PET Preform Machine Buying Checklist: 12 Specs to Confirm Before You Compare Quotes

Why two quotes are almost never comparable

Two suppliers quote "270 ton PET preform machine" at very different prices. On paper they look like the same machine. In practice one has a 1006 g shot weight and a 570 × 570 mm tie-bar opening, and the other has neither — it simply carries a similar clamping force with a smaller injection unit and a narrower platen.

Price is the last thing you compare, not the first. Below are the twelve specifications that decide whether a machine will actually run your mould, at your cycle, for the next ten years. Ask for all twelve in writing.

The 12-point checklist

1. Shot weight — in grams, with your cushion

Give the supplier your preform weight × cavity count , et pete pondus proiectile in grammatibus machinae. Forma cum 16 cavis, quae praefiguram 33 g efficit, 528 g per proiectile requirit; forma cum 48 cavis, eodem pondere, 1584 g requirit. Si machina ad maximum tuum requisitum appropinquat, nullus locus est pro variatione processus nec pro incremento.

2. Diametrum et designatio surculi pro PET

Diametrum surculi determinat volumen proiectilis et ratem plasticationis — in typico ambitu praefigurarum haec a 50 mm ad 70 mm extenditur. Interroga specifice utrum surculus ad PET designatus sit , et quae ratio L/D et ratio compressionis sint. Surculus generalis usus, qui ad PET adaptatus est, incohaerentem fusionem et deterioratum materiale praebet.

3. Vis claudendi — et unitas, in qua indicatur

Verifica utrum numerus sit kN an tonnae metricae . 1700 kN, 2300 kN et 2700 kN in normali ambitu praefigurarum occurrunt — id est fere 173, 234 et 275 tonnae. Quotatio quae "270 tonnae" dicit, absque figura kN, est quota non comparabilis.

4. Spatium inter barrae connexae

Hoc est dimensio quae definit utrum forma omnino conveniat. Valores typici variant a 460 × 460 mm in machina parva usque ad 570 × 570 mm et ultra in machina maiore. Si iam formam possides, primo eam metire et numerum in quaestionem pone.

5. Intervallo spissitudinis formae (minimum–maximum)

Interroga de utroque extremo intervallo, exempli gratia 200–550 mm. Forma tenuior minimo non potest constringi; forma crassior maximo simpliciter non intrat. Hoc est causa communissima cur machina adveniat sed non uti possit.

6. Tactus clavicularis et tactus expulsorius

Tactus clavicularis debet apertam formam sufficienter ut praefiguram liberet. Tactus expulsorius debet praefiguram a nucleo impellere sine deformatione. Uterque in millimetris indicatur in tabula specifica recta — exempli gratia 540 mm pro tactu claviculari et 150 mm pro tactu expulsorio in machina 2700 kN.

7. Pressio injectionis et ratio injectionis

PET necessitat injectionem celerem et fortem. Interroga de pressione injectionis in MPa et ratione injectionis in g/s , non solum "alta velocitas". Circa 160 MPa est figura normalis pro opere preformarum efficaci. Unitas injectionis sub-dimensionata apparet ut iactūs breves, nebula et lineae fluxūs visibiles.

8. Capacitas plasticandi (g/s)

Unitas injectionis debet massam plasticam proximi iactus fundere dum forma praesens refrigescit. Si capacitas plasticandi nimis parva est, machina non potest attingere tempus cycli quod pollicetur — canalis calorifer, non forma, fit angustia.

9. Typus impulsum et potentia motoris

Verifica an machina sit hydraulica, servo-motus, aut hybrida , et quae sit potentia motoris in kW. Machina hydraulica et machina servo-motus eadem vi claudendi possunt multum differre in pretio energiae per mille preformas. Postula optionem servo separatim quotari ut calculum redditionis facias, non coniecturam.

10. Systema controlis, lingua, et securitas

Ask which controller is fitted, whether the HMI supports your operators' language, how many parameter sets can be stored, and what the safety architecture is. Look for closed-loop temperature control, mechanical et electrical safety interlocks on the operator side, low-pressure mould protection, and automatic centralised lubrication. These are the differences between a machine that a technician can dial in and one that a technician has to fight.

11. Scope of supply around the machine

A preform line is not just the injection machine. Confirm in writing what is included:

• Preform mould, and whether it is hot-runner and valve-gated

• Dehumidifying dryer and hopper loader sized for PET (drying at 160–180 °C for 4–6 hours to below 0.005 % moisture is the standard requirement)

• Mould temperature controller and chiller

• Robot or take-out device, conveyor, and any post-cooling

• Index partium reservatarum

A machine quoted without the dryer and the mould temperature controller is not a cheaper machine — it is an incomplete one.

12. Certificatio, traditio et servitium

Denique, condicionēs quae statuunt quid post adventum continēntis accidat:

CE Certification

• aut certificatio quam tuus mercatus exigit

• Tempus garantiae et quid ea complectatur

• Installatio, inceptio et instructio operātorum — an inclusa sunt an extra?

• Tempus ducens, condicionēs solūtionis et impācātiō

• Quis tē locāliter adiuvat, et quid fit 2 a.m. cum machina cessat

Interroga ultimam quaestionem directē. "Habetisne turmam servitii in meā regiōne, et quālis est tempus responsīs?" est quaestio iusta, et responsiō plus tibi indicat quam tabula pretiōrum.

Quid bonum vidētur

Mitte hanc listam duodecim punctōrum ad omnēs suppeditātōrēs quōs cōnsiderās. Suppeditātōrēs qui eam plēnē respondēbunt, per scrīptum, cum unitātibus et intervallis, sunt etiam ii qui tē adiuvābunt dum problema in installatione oritur. Quī autem sōlum pretium et imaginem mittunt, etiam tibi aliquid utile nūntiant.

efficent builds PET preform injection moulding machines together with the moulds that run in them, and tests them as a matched set before shipment. Send us your preform weight, cavity count and target output, and we will tell you which model the job needs — including when the answer is a smaller machine than you expected.

Fontes

• efficent PET series technical parameters (machine manufacturer specification sheet) — shot weight, clamping force, tie-bar spacing, mould thickness, strokes, motor power, injection pressure.

• Alpine Mold,

PET Injection Molding Guideline: A Complete Guide for Engineers and Manufacturers

, published 2025-08-01 — PET drying conditions, screw and machine requirements, preform mould temperature.

• Cavity Mold,

PET Preform Injection Molds: Design and Process Basics

, updated 2025-09-01 — preform approval criteria including weight, neck/gate dimensions and wall distribution.