Two colour and gradient PET preform mould
A gradient preform carries its colour before the bottle is blown, so the finished bottle shades from one colour into another without a label or a sleeve. The tooling has to place both materials in the same shot, which is what makes this a different tool from an ordinary preform mould.
- ProcessInjection, two colour
- Weights drawn here84 g and 100 g
- Cavities2 and 4 on the tools drawn here
- Lead time40–60 days
What is on the drawings
Two preforms are drawn on this page: one at 84 ± 0.8 g and one at 100 ± 1 g, both PET, both with a single-start thread — 3.5 mm thread start and 4.2 mm pitch on the 84 g, 3.3 mm and 3.0 mm on the 100 g. Those numbers are off our own drawings for the two tools; they are what those customers sell, not a standard range.
The two tools are a 2 cavity and a 4 cavity. Gradient colour work runs at lower cavitation than a plain preform tool because both materials have to be placed in the same shot; cavity count is quoted to the output you actually need. North American buyers write two color preform mold for the same tooling.
84 g and 100 g, drawn
The two gradient preforms this tooling was cut for.
Seven questions about the tool itself
The seven that decide whether you order, answered for this tooling. Where a figure is on the drawing we print it; where it depends on your part we say which numbers we will ask you for.
Hot runner or cold runner?
Preform tooling is hot runner work: a valve gated manifold on the main material, and the second colour fed so the transition falls where you want it. The arrangement is set out in the quotation for your preform.
Cycle time and output
A preform cycle is set by the wall and the cooling, and a two colour preform is one cycle, not two. Tell us the preforms per hour and the cavitation is worked back from it.
How the part is ejected
Preforms come off the cores onto a take-out plate rather than being pushed off by pins, so the neck and the body are not marked. The take-out arrangement is matched to your machine.
Tryout report and acceptance
The tool is run here and the two colour preforms ship with it. Weight, neck dimensions and where the colour transition sits are the acceptance points on this tool.
Spare parts
Cavities, cores, neck rings and gate inserts are cut from the same drawings. Preform neck rings are a usual spare; say how many sets to pack.
Warranty
Warranty terms are written into the quotation for that tool.
Will it fit your machine?
A two colour preform tool needs a machine that can dose both materials. Tell us the make, model and tonnage, and the shot weight it can deliver.
What we will ask you for: the preform weight, the neck finish, both materials and colours, where the transition should sit, the output, and the machine.
How many preforms an hour do you need?
Gradient tooling is quoted at the cavitation your volume needs; the two on this page were cut at 2 and 4 cavity. Tell us your number.
Tell us your output targetThe rest of a PET programme
Frequently asked questions
More from the same workshop: PET preform moulds · PET stretch blow moulds · every injection mould we cut.
Send us your preform drawing
Attach the preform drawing, or post a sample, and say which two colours you want.
- ✓A drawing, a 3D file, or a sample preform
- ✓The weight you sell at and the neck finish
- ✓The two colours, and whether the change is a gradient or a hard line
- ✓Cavities you want, or the output you need