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Modular mold shell design. Image courtesy of Wentworth Mold.

In the beverage industry, bottle producers have been focusing on hotfill and heatset bottle applications such as juices, sports drinks, sauces, etc. In response to this strong market demand, Wentworth Mold Group (Hamilton, ON)—an independent blow mold manufacturer for the packaging industry—developed patented technologies for tooling to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve blow performance for hotfill/heatset applications.

Patents have been issued for the company’s mold assembly with modular mold shells. According to the company, this innovative design provides a mold assembly for use in hotfill mold and other applications that enables the use of interchangeable parts that permit height, volume and shape adjustments to accommodate for varying sizes of containers without having to tool complete new mold shells.

In comparison with conventional molds manufactured for hotfill applications, the mold assembly with modular mold shells has numerous benefits for the bottle producer:

• Lower tooling costs. Interchange-able modular mold shell sections run with common components. For the bottle producer, this means that those requiring the same container for both a branded and generic product can swap out the dome section only—eliminating the need for complete new mold shells.
• Variations in bottle height, volume and shape are easily adjusted. Mold re-work is not required.
• Faster mold changeover time of up to three times faster as compared to using conventional hotfill molds.
• An up to 50 percent weight reduction from a conventional stainless steel heatset mold and easier handling.
• Design includes patented reduced heat transfer technology. A self-contained heating medium allows for better processing of bottles. In addition, substantial heat loss reduction results in lower energy consumption and a significant reduction in the time required to reach mold start-up temperatures.

“Customers appreciate the benefits gained from using mold assembly with modular mold shells,” says Mark Lukowski, group GM of Wentworth Mold. "They realize lower operating costs and increased efficiency by using this innovation.”