What is believed to be the first PET water package capable of being dispensed through 12oz can vending machines has been developed for the Suntory Water Group by Constar, the plastics packaging division of Crown Cork & Seal.
The 11.5oz package, currently only available in the US, was achieved by sourcing a low profile 38mm cap running on non-traditional blow moulding equipment.
A base design was developed to accommodate internal pressure and special capping requirements. The vending distribution system also introduced new challenges to package integrity.
Along with standard pallet stacking requirements, individual containers are subject to column stacking, on their sides, in vending machines. Constar used finite element analysis (FEA) to optimise container geometry relative to top load, side load and internal pressure requirements.