Disclosed is a method for parametrizing a facility for producing containers including: a mold having a movable mold bottom, a movable drawing rod and an electric machine coupled with the rod; from a configuration in which the rod is in a raised position and in the bottom in an extended position, operating the electric machine as a motor; assessing the resultant of the axial forces on the rod; when a variation is detected in the resultant of the forces, assigning an initial position to the rod; controlling the movement of the mold bottom towards the retracted position thereof; assigning to the rod the corresponding so-called final position of the rod; and calculating the difference between the final position and the initial position.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing containers from thermoplastic materials by blow moulding or extrusion blow moulding a preform that has been pre-heated in a furnace then placed in a mould consisting of two half-moulds that define a moulding cavity, said preform being blown into the mould, optionally with a pre-blowing step. Said steps of heating the preforms, pre-blowing and blowing are controlled by a control unit on the basis of various control parameters such as the temperature in the furnace, the blowing pressure in the mould and/or the pre-blowing pressure and/or the pre-blowing flow rate and/or the speed of the stretching rod, for example. Said method is characterised in that it comprises at least the following steps: i) measuring the wall thickness of said containers at at least two different heights upon exiting the mould; ii) comparing the thickness measurements with setpoint values determined for each height of the containers; iii) if the difference between the thickness measurements and the determined setpoint values is greater than a determined threshold, modifying at least one of the control parameters, said modified control parameter(s) being selected at least by calculating the theoretical effects of the variation for each parameter on the thicknesses, then selecting the parameter or parameters that cause the smallest difference between the measured thickness values and the theoretical thickness values; iv) steps i) to iii) are repeated until the differences between the thickness measurements and the determined setpoint values are below said determined threshold.

A method for forming containers from preforms. The method includes loading successive preforms into successive molds at a mold loading station, each mold having a mold cavity in the shape of the containers to be produced. The containers being formed in a forming station by injecting a gaseous or liquid fluid into the preform in order to expand the preform and acquires the shape of the container defined by the mold cavity. The steps performed at the mold loading station and the forming station are distinct from each other, and a transferring step occurs at a transferring station arranged between the mold loading station and the forming station where successive molds containing the preforms are transferred from the mold loading station to the forming station.

A method for printing on a hollow body which is brought by stretching into a final form during production from a perform includes, before the preform is stretched, printing on preform with at least one ink. The print is applied in a distorted manner such that presentation of a pattern which is required on the hollow body after the stretching of the preform appears upon the preform being stretched.

An inspection and ejector unit for preforms for plastic containers in a transportation line, has at least one driver device which picks up preforms travelling from an inward conveyor device to the inspection and ejector unit, transports them further and passes on at least some of the preforms to an outward conveyor device, at least one detection device by which faulty preforms in the driver device are detected, and at least one ejection device by which preforms which are detected as faulty are removed from the driver device, and a corresponding method.

The device used to hold workpieces is designed in a manner of tongs and is provided with two tong arms (45, 46). The tong arms are held by a tong base (47) and can be arranged at least in an open position and in a closed position. The tong base is held by a base element (48). The tong base is arranged on a transfer wheel, an opening movement of the tong arms being carried out by means of a movement component transverse to a radial direction of the transfer wheel. The first tong arm (45) extends on both sides of a central line of the tong base at least in some regions, said central line being oriented in a radial direction of the transfer wheel. A workpiece holding recess, which is spanned by the tong arms at least in some regions, is delimited by the second tong arm (46) only in a holding recess (68) region arranged on the outside in a radial direction of the transfer wheel relative to a holding recess transverse central line that runs transverse to the central line of the tong base.

An inspection and ejector unit for preforms for plastic containers in a transportation line, has at least one driver device which picks up preforms travelling from an inward conveyor device to the inspection and ejector unit, transports them further and passes on at least some of the preforms to an outward conveyor device, at least one detection device by which faulty preforms in the driver device are detected, and at least one ejection device by which preforms which are detected as faulty are removed from the driver device, and a corresponding method.

Apparatus and method for producing plastic bottles. An apparatus for producing plastic bottles includes a molding machine to manufacture preforms for plastic bottles. The apparatus also includes a blow molding machine to receive the preforms from the molding machine and to stretch blow mold the preforms into bottles. The apparatus also includes a labeling machine to receive the bottles from the blow molding machine and to label the bottles. The molding machine is bloc-synchronized with the blow molding machine to space the molding machine a first distance from the blow molding machine. The blow molding machine being bloc-synchronized with the labeling machine to space the blow molding machine a second distance from the labeling machine.

A device for steadying parisons for plastics containers, in particular PET bottle parisons, in the entry region of an entraining device of an inspection unit having an overlaid part that has at least a first functional portion and a second functional portion. The second functional portion is arranged downstream of the first functional portion. The first functional portion damps, in particular, vertical disruptive movements of a parison that has been taken up by the entraining device such that the second functional portion comes into a substantially form-fitting guiding engagement with the parison, this guiding engagement bringing about complete steadying of the parison.

An apparatus for shaping plastic preforms into plastic containers is disclosed. Said apparatus comprises a conveying device on which a plurality of blowing stations are arranged. Each of said blowing stations encompasses a blow mold, within which a plastic preform can be shaped into a plastic container. The apparatus further comprises a clean chamber, within which the plastic preforms can be conveyed. According to the invention, the zone of the conveying device in which the blowing stations are arranged is located in the clean chamber, and at least one additional zone of the conveying device is located outside the clean chamber.