What facility infrastructure do I need to prepare for an all-electric extrusion blow molding machine?

At our factory, we often see clients delay their production startup simply because their facility was not ready for the precision requirements of electric machinery. Don’t let power dips or cooling issues surprise you during installation.

You need a stable power supply with harmonic protection, a dual-loop cooling system for molds and motors, and a reinforced concrete foundation. While motion is electric, a high-volume compressed air system is still mandatory for blowing bottles and operating pneumatic safety gates.

Proper infrastructure planning is the invisible foundation of a profitable blow molding line. Below is the detailed guide on preparing your plant.

How do I determine the total electrical load required for the machine and auxiliaries?

When we install machines, we notice facilities often oversize their transformers unnecessarily because they confuse peak capacity with running power. Understanding how electric servos draw power saves significant infrastructure costs.

Calculate the Total Connected Load for breakers but anticipate actual consumption to be 40–60% lower due to servo cycling. Ensure voltage stability stays within ±10%, and install active harmonic filters or line reactors to protect sensitive electronics from noise generated by the drive banks.

Reinforced Concrete Pad ¹

Connected Load vs. Actual Consumption

There is a major difference between what is written on the nameplate and what shows up on your electricity bill. The Total Connected Load is the sum of every motor, heater band, and auxiliary device running at maximum capacity simultaneously. You must use this figure to size your main circuit breaker and incoming cables to prevent tripping during startup.

However, in our daily operations, we find that Actual Consumption is typically only 40% to 60% of the connected load. Unlike hydraulic pumps that idle constantly, servo motors only draw significant power when they move. During cooling time or part ejection, their consumption drops to near zero.

Voltage Stability is Mandatory

Electric machines are essentially large computers with powerful muscles. They rely on sensitive Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and servo drives. These components are far less tolerant of "dirty power" than old hydraulic motors.

If your facility is in an area with unstable grid power, you must ensure the voltage remains within ±5% to ±10% of the rated voltage. If your voltage fluctuates more than this, we strongly recommend installing an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). Without it, you risk blowing expensive drive cards or suffering from nuisance alarms that stop production.

Handling Harmonics and Regeneration

A bank of large servo drives switches high voltages on and off thousands of times per second. This creates "electrical noise" or Harmonic Distortion that is sent back into your factory’s grid. This noise can interfere with other sensitive electronics, like leak testers or vision systems.

To mitigate this, you may need to install Line Reactors or Active Harmonic Filters at your distribution panel. Additionally, consider Regenerative Energy. When the heavy mold carriage brakes, it generates electricity. Some machines dump this as heat (resistors), while others send it back to the grid. If your machine regenerates, your transformer must be capable of accepting bi-directional power flow.

What are the specific cooling water flow and temperature requirements for the mold and motors?

Our engineers frequently troubleshoot cycle time issues that trace back to improper water setups. Electric machines have different cooling needs than hydraulic ones, and getting this wrong leads to condensation and slow production.
leads to condensation ²

Implement a dual-loop system: chilled water at 10°C–12°C strictly for molds to ensure fast curing, and a separate ambient tower loop at 25°C–30°C for the extruder feed throat. This prevents condensation on the drives while maximizing production speed.

refrigerated dryer ³

The Dual-Temperature Strategy

You cannot run the whole machine on one water temperature. You need two distinct loops to balance speed and safety.

1. The Chilled Loop (10°C–12°C): This is strictly for the Kalıplar. Cold water extracts heat from the plastic quickly, reducing your cycle time. Every degree lower can shave seconds off production.
2. The Tower/Ambient Loop (25°C–30°C): This is for the Extruder Feed Throat ve Gearbox. If you run ice-cold water here, condensation (sweating) will form. Water dripping onto electrical motors or into the resin feed is a disaster. Warm water keeps the feed throat cool enough to prevent bridging but warm enough to stay dry.

No Oil Cooling Required

One advantage we love about all-electric machines is the elimination of the hydraulic oil cooling load. Hydraulic machines require massive chillers just to keep the oil from overheating. With electric machines, you only need to remove heat from the process (the plastic) and the motors, significantly reducing your chiller tonnage requirements.

Managing Dew Point and Sweating

If your factory is not air-conditioned (which is common), high humidity is a risk. When you run 10°C water into a mold in a 35°C humid factory, the mold will sweat like a cold soda can. This moisture ruins the bottle surface and corrodes the mold steel.

To fight this, you have two options:

• Raise the Water Temperature: This stops sweating but slows down your cycle time.
• Install a Mold Dehumidification Unit (MDU): This device surrounds the mold area with a curtain of dry air, allowing you to run cold water (fast cycles) even in humid summers without condensation.

Heat Rejection Differences

In hydraulic machines, waste heat goes into the oil and is carried away by water to the cooling tower. In electric machines, waste heat from the servo drives is vented directly into the air. This increases the Sensible Heat Load on your factory floor. You must upgrade your facility’s ventilation or air conditioning to handle this hot air, or your electrical cabinets may overheat in summer.

Do I still need a compressed air system for the blowing process if the machine is all-electric?

We sometimes have to correct the misconception that "all-electric" means no air compressor is needed. The plastic still needs high-pressure air to take shape, and this system must be sized correctly.
Cubic Feet per Minute ⁴

Yes, you absolutely need a clean, dry compressed air system for the actual bottle blowing phase. Size your compressor based on bottle volume and cycle rate, adding a 20–30% buffer to account for exhaust valve losses and "dead air" waste during rapid decompression.

compressed air system ⁵

Process Air vs. Motion Air

"All-electric" refers to the motion of the machine (clamp, carriage, extrusion). It does not replace the physics of blow molding. You need compressed air to expand the parison against the mold walls.

Additionally, even electric machines often use small pneumatic cylinders for non-critical movements, such as safety gates, scrap chutes, or cold-cutting knives. Therefore, a compressor is mandatory.
Sensible Heat Load ⁶

Sizing Your Compressor

Do not guess the size. You can calculate the requirement:

1. Volume per Cycle: Multiply the bottle volume by the number of cavities.
2. Pressure: Standard blowing requires 6–8 bar (87–116 psi).
3. Dead Air Loss: When the exhaust valve opens after blowing, all that pressurized air is vented to the atmosphere. There is also "dead volume" in the hoses and blow pins. We recommend adding a 20–30% buffer to your total calculated CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) to account for these losses.

Air Quality is Critical

The air goes inside your bottle. If the air is dirty, your bottle is dirty.

• Oil-Free: Ideally, use oil-free compressors. If using oil-injected screw compressors, you need heavy-duty filtration.
• Dry Air: You must use a refrigerated dryer (dew point ~3°C). Moisture in the blowing air will leave water marks on the inside of the bottle, which is a reject criteria for cosmetic and food packaging.

How much floor space and ceiling height are necessary for installation and maintenance access?

We have arrived at sites where the machine fits, but we cannot remove the screw for cleaning. Planning access space is vital for long-term maintenance and safety.
Regenerative Energy ⁷

Plan for a reinforced concrete pad at least 200mm thick to handle high acceleration forces. Beyond the machine footprint, ensure 1.5 meters of perimeter clearance and sufficient vertical height to extract the extrusion screw and service the parison head without obstruction.

Harmonic Distortion ⁸

The Foundation: Stability and Vibration

Electric machines are fast. The mold carriage accelerates and stops in milliseconds. This creates significant horizontal forces. If you place the machine on a thin, cracked floor, it will "walk" over time, destroying its leveling and alignment.

We specify a Reinforced Concrete Pad (minimum 200mm / 8 inches thick). It must be level. This rigidity ensures the platens remain parallel and the machine frame does not twist under load.

Vertical Clearance: The Hidden Constraint

Most buyers check the floor dimensions but forget the height. You need to consider:

1. Hopper Loaders: Vacuum loaders sit on top of the extruder, adding 1–2 meters to the height.
2. Parison Head Service: You need space above the die head to lift out the mandrel or change the die tooling.
3. Screw Extraction: This is the big one. If you need to pull the screw for cleaning or replacement, does it pull out the back or the top? If it pulls upwards (common in vertical extruders), you might need 6+ meters of ceiling height or a roof hatch. If it pulls out the back, you need distance behind the machine equal to the length of the screw.

Perimeter for Maintenance

Don’t jam machines against the wall. You need at least 1.0 to 1.5 meters of clearance on all sides.

• Electrical Cabinets: Electrical codes usually require 1 meter of clearance in front of panel doors for safety during servicing.
• Safety: In an emergency, operators need a clear escape path.
• Material Flow: You need space for gaylords (resin boxes), conveyors, and scrap grinders next to the machine.

Sonuç

Preparing your facility for an all-electric blow molding machine involves more than just plugging it in. You must manage power quality, water temperatures, and physical space carefully.
Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) ⁹

Would you like me to review your facility’s current layout drawing to check for workflow efficiency and maintenance clearance?
Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) ¹⁰

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Dipnotlar

1. Definition of the construction material required for the machine foundation. ↩︎
   

2. Authoritative explanation of the physical process causing moisture issues. ↩︎
   

3. Explanation of the specific equipment type required to remove moisture. ↩︎
   

4. Definition of the standard unit used for measuring airflow. ↩︎
   

5. Official government resource on industrial compressed air efficiency and requirements. ↩︎
   

6. Definition of the specific type of thermodynamic heat load mentioned. ↩︎
   

7. Explanation of the energy recovery concept mentioned in the context of braking. ↩︎
   

8. Technical definition of the electrical noise generated by servo drives. ↩︎
   

9. Explanation of the device recommended for stabilizing voltage. ↩︎
   

10. Definition of the electronic component critical to the machine’s operation. ↩︎