Apparatus and method for producing plastic containers

An apparatus for producing plastic containers, comprising:

• a forming machine for producing plastic preforms;
• a blow-moulding machine for blowing the preforms to obtain containers, provided with a blow-moulding carousel having a plurality of blow-moulding moulds that expand the preforms to obtain the containers;
• a thermal conditioning station interposed between the forming machine and the blow-moulding machine, wherein an advance path is defined for feeding the preforms from the forming machine to the blow-moulding machine, through the thermal conditioning station;
• a storage station, configured for receiving and containing preforms;
• a supplying conveyor configured for conveying the preforms from the storage station directly into the advance path at the thermal conditioning station.

An apparatus for producing plastic containers, comprising:

• a forming machine for producing plastic preforms;
• a blow-moulding machine for blowing the preforms to obtain containers, provided with a blow-moulding carousel having a plurality of blow-moulding moulds that expand the preforms to obtain the containers;
• a thermal conditioning station interposed between the forming machine and the blow-moulding machine, wherein an advance path is defined for feeding the preforms from the forming machine to the blow-moulding machine, through the thermal conditioning station;
• a storage station, configured for receiving and containing preforms;
• a supplying system for feeding the thermal conditioning station with preforms, wherein the supplying system is configured for orienting the preforms;
• a bypass device configured for removing the preforms from the advance path and transferring them to the storage station through a bypass conveyor;
• a rotating wheel interposed between the thermal conditioning station and the blow-moulding machine for directly coupling the thermal conditioning station to the blow-moulding machine;
• a supplying system consisting of a supplying conveyor configured for conveying the preforms from the storage station into the advance path upstream the blow-moulding machine, wherein the supplying conveyor is configured for orientating the preforms removed from the storage station and is connected between the storage station and the advance path.

A method for producing plastic containers, comprising the following steps:

• producing plastic preforms through a forming machine;
• conditioning the preforms in a thermal conditioning station;
• blow-moulding the preforms to obtain containers;
• transferring the preforms from the forming machine to the blow-moulding machine, through the thermal conditioning station, along an advance path;
• storing the preforms in a storage station;
• feeding the preforms stored in the storage station to the thermal conditioning station through a supplying system, whereby, after the step of producing the preforms, it is possible to conserve the preforms for any period of time that is desired, postponing the blow-moulding of the preforms to a subsequent moment,
• wherein the preforms are fed from the storage station to the thermal conditioning station through a supplying conveyor configured for conveying the preforms from the storage station directly at the thermal conditioning station.