A corrugator for an extrusion system for shaping a tubular plastic product, having a multiplicity of mould blocks, a guide track, along which the mould blocks are guided in each case in pairs during the operation of the corrugator from a starting region of the guide track towards an outlet region of the guide track, a first return track, along which the mould blocks are guided during the operation of the corrugator from the outlet region towards the starting region, and a second return track, with the aid of which individual mould blocks can be removed from the first return track and/or can be inserted into the latter during the operation of the corrugator.

A method is provided for producing a corrugated tube that has, at least in sections, first outer wall regions with a first external diameter and second outer wall regions with a second external diameter that alternate in a wave-shaped manner. The first external diameter is greater than the second external diameter. The corrugated tube is produced by a plastic vacuum/blow molding process in a plastic vacuum/blow mold with a corrugator (1). One or more openings are made in at least some of the first outer wall regions. The openings are made in at least some of the first outer wall regions of the corrugated tube during the plastic vacuum/blow molding process within the corrugator (1).

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.

The invention is generally directed to sports bottles and other articles produced by blow molding from polymeric materials containing isosorbide having glass transition temperatures ranging from 90 C. to 130 C., as well as to processes for producing them. These articles can be exposed to water at high temperatures and can be produced by using a suitable combination of a stretch ratio of less than 3 and a preform temperature at least 20 C. greater than the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric material.

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.

The invention relates to a method for reducing the microbiological loading of container products consisting at least partially of at least one plastic material, in which, as part of a first production process, a plastic granulate (29) is fed to an extruder device (19), which melts the granulate (29), which, as part of a further subsequent production process, is forwarded onto a blowmolding, filling and sealing machine for obtaining the respective container product, characterised in that, at least in parts of the first production process, the respective used plastic material undergoes at least one of the following treatment steps: high-energy radiation and/or plasma treatment and/or a gas having a sterilizing effect.

The invention relates to a device for reducing the microbiological contaminants of container products which consist predominantly of plastics materials. In said device a plastics granulate is fed to an extruder assembly (19) which melts the granulate, said granulate being subsequently supplied to a form fill seal machine for producing the relevant container product. The device also comprises a guide assembly (35) for the targeted guidance of the plasticated plastics material from the extruder assembly (19) to said machine. The device is characterised in that at least one guide assembly (35) has at least one flow or channel guide (41) for the melted plastics material, so that microbiological contaminants are guided predominantly into the interior of the wall of the polymeric tube, said interior being enclosed by regions of the plastics material that are less contaminated.

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.

A two stage mold block transfer station is used the exit of a moving mold tunnel to quickly move mold blocks to a clear position relative to the molded product. Once in the clear position the mold block is rotated and provided to a return drive moving the mold block back to the inlet of the moving mold tunnel. By moving the last mold block of the moving mold tunnel primarily away from the longitudinal axis of the mold tunnel less mold blocks are required. Various arrangements for moving of the mold blocks can be used achieve this advantage.

A method and apparatus for forming a pressure vessel liner are disclosed. One method includes forming an extruded tube by extruding a parison through a die and a mandrel and forming main body sections and return line sections in the extruded tube according to a first pattern. A cross-sectional area of the return line sections is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the main body sections. The method further includes changing the pattern according to which the main body sections and the return line sections are formed from the first pattern to a second pattern without stopping the forming of the extruded tube and forming the main body sections and the return line sections in the extruded tube according to the second pattern.