional designs, and a tamper-evident feature that ensures product integrity and user awareness of opening, suitable for both hot-fill and ambient temperature processes.
Implementation Method 1
The combination promotes what manufacturers define as biaxial orientation of the molecular structure in the container
Implementation Method 2
Thermal processing involves heating the material (either amorphous or semi-crystalline) to promote crystal growth
Implementation Method 3
The thermal processing of an oriented PET container, which is known as heat setting, typically includes blow molding a PET preform against a mold heated to a temperature of approximately 250° F.-350° F.
Implementation Method 4
Mechanical processing involves orienting the amorphous material to achieve strain hardening
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a container and a method of making a container. In one example, the container includes an upper portion having a finish defining a longitudinal axis and an opening into the container. A shoulder region is integrally formed with and extends from the upper portion. A sidewall portion extends from the shoulder region to a base portion. A tamper evident (TE) band is formed on the finish and defines an outermost surface of the plastic container above the shoulder region. A neck defining a cylindrical sidewall is integrally formed with and extends between the finish and the shoulder region. The neck defines a uniform cylindrical sidewall along its entire height between the finish and the shoulder region. The container further includes a debossed support flange defined on the upper portion. The debossed support flange defines a diameter less than a diameter defined by the TE band.