Injection Blow Moulding PVC Containers

by Ralph Abramo, Sr.

INTRODUCTION
Injection Blow moulding of rigid PVC can best be accomplished from properly designed tools on properly
designed machines, capable of processing this heat sensitive resin.

Rigid PVC compounds for injection blow moulding have been specifically formulated for this process and
stabilized to provide excellent heat stability and low viscosity, qualities needed for injection blow moulding.

Injection blow moulding PVC containers are currently being used by the cosmetic, personal care and hotel
amenities markets. Among the many properties PVC has to offer, these markets are enjoying the following:

-- Glass-like clarity -- High surface gloss

-- High chemical resistance -- low moisture absorption
-- Ease of decoration

INJECTION BLOW MOULDING PROCESS

The term injection blow moulding means exactly what it implies, a compatible integration of injection
moulding and blow moulding accomplished on a horizontal plane. (see Figure 1)
During the injection moulding phase, the melt is injected into a predetermined split parison cavity profile and
onto a predetermined core rod profile. Once the melt is conditioned, it then is transferred into a split blow
mould cavity profile. Compressed air enters through the core rod, blowing the conditioned parison melt
against the predetermined blow mould cavity profile. When cooled in the blow mould cavity, the finished
container is then transferred to the pick off station for removal from the core rod.

There are two types of injection blow machines, three (3) station machines (see figure 1), and four (4)
station machines (see figure 2). Each machine has a parison station, blow mould station and pick-off
station. The four station machine has an extra conditioning station.

PRODUCT DESIGN
Bottle designs most popular in PVC being injection blow moulded are: (see figure 3)
-- Cylinder Rounds
-- Modified cylinder rounds
-- Ovals

The most popular size range of these designs have been 1/2 ounce to 4 ounce capacities. (12-125mls)
PVC is a tough, hard material and at its blowability temperature range from
121E- 137EC (250E-280EF) for injection blow moulding, PVC can be somewhat difficult to blow into sharp
areas. The product designer should keep in mind to incorporate into the bottle product softer radii, less
engraving or wider width of the engraved characters and minimum undercut depths. (see figure 4)

TOOL DESIGN
Number of Cavities - The size of the injection blow machine, clamp tonnage, trigger bar length, and
plasticizing capacity determines the number of cavities that can be processed on a particular machine.
However, in designing tooling for PVC, an even number of cavities should always be used. This allows a
smoother flow, improving manifold and nozzle balance of the low viscosity compound and reduces the
potential for degradation.

Material shrinkage - When designing injection blow tooling for PVC, .127 mm/mm ( .005 in./in.) and length
specifications shown on the product drawing. This shrinkage allowance will produce a finished bottle within
the product drawing tolerance specifications.

Parison/Core Rod Shapes - Due to the heat sensitivity of PVC, low melt temperature 165E- 177EC (330E -
350EF.) is required for the injection blow process. Once this melt enters the parison cavity around the core
rod, outer and inner skins form fairly rapidly, reducing the melt temperature to its blowability range of 121E-
137EC (250E-280EF). This condition requires the annular area (wall thickness) between the parison cavity
diameter and core rod diameter to be not less than 2.3mm/side (.090 in.) for good blowability/processability.

PVC by Ralph Abramo

Core Rod Design - The most successful type of core rod design used to process PVC is the top blow style.
This core rod design can be either temperature-controlled or non-temperature controlled. (see figure 5)

The neck finish diameter of the bottle to be injection blow moulded determines the feasibility of using
temperature controlled core rods. Due to the internal tubing and "o" rings required for temperature control,
internal space becomes a premium.
Temperature controlled core rods require oil as the medium to regulate the desired temperature profile.
These core rods will run a uniform temperature profile across the moulding area and will run hotter 160E-
188EC (320E- 370EF.) than non-temperature-controlled core rods. This increases the set-up time of the
inner skin of the melt during injection and improves blowability.

Temperature- controlled core rods should be considered when designing tooling for:
-- Lighter weight bottles
-- Improved bottle definition, i.e., sharp areas, engraving, undercuts
-- Ease of bottle blowing start-up (large cavitation)

The negative side of using temperature-controlled core rods includes:

-- Significantly higher tool cost
-- Safety hazard (use of high temperature oil)
-- Maintenance of core rods, i.e., "o" rings, plugged tubing

Non-temperature controlled top opening core rods are most widely used for PVC. The non-temperature-
controlled core rod does not have the uniform temperature profile across the moulding surface as with the
temperature-controlled core rod. Its temperature profile is the result of being in contact with the melt
during the injection stage. The temperature profile of this core rod ranges from 65E to 135EC (150E to
275EF) along the moulding profile.

By design, this core rod retains its heat during the blow cycle from the steel mass of the core rod head.
This heat retention helps to lengthen the set-up time of the inner skin improving processability.

The non-temperature controlled core rods should be considered when designing tooling for:
-- Narrow neck finish bottles (mascara type)
-- Competitive tool cost
-- Low Maintenance
-- Low safety hazard

Undercuts - Bottom plug push-up depths and neck finish inside diameter details (formed by the core rod)
must be taken into consideration when designing tooling for injection blow moulding PVC.
Once PVC has been blown to the final shape of the blow mould cavity, the finished bottles are tough and
hard. This makes it difficult to overcome too generous of an undercut, especially in the bottom push-up and
neck finish areas. (see figure 6)

Bottom plug push-up heights at and below the recommended .8mm (.032 in.) height will allow the finished
bottle to strip over stationary bottom plugs without difficulty of deformation.
Bottles with push-up heights above the recommended .8mm (.032 in.) cannot be stripped easily or without
deformation. This condition requires a retractable bottom plug mechanism. This mechanism retracts the
moveable bottom plug as the blow mould is opening, thereby eliminating the undercut.
During the transfer stage of the injection blow process, the formed parison has a tendency to skid down
the core rod. Undercuts on the core rod are required to eliminate this condition and to form the desired
inside diameter of the finished bottle.(fig 6a)
When designing core rods, consideration must be taken into account, primarily in the neck finish area, not
to exceed the recommended .1mm/side (.004 in.) undercut. Above the recommended undercut, distortion
of the neck finish may occur during the pick off stage causing out-of spec dimensions in this area and
undue pressure on the pick-off mechanism.

Manifold/Nozzle - In designing a manifold system for PVC, two areas must be taken into consideration. First
is to eliminate any possible flow restrictions to reduce degradation potential. Second is to balance the flow
system to obtain even pressure drop and reduce shear. (see figure 7)
A two piece manifold allows easier machining to incorporate smooth channelling of the melt and sizing of
the runner diameters to provide uniform balance.

PVC by Ralph Abramo page 2

FIGURE 3 - TYPICAL PVC BOTTLES

FIGURE 4 - PVC BOTTLE DESIGN FEATURES

FIGURE 6 - BOTTOM PUSH-UP
The nozzle design should incorporate a smooth flow pattern as in the manifold. Nozzle orifice diameters will
range from as low as 2.0mm (.078 in.) to a high of 3.2mm (.125 in.) based on the balance required to evenly
fill multiple cavities

TOOLING
Degradation of PVC will cause corrosive vapours.
Therefore, to protect the injection blow tooling from rapid surface rust accumulation, all tooling components
should be fabricated from stainless steel. Both pre-hardened and hardened types of stainless steel are used
depending on the particular function of the tool component.

Machine/tooling interchange parts (i.e., die-sets, face blocks) not practical to fabricate from stainless steel
should be completely nickel plated for protection.

Prior to storage, each tool component should be thoroughly cleaned with a mould cleaner and then sprayed
with a rust inhibitor. This maintenance program will dramatically inhibit rust accumulation during storage.

MACHINE
The injection blow machine processing PVC and surrounding machines and peripheral equipment should be
protected from corrosive vapour potential.
The simplest method of protection is to install an adequate exhaust system directly over the extruder at
the exit position of the extrudate. An overhead hood or shroud attached to an exhaust fan will pull the
vapours up and vent them to the outside. This will allow purging of the PVC at start-up and shut down, and
in the event of a temperature override causing degradation, the vapours can be removed through the
exhaust system.
For longevity, extruder barrels and screws should be made from a corrosive-resistant steel, high polished
and ground after nitriding. The surface hardened barrel and screw improve resistance to abrasive additive
and colorants.

PROCESSING PVC
The injection blow process utilizes two types of extruders to convey the melt, the horizontal reciprocating
screw and the vertical non-reciprocating screw. With both versions of extruders melt residence time
becomes an important factor. Reducing this time will reduce degradation potential. When using either the
horizontal or vertical extruder, a depth compression ratio of approximately 1.8 or 2.1 to 1 is desired. With
the horizontal reciprocating screw a smear tip with a mating extruder end cap and no check ring are used
to eliminate flow restrictions.

Process temperatures - Figure 8 represents a typical extruder and manifold temperature profile for
processing PVC by the injection blow process. It may vary slightly depending on the particular PVC
compound being processed, the total wattage of cartridge heaters in the manifold or the use of oil instead
of cartridge heaters in the manifold.
Low wattage cartridge heaters (contact or radiant type) 260E to 399EC (500E - 750EF per heater) are
recommended in the manifold in order to produce a soft thermal conditioning of the melt. The term soft
thermal conditioning means a gradual increase or decrease of temperatures upon the polyvinylchloride. Rapid
increase and decrease of temperatures encourages degradation potential of the PVC. The cartridge heaters
should be at least the same in overall length as the manifold. Two heaters should not be used to make up
the overall length. This will create dead spots along the length of the manifold and cause non uniformity
in temperature profile. Oil 177E -204EC (350E - 400EF.) can also be used as a source of soft thermal
conditioning of the melt.

Control of process temperatures - The use of air control to stabilize the extruder temperatures is highly
recommended. (see figure 8a) The horizontal reciprocating screw extruder incorporates a vented shroud
encompassing the entire extruder with blowers mounted on the top of the feed, transition/compressing and
metering zones.
The vertical non-reciprocating screw extruder incorporates three separate shrouds with a blower
encompassing each of the feed, transition/compression and metering zones. The vertical extruder
independently controls each zone by interfacing each air shroud with each zone's thermocouple, thereby
automatically air controlling only the zone or zones that have a potential for overriding due to frictional
heat.

PVC by Ralph Abramo

FIGURE 8 - EXTRUDER TYPES
System Cleaning - During processing, it is important to keep a consistent operation. If machine or mould
maintenance is necessary in the middle of a production run, the extruder should not be left off with the
heat zones still on for longer than five minutes.

The following is a recommended procedure for a machine shut down.

- If machine shut down is longer than 5 minutes degradation will begin to occur.
- Back extruder away from manifold.
- Begin intermittent purging at one minute intervals until start-up.
- If start-up goes beyond 15-20 minutes, purge entire system with high density polyethylene or purging
compound.

General system cleaning that should be considered includes:

Weekly

Split manifold runner system - remove runner, clean and polish both halves of runner system,
careful not to roll any edges.

Machine Hopper - empty hopper and remove resin fines. Heavy accumulation of resin fines will create
a brown gel like spec appearance in the finished bottles.

Vertical Extruder - remove split nozzle and stationary adaptor, clean and polish.

Horizontal Extruder - remove machine nozzle, clean and polish.

Monthly or as needed
Remove screw, clean and polish barrel I.D. and screw flights.

Cycle Time - The quicker the PVC is moved through the extruder (short residence time). The better is
the quality of the melt and degradation potential is reduced dramatically. Injection blow moulding cycle
times for PVC range from 8 to 12 seconds on most multiple cavity tooling.

Injection Pressure
PVC requires between 351.5 to 492 Kg/cm 2 (5000 to 7000 psi) injection pressure to fill the multiple parison
cavities. This range is dependent upon type of extruder, (horizontal or vertical), melt temperature and
nozzle orifice size.

CONCLUSION
Much credit should go to the PVC compound suppliers supporting the injection blow moulders for their
efforts in tailoring their polyvinylchloride compounds for compatibility with the Injection Blow moulding
process.

With their specially formulated compounds, coupled with proper tool design, tooling, machine and
maintenance programs, the injection blow moulding industry will continue to enjoy the luxury of supplying
their customers with high quality glass-like containers.

The PVC compounds most widely used by injection blow moulders are Georgia Gulf's 9175 clear 38 and
Keysor's KC 1300-002 clear.

R.J.Abramo Associates, Inc. 140 Lowland Street Holliston, MA 01746, U.S.A.

Reprinted from IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE by Jomar Europe Ltd.,

P.O. Box 16 Waterlooville Hampshire UK

PVC by Ralph Abramo page 4