PET Blow Moulding — Frequently Asked Questions

1. Questions de sélection

The questions buyers ask before a specification exists. The full selection logic is in the PET blow moulding selection guide.

What output should I size a blower for?

On the volume you can sell within roughly two years, not the market you hope to hold in ten. A regional start-up is usually served by 4,000–12,000 BPH. Idle cavity capacity still carries installed power, footprint and a larger spare part inventory. Plan the building for a second line rather than over-sizing the first.

Can one machine run water, CSD and juice bottles?

Across the same blower only if the bottle shapes are compatible. The blower makes the bottle; the filler downstream decides the product. A blower specified for a standard 0.2–2 L round bottle runs any of those products once filled, but a non-round or large bottle is a different mould and often a different machine family.

Do I need a combiblock for blowing?

Only above its economic speed. A blow-fill-cap block blows PET from a preform and only applies to PET, integrating blowing and filling. Below roughly 12,000 BPH, or where you sell empty bottles, a separate blower plus filler is the better purchase. See le guide de sélection for the crossover.

De quelles informations un fournisseur a-t-il besoin pour établir un devis ?

• Target output at a named bottle size
• Every bottle format you intend to run, including later ones
• Bottle and preform drawings, or samples
• Neck finish and base design
• Whether the blower feeds a filler, a combiblock or sells empty bottles
• Site conditions: power, high-pressure air, building dimensions and door openings

2. Questions techniques

Which blower type is right for my volume?

Linear for flexible, lower volume; rotary for high steady output. The crossover is roughly 12,000–18,000 BPH on standard 0.2–2 L formats. A multi-SKU plant may prefer linear for changeover even at higher volume, because rotary changeovers are more involved.

Why does bottle size change the rate?

Two reasons. The mould needs longer to cool a larger bottle before ejection, and the blowing cycle takes longer for more air volume. Neither is a machine limitation another supplier removes; they are properties of the process. A line rated at a small format will not hold that rate on a large one.

What does the preform oven do?

It heats the preform to the temperature where PET stretches and orients correctly. Oven lamp count and control set heating uniformity, which sets wall thickness and bottle strength. Preform design and oven settings are specified together, not independently.

What causes bottle defects?

3. Questions relatives à l'installation et à la mise en service

What does the building need?

• Level floor with load capacity and any foundation work done
• Power at correct voltage and frequency, stable to the machine
• High-pressure air generation and drying sized for blowing
• Treated air at the machine tie-in, not just at the compressor
• Drainage, ventilation et éclairage dans la zone de production
• Access route for machine sections, including door widths and lift capacity

Combien de temps dure la mise en service ?

In phases: mechanical installation, utility connection, dry run, bottle run and speed ramp, then training. Blow moulding has no foaming or hot-fill temperature step, so it commissions relatively cleanly — delays are usually site readiness, not the machine.

What is checked at the factory acceptance test?

Mechanical operation, controls, safety interlocks, output at rated speed and bottle quality on your own preforms and moulds. Send real preforms and the actual mould in production quantity; testing on generic items then finding yours differ defeats the purpose. Agree the acceptance criteria in writing first.

4. Questions relatives à la certification et à la conformité

Quelle certification possède Sunswell ?

ISO 9001 and CE certification, with SGS audit. Equipment is built in a 20,000 m² facility and 444+ lines have been delivered to 71+ countries. These are company and equipment credentials; market-entry approval for your destination is a separate process with your importer.

Qui est responsable de la certification des marchés de destination ?

Handled with your importer, because the scheme depends on the destination and on who is the responsible importer. Sunswell supplies the technical documentation, drawings and declarations. Start it early — certification runs in parallel with manufacturing.

Quels documents relatifs au contact alimentaire sont disponibles ?

Material specifications for product-contact parts, including stainless steel grades and elastomer types, supplied with the machine documentation. For the bottle itself, the PET grade and any barrier layer are specified with your preform supplier; state the destination market at quotation if a specific standard applies.

5. Questions commerciales

How much does a blow moulding line cost?

Price scales with output, cavity count, type (linear or rotary) and whether it is a standalone or a combiblock, then with oven control, neck cooling and downstream scope. Figures without a defined scope mislead. Send bottle drawings, format mix and target output and request a written quotation against a stated scope. Tiers are compared in PET blow moulding configurations compared.

Qu'est-ce qui manque généralement dans un devis bon marché ?

Oven control, neck cooling, moulds for your formats, format parts for additional sizes, installation, commissioning, training and a commissioning spare part set. Build one scope list, send it to every supplier and require line-by-line answers including exclusions.

Quels sont les principaux coûts de fonctionnement ?

High-pressure air for blowing is the largest single utility item, then oven power, labour, consumables such as preforms and caps, and spare and wear parts including moulds and oven lamps. Preform cost is the dominant material cost and the main lever on bottle economics.

Quel support après-vente est disponible ?

Sunswell runs local service in 9+ countries and supports installations across 71+ export markets with remote diagnostics, spare parts and engineer visits. Agree response expectations and the spare part list in the contract rather than after the first breakdown.

6. Ressources associées

Longer treatments of the subjects above:

• PET blow moulding selection guide — output, format and architecture
• PET blow moulding configurations compared — economy, mainstream and high-speed tiers with TCO
• Bloc combiné vs ligne séparée — the architecture decision
• machines de moulage par soufflage — the full range
• sélection de capacité du bloc combiné — capacity bands across products

The block family is in the combiblock range, and complete lines are scoped in the water production line solution.

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