Sidel launches ActisTM 48 device

The new ActisTM 48 device from Sidel has an output rate of up to 40,000 bottles per hour, making it the world's fastest device for PET bottle barrier processing. The ActisTM 48 completes the ActisTM bottle wall coating equipment series, which meets the high-speed packaging needs of the liquid food market while guaranteeing top-quality packaging at a lower cost.

The ActisTM bottle wall coating process coats the PET bottle with a thin layer of hydrogenated amorphous carbon. By reducing carbon dioxide loss and preventing the infiltration of oxygen, ActisTM bottle wall coating technology extends the shelf life of sensitive beverages such as beer, carbonated drinks, juices and tea. It is suitable for PET bottles up to about 600 ml specification (bottle height below bottle neck: 254 mm, diameter 75 mm).

ActisTM bottle wall coating technology also saves material costs by reducing significant bottle size. For example, for a 600 ml PET carbonated beverage bottle, after using ActisTM bottle wall coating, the weight of the bottle will be reduced from 28 g to 23 g, and the product life will be increased from 8 weeks to 20 weeks, and Save 18% PET resin.

Like the ActisTM 20 model, ActisTM 48 offers two barrier treatments:
● ActisTM bottle wall coating with a coating treatment time of 2.5 seconds, a processing thickness of 0.15 μm, and an output rate of 30,000 bottles per hour;
● Actis LiteTM bottle wall coating with a coating treatment time of 1.2 seconds, a processing thickness of 0.06 microns and an output rate of 40,000 bottles per hour.
The ActisTM 48 uses a technologically-advanced rotary motion structure design whose basic attributes remain unchanged: vacuum system, plasma technology, processing time, and forward transfer. The ActisTM bottle wall coating process, while guaranteeing the same excellent performance, will increase the barrier performance to prevent oxygen infiltration by 30 times, and the wall barrier performance to prevent the loss of carbon dioxide will increase by 7 times.
Compared with ActisTM 20, this new device achieves structural innovation, which improves the yield per station at the same level of performance and further reduces operating costs.

In order to protect the latest technological breakthroughs, the company has now filed about 10 patent applications:
● The loaded bottle is supported by the base to limit the movement of the bottle. This results in a significant reduction in the cycle time per bottle at 48 stations and an almost 40% increase in productivity compared to ActisTM 20 (from 500 bottles per hour to 625 bottles per hour for ActisTM treatment, when performing Actis LiteTM processing. From 600 bottles per hour to 833 bottles per hour).
● The new design of the ActisTM48 device is more user-friendly and practical. The various systems of this equipment can be completely dismantled, making maintenance easier than ever before. Routine maintenance will be partially automated by robotic operation.
● The new mechanical design of the air cleaner is extremely reliable even at high speeds.
● The bottle type is extremely fast. A technician can change the bottle height in just 30 minutes, while the bottle type (height and diameter) conversion takes less than an hour.
The first ActisTM 48 device will be put into production on the German beer market in the second half of 2006 as part of the entire line delivered by Sidel.

Source: "Beverage Packaging Solutions"