Before the start of the EIC Project, IonKraft developed a prototype coating machine to apply coatings to different types of packaging. One target of the EIC-Project is to optimize the coating machine for industrial scale production and add an automated bottle handling system to integrate the machine in-line into a packaging production line.
In the first year of the project, IonKraft conceptualised and designed a handling system for continuous coating production in collaboration with a partner company, which feeds the plastic packaging into the coating reactor from and to a continuously running conveyor belt. With this design, the pilot machine is set to reach an output of 720 coated canisters per hour in accordance with industry and safety standards.
In the second year of the project advanced from late design/assembly into commissioning with decisive validation milestones. The pilot coating machine for 5 L containers targeting was assembled and prepared for inline integration with the blow‑moulder. Mechanical, vacuum/gas, vapourizing, and handling subsystems were integrated on the pilot frame. Commissioning activities focused on stability, throughput, and safety, culminating in the completion and approval of the risk and safety assessment and a successful Factory Acceptance Test. In parallel, the handling system was stabilized to achieve production speed, demonstrating that the motion, transfer, and synchronization logic meet the nominal cycle time under production‑like conditions.
Following FAT, efforts shifted to site readiness and process robustness. A pilot production run was executed over several weeks. The performance of the coating was controlled in several runs and was proven to be stable.
