ABSTRACT
Extrusion blow molding offers flexibility of article design, handle ware, and intricate shapes with the many different thermoplastics that are in the marketplace to satisfy customer requirements. The main advantage of blow molding is its ability to produce varied designs of hollow thermoplastic articles. The invention relates to a hollow, biaxially oriented thermoplastic article, such as a bottle, particularly useful in bottling liquids under pressure, i.e. carbonated beverages or aerosols, along with a method and apparatus for its production. Accordingly, the invention provides a method and apparatus for producing a hollow, biaxially oriented, thermoplastic article having improved strength properties. Polyethylene terephthalate articles of this invention are generally cylindrical, typically in the shape of a soda bottle or a beer bottle. Biaxial orientation of the articles of the invention is useful to impart improved physical properties such as improved tensile strength and yield stresses.
