Intelligent Inline Temperature Control of the Stretch Blow Moulding Process

吹塑技术(BMT)是一家向拉伸吹塑(SBM)行业销售仪器和软件的微型中小企业，成立于2011年，是从贝尔法斯特女王大学剥离出来的，目前全球每分钟消耗100万个塑料瓶，因此SBM工艺**要求高生产率**。随着世界在2021年迈向5000亿塑料瓶/年，**生产力受到**温度变量**经常导致的巨大低效**的阻碍，例如操作员的主观性、材料特性的变化和环境变化，导致材料浪费、产品缺陷和机器停机。此外，塑料瓶的大规模生产和污染**对公众环境的关注**增加了**利用废瓶中回收的PET树脂和生物聚合物**的强大市场机会**。我们对该项目的**愿景**是开发突破性的技术，使塑料瓶生产中SBM过程中的温度能够进行智能控制。与我们的合作伙伴宝洁、西德尔、萨克米和饮料塑料公司合作，BMT提出的解决方案涉及开发**自动数据驱动的在线温度管理系统**，采用先进的红外传感器技术和控制算法。加热的预制件将在吹炼前定期自动喷射，以提供实时的内部和外部温度数据。温度数据将通过定制软件传回SBM烤箱，以便更准确地控制工艺温度。更好的温度控制将导致**减少生产故障、减少机器停机时间**和**提高生产率。**它将优化瓶子生产，从而减少**原材料消耗**，**产生更少的废物**，**减少产品缺陷**，从而**更高的材料利用效率**。该系统将允许**更优化的产品**，特别是它将允许在更窄的SBM工艺窗口内更准确地**生产回收的PET**。它将带来**更轻、更高效的预制件**，仍然可以达到**目标性能标准**，如‘保质期’和‘顶负载’，制造更容易。**节省**生产效率**还将导致**更低的运行成本**和**减少的碳足迹**。该项目通过创建不需要人工触摸的内联系统来代表**尖端创新**。通过使用智能算法传递加热预制件的内外轮廓的精确测量，最大限度地减少SBM过程中与温度有关的故障排除的能力**是SBM行业向前迈出的一大步。

"Blow Moulding Technologies (BMT) is a micro SME who sell instrumentation and software to the Stretch Blow Moulding (SBM) industry, founded in 2011 as a spin-out from Queen's University Belfast,The world currently consumes 1 million plastic bottles per minute, therefore SBM process **demands high rates of production**. As the world advances towards half a trillion plastic bottle/annum by 2021, **productivity is hampered by large inefficiencies** frequently caused by **temperature variables** such as operator subjectivity, variation in material properties and environment changes, giving rise to material wastage, product defects and machine down-time. Furthermore, **increased public environmental concern** in the mass production and pollution of plastic bottles has instigated a **strong market opportunity for the use of recycled PET resins and bio-based polymers from waste bottles**.Our **vision** for this project is to develop ground-breaking technology to enable the intelligent control of temperature within the SBM process in the production of Plastic Bottles. Working alongside our partners, P&G, Sidel, Sacmi and Beverage Plastics, BMT's proposed solution involves the development of an **automated data-driven inline temperature management system** with advanced infrared sensor technology and control algorithms. Heated preforms will be ejected automatically at regular intervals prior to blowing to provide real-time internal and external temperature data. The temperature data will be communicated back to the SBM ovens through bespoke software to allow a more accurate control of the process temperature.Greater temperature control will lead to a **reduction in production trouble-shooting, reduction in machine down-time** and **greater productivity.** It will optimise bottle production leading to the consumption of **less raw material**, **generate less waste** and **decrease product defects** leading to **greater material use efficiency**. The system will permit a **greater optimisation of products**, in particular it will allow more accurate **production of recycled PET** within a narrower SBM process window. It will lead to **lighter more efficient preforms** which can still reach the **targeted performance standards** such as 'shelf-life' and 'top-load', with greater **ease of manufacture.** Savings on **production efficiencies** will also result in **lower running costs** and a **reduced carbon footprint**.This project represents **cutting edge innovation** through the creation of an inline system which does not require human touch. The ability to minimise all temperature related trouble-shooting within the SBM process through the use of intelligent algorithms communicating the exact measurements of the inner and outer profiles of the heated preforms is **a major step forward in the SBM industry.**"