World’s largest coextrusion blowmolding machine built

German machine manufacturer, Rikutec Company, says it has built the world’s largest coextrusion blow molding machine for Fralo-Plastech, a company in Syracuse, NY. The machine incorporates a coextrusion accumulator head that holds a volume of 400 litres. The machine is capable of producing containers and tanks with volumes up to 10,000 litres (approximately 2,500 gal.).
The coextrusion head is designed to produce wall structures consisting of between one and four layers, permitting the use of inexpensive recycled materials to make hollow-bodied containers with various performance properties. The four 140 mm extruders are designed for the processing of high molecular weight polyethylene and have a combined output of more than 2000 kg/h. Six containers per hour can be produced with a maximum shot volume of approximately 350 kg. The four-layer coextrusion accumulator head allows the use of extruder dies with diameters of up to 1200 mm.
The machine, which has a footprint of approximately 17.5 m by 15.6 m, took 16 months to design, build and install.