Thin Wall Integra unites leading companies on recycled container mass production
19 Jan 2022 --- A collaboration of six packaging companies have converged their specialties to mass-produce thin-walled containers from recycled materials.
The team, collectively known as the Thin Wall Integra collaborative project, says it has developed a production method capable of giving a 35% reduction in material usage.
Led by a subsidiary of German machine manufacturer Arburg in France, the team includes Collomb, a mold maker specializing in thin-walled containers; Pagès Group, a robotics expert for packaging; Verstraete, an IML label manufacturer; Koch-Technik, a material flow specialist; and Borealis, a raw materials supplier.
The project is intended to provide a “new one-stop-shop concept for the production of thin-walled five-liter buckets.”
Integer invention
The team jointly developed a concept based on a fully automated injection molding cell around a hybrid Allrounder 720 H (Arburg’s molding machine) in a packaging version with a one cavity mold.
The cycle takes around five seconds to complete. In addition to the injection molding machine optimized for fast cycles, the sequentially operating robotic system is also a top performer. 
Fully automated injection molding cell around a hybrid Allrounder 720 H packaging machine.
The handling system also includes a telescopic arm that engages from the rear side of the machine and first loads the mold with the IML labels. The robotic system then removes the labeled buckets and stacks them on a deposit mat.
The stacks are then automatically picked up by a robot for palletizing. The two robot technologies used make the system compact, and the recyclate is continuously fed in via an automatic conveyor system.
Holy Grail 2.0 compatibility
The Thin Wall Integra partners are hailing their success as an example of the benefits of industry collaboration, having contributed their specific expertise “at every stage of the project” to demonstrate state-of-the-art technology to manufacturers of thin-walled containers while also ensuring the necessary quality and meeting the tight deadlines of the packaging industry.
In addition, the project meets various environmental sustainability criteria for plastic processing. The product has a proportion of 55% recycled material, and its “ecological design” enables material savings of up to 35%. Added to this are the simplified stackability of the buckets and the use of HolyGrail 2.0 labels, which make it easy to recycle the materials used by type.
HolyGrail 2.0 is a digital watermarking project touted for its capacity to aid recycling through automated sorting, food waste prevention and resource savings.
Edited
By Louis Gore-Langton
