Extrusion International 6-2023

25 Extrusion International 6/2023 Energy Efficiency in Thermoforming With industrial energy prices high and volatile, en- vironmental regulations are becoming more rigorous. Optimizing the energy efficiency of ILLIG’s thermo - forming solutions is therefore an important part of the company’s product strategy. ILLIG firmly believes it is possible to achieve energy savings of up to 30 per cent per machine. “Illig has always recognized the importance of tech- nology and sustainability,” says Jürgen Lochner, CSO/ CTO at ILLIG. “We’re convinced that energy-efficient thermoforming machines not only promote the busi- ness success of our customers but also reduce the envi- ronmental impact from manufacturing. Our efforts to improve energy efficiency reflect our commitment to providing innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers and the demands of the times.” The cost of industrial electricity has halved compared to 2022. Nevertheless, the price level is more than 60 per cent above the average for the 10-year period from 2012 to 2021. This was shown by an analysis of electric- ity prices issued by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) in July 2023. The high cost of energy is a major challenge for com- panies, including those in the plastics packaging sector. Energy-efficient thermoforming machines are be - coming a cornerstone of ILLIG’s strategy to help customers manage the financial burden. Thermoforming systems require a lot of en- ergy. In sheet processing thermoforming ma- chines, the heating system accounts for the largest share of the energy requirement, typically more than 70 per cent. The remaining 30 per cent is found in the use of electric motors, compressed air generation, and temperature control and cooling units. In the automatic roll- fed thermoforming presses, it is the generation of compressed air and the heating of the semi-finished product that require the most ener- gy. In the case of inline applications, these factors can account for up to 60 per cent of the total energy require- ment of a thermoformer. “The bottom line is that the use of our current thermoforming systems with ILLIG tools can achieve energy savings of up to 30 per cent compared to earlier models,” says Jürgen Lochner. The new generations of ILLIG machines already con- sume up to 15 per cent less energy than previous mod- els. By using an appropriate ILLIG thermoforming tool, it is possible to increase energy savings by a further 15 per cent – and in inline applications this figure can even be significantly higher. With the consumption measurement function avail- able from 2024, the power and energy requirements of the ILLIG systems can be determined and displayed on the control panel (HMI). This means that machine op- erators can determine the actual consumption figures and evaluate the effectiveness of optimizations applied to the production process. In addition to power consumption, users will also re- ceive measurements for energy consumption (kWh) per 1,000 parts and energy consumption per kilogram of moulded part weight in future. The latter figure can be used to make comparisons with the injection moulding process. Thanks to material and weight optimization, thermoforming also reduces the energy requirement per moulded part compared to injection moulding. ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG www.illig.com Mondi’s mono-material solution provides high bar- riers against oxygen and water vapours, keeping the product fresh on the supermarket shelf. It offers high puncture resistance protecting the cheese, and great printability so that the brand and recycling messages can be communicated well on-pack. This innovative packaging is being launched in the same time period as Site Zero, the world's largest sort- ing facility for used plastic packaging, will open its doors in Sweden. This state-the-of-art facility will pro- cess used plastic waste from both Sweden and Finland. Thanks to the packaging’s mono-material design, the facility will be able to effectively sort this solution for recycling, contributing to a circular economy. The mono-material cheese packaging on ICA’s shelves won this year’s PackNorth Award in the ‘Food’ category and was also recognised at the Empack fair in October in Stockholm, Sweden. Mondi www.mondigroup.com Roll-fed thermoforming system RDM 73K