A blow moulding machine for blow moulding a container having an integrally formed handle; said container blow moulded from a previously injection moulded preform; said preform comprising a body portion and said integrally formed handle; said machine including a preform loading station at which said preform is oriented by a preform orienting apparatus.

A plastic molding system comprises: dispensing, pre-shaping and shaping cells and a transport subsystem. The dispensing cell has a station for dispensing a dose of plastic feedstock. The pre-shaping and shaping cells each comprise a plurality of stations for shaping the workpiece into a preform shape and into a final shape, respectively. The transport subsystem advances a workpiece along a selected one of a plurality of process paths to form a molded article. Each of the plurality of process paths is defined by a combination of stations of the dispensing cell, the pre-shaping cell and the shaping cell.

A machine and method for forming containers from preforms. The machine includes a mold loading station for loading successive preforms into successive molds, each mold forming a mold cavity having the shape of the container to be produced. The machine also including a forming station for forming the containers by injecting a gaseous or liquid fluid into the preform contained in each mold in order to expand the preform such that each preform acquires the shape of the container defined by the mold cavity. In the machine, the mold loading station and the forming station are distinct from each other, and the machine further includes a transferring station arranged between the mold loading station and the forming station for transferring the successive molds containing the preforms from the mold loading station to the forming station.

A system for forming injection molded articles includes a turret, a first mold unit, and a second mold unit. In an embodiment, the turret includes a plurality of core plates and each core plate includes a plurality of core pins. The first mold unit may be configured to form an inner injection molded layer, and the second mold unit may be configured to form an outer injection molded layer over the inner injection molded layer. In an embodiment, the first mold unit and the second mold unit are configured to mold at the same time, and to provide opposing clamping forces. Processes involving over-molded articles are also disclosed.

To facilitate removal of foreign matters from a preform. The preform in an inverted position with a mouth portion thereof facing down is being continuously transferred, filtered air is blasted into the preform through the mouth portion of the preform, and at the same time, air is sucked from the side of the mouth portion of the preform. Foreign matters can be more easily discharged from the preform because of the flow of air and the weight of the foreign matters.

A plastic container is provided that includes a hollow body portion including a lower supporting base portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion; and a neck portion extending upwardly from the sidewall portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, at least one thread, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In embodiments, a closure may be provided to form an assembly. In embodiments, the container may be comprised of PET, the weight of the neck portion from the lower surface of the support flange to a top of the dispensing opening may be 3.0 grams or less, and/or the vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange may be 0.580 inches or less. A preform and method for making a container are also disclosed.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a container made of plastic, including the following steps: continuously extruding a hose, positioning an opened blow mold around the hose, so that the hose is arranged between the two blow mold halves, closing a hose gripper arranged at the blow mold to clamp the hose and simultaneously keeping the hose open at its upper side to form an inlet opening, separating the hose above the hose gripper to form the preform, horizontally moving the blow mold together with the preform hanging therein and held by the hose gripper into a blowing position, moving a blow mandrel assembly from above into the inlet opening of the preform, closing the blow mold halves, and inflating the preform in the blow mold to form a container.

A plastic container has a main body portion, a neck portion and a molded feature such as an anti-rotation lug adjacent to the neck portion. The molded feature has a volume that is less than a volume that would be defined by the maximum external dimensions of the feature. This reduces the shrinkage differential between the molded feature and the neck portion, which could otherwise cause sealing problems with a closure as a result of deformation of the neck portion. A method of blow molding a plastic container with a reduced volume of the molded feature is also disclosed.

To simply sterilize a blow-molding machine. A mist or gas of hydrogen peroxide or a mixture thereof is introduced through a valve block disposed adjacent to a molding die, thereby sterilizing at least the molding die and an extension rod that extends into the molding die through the valve block.

The present invention discloses a system and a method for manufacturing fittings and connections for biaxially-oriented plastic tubes in an integral way from straight preformed tubes, with the possibility of adjusting and distributing the thicknesses as well as adjusting the specific stretching in the different areas of the fittings, allowing them to be reinforced or optimized during the method itself and without causing an increase in the production time or an increase in the raw material used, such that it allows for the manufacture of fittings of different geometric shapes (curves, tapers, couplers, branches, etc.)