An apparatus is provided for heating plastics material pre-forms, with a movable carrier on which a plurality of heating devices is arranged; wherein the heating devices are controllable independently of one another and have in each case a heating element as well as at least one regulating element for regulating the heating output; and wherein the heating devices have in each case one heating area inside which the plastics material pre-forms are capable of being heated, as well as a movement device which introduces the plastics material pre-forms into this heating area. Each heating device has associated with it in each case one control device for controlling a heating procedure.

A molding machine configured to simultaneously produce differently shaped articles in a blow molding operation in which similar or identical preforms are used for making each of the differently shaped articles.

A medical stent mold includes a tube having an interior passage sized and dimensioned to receive a stent assembly disposed at least partially about a central portion of a stent balloon. The medical stent mold may also include a housing forming a chamber through which the tube extends. The tube may include a thermally conductive material and may have a body portion that extends within the chamber and an end portion that is proximate the body portion and that extends away from the housing. Forced convection may be used to quickly heat and cool the tube. Methods of increasing retention of an expandable stent assembly on a stent balloon and of detecting a leak in a stent balloon are also included.

A container manufacturing device is provided. In detail, the container manufacturing device for performing manufacture of a container pre-form and container molding in a single station via one stop. The container manufacturing device includes a pre-form molding module configured to form a shape of a pre-form of a container using a resin material, an injection module connected to the pre-form molding module and configured to supply the resin material to the pre-form molding module, a container molding module configured to inject air to a pre-form completed by the pre-form molding module to expand the pre-form and to form the shape of the container, and including a container mold, and a rotary table with a rib plate suspended thereon while rotating between the pre-form molding module and the container molding module, the pre-form or the container being mounted on the rib plate.

Method for initial adjustment of a facility for producing a series of containers from a container model based on a series of preforms from a preform model. The facility includes a forming machine with a forming station where a preform is formed into a container. The initial adjustment method includes: determining a preform parameter relative to the preform model and a container parameter relative to the container model to be produced based on the preform model; determining at least one adjustment parameter of the forming machine, making it possible to produce a container in conformance with the container model based on a preform in conformance with the preform model; and adjusting the forming machine according to the preform, container and adjustment parameters. The step for determining at least one adjustment parameter of the forming machine is done by calculation based on pre-recorded formulas, utilizing the preform and container parameters.

A method for parameterization of a station of a production facility for heating a series of containers based on heated preforms including: determining a preform parameter; determining a parameter that is representative of the heating station; determining a heating adjustment parameter making it possible for the heating station to heat the preforms at the reference temperature based on the machine parameter; and adjusting the heating station according to the preform and heat adjustment parameters.

The invention relates to a control circuit (1) for an apparatus comprising a heating device for preforms, a blow molding machine for producing containers from preheated preforms, a first measuring device (15) for determining an actual temperature of the heated preforms and a second measuring device (9) for determining an actual light transmission of the containers, wherein the control circuit for controlling the light transmission of containers comprises: A higher-level control circuit having a first comparator (4) for determining a first control difference (5) from a target light transmission (2) and an actual light transmission (3) and having a first controller (6) which, based on the first control difference as a first input variable for a system (16), outputs a first adaptation (7) of a process parameter of a station of the blow molding machine as a first output variable and controls the process parameter of the station of the blow molding machine in accordance with the first adaptation. The first controller also outputs a target temperature (8) of the heated preform as a second output variable, based on the first control difference as an input variable. A subordinate control circuit having a second comparator (11) for determining a second control difference (12) from the target temperature and the actual temperature and having a second controller (13) which, based on the second control difference as a second input variable for a system (16), outputs a second adaptation (14) of a heating behavior of the heating device as a third output variable and controls the heating behavior of the furnace in accordance with the second adaptation (14).

A medical stent mold includes a tube having an interior passage sized and dimensioned to receive a stent assembly disposed at least partially about a central portion of a stent balloon. The medical stent mold may also include a housing forming a chamber through which the tube extends. The tube may include a thermally conductive material and may have a body portion that extends within the chamber and an end portion that is proximate the body portion and that extends away from the housing. Forced convection may be used to quickly heat and cool the tube. Methods of increasing retention of an expandable stent assembly on a stent balloon and of detecting a leak in a stent balloon are also included.

Method of manufacturing a container (2) by stretch-blow molding in a mold (8) from a blank (3) of plastic material, which comprises the operations consisting of: measuring the pressure prevailing inside the blank (3) during a pre-blowing phase; detecting an instant corresponding to a local minimum pressure in the blank (3); placing in memory the instant at which said minimum pressure occurs as well as the corresponding pressure prevailing in the blank (3); comparing the instant and the pressure of the detected minimum with, respectively, a predetermined instant and pressure of a theoretical minimum pressure; if the measured minimum and the theoretical minimum do not coincide, ordering a modification of at least one of the following parameters: pre-blowing pressure, pre-blowing flow rate, stretching speed, heating temperature.

A control system (34) for a unit (9) for forming containers (2) from blanks (3) provided with a series of forming stations (10) each provided with a mold (11), the system (34) including a master control unit (36) and a series of slave controllers (37) each associated with at least one forming station (10), each controller (37) being programmed to: control the or each associated forming station (10) according to a forming command (CF) loaded in the controller (37); take into account a pressure measurement in the mold (11), from this measurement, establish a blowing curve describing the change in the fluid pressure in the mold (11), analyze the blowing curve and extract therefrom the coordinates of at least one singular point (S); communicate the singular point (S) to the control unit (36).