1 Quick release change connector for water /air
2 Quick change system (mechanical)
3 Pco 1810_m, low weight neck (3.9 gm)
4 Low neck weight (2.25 gm) for 26.7 Alaska and 29_25 neck size
5 1 gm cap for above neck
( Design Registration no. 228889 )
6 Non drip pourer cum dispenser cap
3. Pco 1810_m, low weight neck (3.9 gm) Copyright Applied for
PCO 1810 Neck
Basic facts about ISBT approved PCO 1810 neck for PET Bottles –
Height 21 mm
Weight 5.1 gm
Support ring Diameter 33 mm
Thread pitch 3.175 mm
Diameter of the TE band ring 28 mm
Modified Neck
Neck height 21 mm
Weighing 3.9 gm
Thread pitch 3.175 mm
Diameter of TE band ring 28 mm
Advantages of new Neck
Uses existing closure, The new neck has all major dimensions same as PCO 1810 neck so the existing closure is used.
Does not require any change on the Blowing station, Filling & Capping station, as well on the downstream equipment.
Does not require new Pre-form mould, Since the neck height is same at 21 mm, the existing pre-form moulds are used with new set of neck rings as a change parts.
Lowest Investment required, this option for weight reduction on the perform neck requires minimal investment, as other options requires change of Pre-form mould, Closure mould, Blowing adaptors, Filling & capping equipment. The investment for such changes is many folds compared to investment required for the option discussed here above.
Attractive payback period, Since the investment required is at minimal, the payback period is very attractive (about 8 weeks)
Savings of Rs. 0.126 per pre-form at a resin price of RS. 105 per/KG.
Savings of 1.2 gm resin per perform, 23.5% of resin savings compared to PCO 1810 neck.
Bottle performance not affected by reduction in weight. Since the area responsible for bottle body has the same materials, bottle performance remains un-changed.
Improvement in Productivity, as the cooling requirements are reduced the productivity shall improve.
Environment friendly, as it reduces the consumption of scares re-sources.
Reduced load on re-cycling systems, recycling makes easy, and at a reduced in put cost.
Reduced Carbon foot print.
   
Why this neck is developed?
Light weight solutions are discussed by industry for quite a long time; ISBT has approved many necks mainly with shorter thread. ISBT has approved neck design PCO 1881, where the neck height is reduced from 21 mm to 17 mm, and the weight is reduced to 3.74 gm.

In order to achieve the improved savings there are some non standard necks developed in the European market like Neck 14132, weighing 3.45 gm (by “Bericap”), however the disadvantage is that only “Super shorty” caps made by “Bericap” work well with this neck. In both the option, PCO 1881 neck, or 14132 Neck, neck height is reduced to 17 mm from 21 mm, to achieve the weight reduction. The reduction in the height, requires major investment for change over, as the Injection moulds, Closure moulds, Blowing station, Filling & Capping machines, requires change over parts.

Reduction in the neck height also reduces the overall thread engagement area.

Disadvantages of short thread can be summarized as
Large investment required for change over at moulding stage and at Bottling plants.
Long payback period of about 3 to 5 years,
Conversion is more likely to be profitable for bottling plants having in-house pre-form manufacturing.

Short threads have less effective opening performance, as the opening torque has to be applied over a smaller engaged area. This may be difficult for Children & elderly persons.


The changeover from PCO 1810 to PCO 1881 neck is acceptable in European market, mainly because most of the bottling units do the perform blowing in house, and the volumes are high.

In Indian market the change is not yet accepted mainly due to the following reasons –
Bottling units do not have the dedicated Pre-form suppliers.
Volumes although increasing day by day, were not justifiable for investment few years ago.
Pre-form suppliers supply pre-forms to different customers for different applications. As such per-form processors are not interested in the high investment required for changeover of the moulds.
In the circumstances, the market requirement is clear, maintain the standard height of 21 mm, and explore the possibility of material savings.

We identified this need of low weight neck, without changeover of the closure, and downstream equipment, and developed a modified neck weighing 3.9 gm, giving a savings of 23.5% on the existing PCO neck.

Is this interesting, would you like to improve on your profitability by reduction in the input cost, without affecting the bottle performance?
 
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