{"id":987,"date":"2026-09-07T08:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T08:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isbmmolding.com\/?p=987"},"modified":"2026-09-07T08:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T08:38:00","slug":"what-are-the-steps-involved-in-the-isbm-molding-process-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isbmmolding.com\/fa\/what-are-the-steps-involved-in-the-isbm-molding-process-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0645\u0631\u0627\u062d\u0644 \u0641\u0631\u0622\u06cc\u0646\u062f \u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628\u200c\u06af\u06cc\u0631\u06cc ISBM \u0686\u06cc\u0633\u062a\u061f"},"content":{"rendered":"
The ISBM moulding process \u2014 injection stretch blow moulding \u2014 converts raw plastic resin into a finished hollow container through a precisely sequenced series of steps. Each step occurs at a dedicated station on the machine\u2019s rotary table, and all stations operate simultaneously on different preforms within the same machine cycle. Understanding what happens at each step, and what controls quality at each point, is essential for anyone operating or specifying ISBM equipment.<\/p>\n
A one-step ISBM machine performs between three and six steps depending on its station count. Three-station machines perform the minimum required steps \u2014 injection, stretch-blow, and ejection. Four-station machines add a dedicated conditioning step. Six-station machines further add post-blow cooling and a second conditioning zone. All configurations produce the same type of finished container; the additional stations enable more precise control over complex bottle geometries and higher cycle speeds.<\/p>\n
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4-station ISBM rotary table \u2014 all four steps run simultaneously on different preforms within each machine cycle.<\/p>\n
Before any ISBM cycle begins, the resin must be prepared correctly. PET \u2014 the dominant resin in ISBM production \u2014 is hygroscopic: it absorbs moisture from the air. Moisture in the resin causes hydrolytic degradation during processing, reducing intrinsic viscosity (IV) and producing acetaldehyde (AA), a compound that creates off-flavour in food and beverage containers.<\/p>\n
Standard PET drying: desiccant dryer at 160\u2013170\u00a0\u00b0C, minimum 4\u20136 hours, target moisture below 50\u00a0ppm. The dryer\u2019s dew point should be verified at \u221240\u00a0\u00b0C or below before processing begins. This step happens upstream of the machine and is not part of the machine cycle itself, but it determines the quality of every bottle the machine produces.<\/p>\n
The first in-machine step is injection moulding. Dried resin is fed from the hopper into a heated barrel where a reciprocating screw melts and conveys it. The melt \u2014 at 270\u2013295\u00a0\u00b0C for standard PET \u2014 is injected at high pressure into the preform mould cavity, forming the thick-walled intermediate tube known as a preform.<\/p>\n
Key parameters controlled at this step:<\/p>\n
The injection step is the longest single operation in the ISBM cycle, which is why it occupies a dedicated station regardless of total station count. On the EP-HGY series, injection clamping forces range from 50\u00a0kN (EP-HGY50-V3-EV) to 400\u00a0kN (EP-HGY650-V4), covering container volumes from 30\u00a0ml to 10\u00a0litres.<\/p>\n
On 4-station and 6-station machines, the preform \u2014 still on the mandrel \u2014 transfers to a conditioning station after ejection from the preform mould. Here, infrared heaters adjust the preform\u2019s axial temperature profile before it reaches the blow station.<\/p>\n
PET can only be biaxially oriented within a narrow temperature window: above its glass transition temperature (Tg \u2248 75\u00a0\u00b0C) but below its crystallisation onset temperature (\u2248130\u2013140\u00a0\u00b0C). The conditioning station brings the preform body to 90\u2013115\u00a0\u00b0C while keeping the neck zone cool (the neck must not deform during blowing).<\/p>\n
Individual infrared heater zones can be adjusted independently to concentrate heat at the base zone, shoulder zone, or body zone \u2014 allowing the operator to control where material flows preferentially during the blow step. This is what enables complex bottle geometries: wide bases, pronounced shoulders, contoured grips, and integrated handles.<\/p>\n
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4-station ISBM process sequence on the EP-HGY150-V4-EV \u2014 each station operates simultaneously, so conditioning time equals injection time.<\/p>\n
At the blow station, the mould closes around the preform. A mechanical stretch rod descends into the preform and contacts its base, then extends axially \u2014 pushing the base downward at a controlled speed (typically 1\u20132 m\/s). This extends the preform to 2.5\u20133.5 times its injection length.<\/p>\n
The stretch step is what separates ISBM from standard injection blow moulding (IBM). In IBM, there is no stretch rod and no axial orientation \u2014 the preform is simply inflated by air pressure. In ISBM, the mechanical stretch rod produces axial molecular orientation before air expansion begins, which is the primary reason ISBM bottles are stronger, clearer, and lighter than IBM bottles at equivalent volumes.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously with or immediately after the stretch rod extension, high-pressure air (25\u201340 bar) is introduced through the stretch rod or a separate blow pin. This air pressure expands the preform radially \u2014 outward \u2014 against the walls of the closed blow mould.<\/p>\n
The combination of axial stretching (Step 4) and radial blowing (Step 5) produces biaxial molecular orientation \u2014 polymer chains aligned in both the axial and hoop directions simultaneously. This dual orientation is what gives ISBM bottles their characteristic properties:<\/p>\n
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Complete ISBM process parameter map \u2014 from resin drying through each station to the finished bottle, with critical control points at each step.<\/p>\n
After blowing, the bottle is held against the mould wall while the mould removes heat through its internal cooling circuit. Standard blow moulds run chilled water at 8\u201312\u00a0\u00b0C. The bottle must cool below its relaxation temperature \u2014 typically below 60\u00a0\u00b0C at the wall surface \u2014 before the mould opens, or it will shrink and distort on ejection.<\/p>\n
For hot-fill applications (juice, tea, isotonic beverages filled at 85\u201395\u00a0\u00b0C), the blow mould runs at 100\u2013120\u00a0\u00b0C instead of the standard cold temperature. This elevated mould temperature allows limited crystallisation of the PET at the bottle wall during blowing \u2014 a process called heat-setting \u2014 which gives the bottle thermal stability at fill temperature.<\/p>\n
The mould opens and the finished bottle is released from the mandrel. On 3-station and 4-station machines, ejection occurs at the final indexed position before the table rotates back to inject the next set of preforms. On 6-station machines, a dedicated post-blow cooling station between blow and ejection allows the mould to open sooner (shorter blow hold time) while the bottle completes its cooling on the mandrel before ejection, enabling faster overall cycle times without dimensional instability.<\/p>\n
From ejection, bottles pass to a conveyor and accumulation table, and then to downstream filling, capping, labelling, and palletising equipment.<\/p>\n