Methods for digitally designing preforms and molding instructions for bottles

1 . A method for producing blow molding instructions for a bottle preform, the method comprising:

creating a first set of blow molding experiments for blow molding a preform design into a target bottle design, each experiment having a different set of blow molding parameters;

simulating each experiment of the first set of blow molding experiments using a simulation software program;

selecting a group of experiments from the first set of blow molding experiments based on downselection criteria,

wherein the downselection criteria comprises:

a wall thickness of a simulated blown bottle,

a section weight of the simulated blown bottle, and

an elastic modulus×wall thickness value of the simulated blown bottle;

creating a second set of blow molding experiments based on characteristics of the downselected group of first experiments;

simulating each experiment of the second set of blow molding experiments using the simulation software program;

selecting an experiment from the second set of blow molding experiments based on characteristics of the selected experiment's simulated preform and simulated blown bottle,

wherein the characteristics of the selected experiment's simulated preform and simulated blown bottle include preform weight, simulated bottle wall thickness, and breadth of process window; and

producing blow molding instructions based on the selected experiment.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristics of the selected experiment's simulated preform and simulated blown bottle comprise simulated preform weight and simulated bottle wall thickness.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein selecting an experiment from the second set of blow molding experiments is also based on a breadth of process window for producing the simulated blown bottle from the simulated preform.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the group of experiments from the first set of blow molding experiments comprises:

comparing wall thickness values of the first set of experiments to an acceptable range for wall thickness to identify a first qualifying set of experiments;

comparing section weight values of the first qualifying set of experiments to an acceptable range for section weight to identify a second qualifying set of experiments; and

comparing elastic modulus×wall thickness values of the second qualifying set of experiments to an acceptable range for elastic modulus×wall thickness to identify a third qualifying set of experiments, and

wherein the third qualifying set of experiments is the group of experiments.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is a minimum wall thickness determined from target thermal stability data and permeation data for a finished bottle.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the acceptable range for section weight is a minimum section weight determined from pressurization data for a finished bottle.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein comparing wall thickness values comprises comparing wall thickness values at multiple areas of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is different for each area, and

wherein comparing section weight values comprises comparing section weight values for multiple sections of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for section weight is different for each section.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blow molding parameters comprise:

preblow pressure;

melt flow rate;

stretch rod speed;

preblow timing; and

temperature distribution.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein preblow pressure, melt flow rate, and stretch rod speed are the same for all of the first set of blow molding experiments, and

wherein preblow timing and temperature distribution are different for at least some experiments of the first set of blow molding experiments.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the experiment selected from the second set of blow molding experiments is associated with a blow molding recipe having a broad process window.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blow molding instructions are produced based on the blow molding instructions' ability to produce a finished bottle having a wall thickness value greater than or equal to the minimum wall thickness value and a section weight value greater than or equal to the minimum section weight value.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blow molding instructions comprise:

preform temperature;

preblow pressure;

preblow timing;

stretch rod speed;

stretch rod displacement;

preblow duration;

blow pressure;

stretch rod diameter;

dead volume;

air mass flow rate;

mold temperature; and

base mold temperature.

13 . A method of manufacturing a bottle, the method comprising blow molding a bottle according to the blow molding instructions produced in claim 1 .

14 . A method for producing a bottle preform and a blow molding recipe for the bottle preform, the method comprising:

creating a bottle preform design based on a natural stretch ratio of a material to be used to create the bottle preform and specifications for a bottle to be created from the bottle preform;

creating a first set of blow molding experiments for blow molding the bottle preform design into a target bottle design, each experiment having a different set of blow molding parameters;

simulating each experiment of the first set of blow molding experiments using a simulation software program;

selecting a group of experiments from the first set of blow molding experiments based on downselection criteria,

wherein the downselection criteria comprises:

a wall thickness of a simulated blown bottle,

a section weight of the simulated blown bottle, and

an elastic modulus×wall thickness value of the simulated blown bottle;

creating a second set of blow molding experiments based on characteristics of the downselected group of first experiments,

wherein a bottle preform inner diameter value is the same for each experiment of the second set of blow molding experiments, and wherein a bottle preform outer diameter value is not the same for each experiment of the second set of blow molding experiments;

selecting an experiment from the second set of blow molding experiments based on characteristics of the selected experiment's simulated preform and simulated blown bottle,

wherein the characteristics of the selected experiment's simulated preform and simulated blown bottle include preform weight, simulated bottle wall thickness, and breadth of process window; and

producing blow molding instructions based on the selected experiment.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein selecting the group of experiments from the first set of blow molding experiments comprises:

comparing wall thickness values of the first set of experiments to an acceptable range for wall thickness to identify a first qualifying set of experiments;

comparing section weight values of the first qualifying set of experiments to an acceptable range for section weight to identify a second qualifying set of experiments; and

comparing elastic modulus×wall thickness values of the second qualifying set of experiments to an acceptable range for elastic modulus×wall thickness to identify a third qualifying set of experiments, and

wherein the third qualifying set of experiments is the group of experiments.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is a minimum wall thickness determined from a bottle thermal stability FEA (finite element analysis) or a permeation study FEA.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the acceptable range for section weight is a minimum section weight determined from a pressurization study or a top load study.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein comparing wall thickness values comprises comparing wall thickness values at multiple areas of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is different for each area, and

wherein comparing section weight values comprises comparing section weight values for multiple sections of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for section weight is different for each section.

19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the material comprises a polymer blend.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein each of the blow molding experiments of the first set of blow molding experiments comprises constant blow molding parameters and variable blow molding parameters, wherein the constant blow molding parameters comprise preblow pressure, melt flow rate, and stretch rod speed, and wherein the variable blow molding parameters comprise preblow timing and temperature distribution.

21 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the blow molding recipe comprises:

preform temperature;

preblow pressure;

preblow timing;

stretch rod speed;

stretch rod displacement;

preblow duration;

blow pressure;

stretch rod diameter;

dead volume;

air mass flow rate;

mold temperature; and

base mold temperature.

22 . The method of claim 14 , wherein selecting an experiment from the second set of blow molding experiments is also based on a breadth of process window for producing the simulated blown bottle from the simulated preform.

23 . A method for creating blow molding experiments, the method comprising:

a downselecting method comprising:

determining acceptable ranges for minimum wall thickness, section weight, and elastic modulus×wall thickness for a bottle,

comparing wall thickness values of a first set of bottle-blowing simulation experiments to the acceptable range for wall thickness to identify a first qualifying set of experiments,

comparing section weight values of the first qualifying set of experiments to the acceptable range for section weight to identify a second qualifying set of experiments, and

comparing elastic modulus×wall thickness values of the second qualifying set of experiments to the acceptable range for elastic modulus×wall thickness to identify a third qualifying set of experiments; and

creating a second set of blow molding experiments based on characteristics of the third qualifying set of experiments.

24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is a minimum wall thickness determined from thermal stability data and permeation data, wherein the thermal stability data and the permeation data are based on testing of a finished bottle or FEA (finite element analysis) of a simulated bottle.

25 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the acceptable range for section weight is a minimum section weight determined from pressurization data, wherein the pressurization data is based on testing of a finished bottle or FEA (finite element analysis) of a simulated bottle.

26 . The method of claim 23 , wherein comparing wall thickness values comprises comparing wall thickness values at multiple areas of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for wall thickness is different for each area, and

wherein comparing section weight values comprises comparing section weight values for multiple sections of each simulated bottle, and wherein the acceptable range for section weight is different for each section.

27 . A method for producing blow molding instructions for a bottle preform, the method comprising:

creating the second set of blow molding experiments according to the method of claim 23 ; and

creating blow molding instructions based on a selected experiment from among the second set of blow molding experiments.