Package formation is the foundation for producing quality packages on flow wrappers; it affects everything from package appearance and seal quality to scrap rates and downtime.
This Greener Tech Bite presents methods to improve the forming process on flow wrappers that optimize package quality, save time, and decrease packaging material costs.
Forming Packages on Flow Wrappers
Formers are not standard components—their design and precision have a big impact that often goes unrecognized.
As the former shapes the packaging material into a tube around the product, it must create even contact and tension with the material to accurately maintain tube size and proper tracking as the fin wheels pull the tube forward and seal the longitudinal fin seal.
Forming Problems
Excessive or inadequate contact and tension between the former and the packaging material at any point in the forming process creates four types of problems:
1. Scored, Creased Packages
Score marks or creases make packages visually unappealing, and this damage can reduce the material’s barrier properties.
2. Wrinkles and Pleats
Wrinkles and pleats make it difficult to seal off leaks at the intersection of these additional cross-sectional layers while avoiding excess pressure that crushes or splits the seal.
3. Fin Seal Issues
Poorly performing formers can cause the fin seal to be uneven, and create loosely wrapped packages with narrow fin seals that pull free from the fin wheels and halt production while the material is reset.
4. Torn, Broken Packaging Material
Inadequately performing formers can also tear or break the packaging material and require time-consuming re-threading.
Forming Solutions: Kenray Horizontal Forming Tool
Kenray Forming, a packaging solutions partner with Greener Corporation, has developed a new Horizontal Forming Tool that mitigates these four forming problems and provides additional benefits.
With their innovative design and consistent high precision, these formers maintain even contact with the packaging material to provide more consistent tracking and help you:
Minimize the Occurrence of Scored, Creased Packages
Eliminate Wrinkles and Pleats that can Cause Seal Problems
Solve Fin Seal Issues That Delay Production
Prevent Torn, Broken Flexible Packaging Material
Run Traditional and New Sustainable Packaging Materials
Kenray’s Horizontal Forming Tool solves forming problems with new sustainable films and paper-based packaging materials that prevent them from running properly with standard formers.
Make Fewer Adjustments and Reduce Downtime
The Horizontal Forming Tool optimizes performance with a wider range of flexible packaging materials and conditions to reduce downtime due to machine adjustments to solve forming problems or during changeovers.
Maintain Precise Angle of Entry
Kenray’s former also solves problems by incorporating the the final unwind roller into the former.
The roller position is pre-set for your packaging conditions, so the material consistently enters the former at the correct angle. Adjustment variations that cause poor performance are eliminated.
Reduce Fin Seal Width to Decrease Material Costs
With standard formers the fin seals on packages are typically designed wider than is required for seal integrity, to prevent the fin from pulling free from the fin wheels when typical tracking variations occur.
Kenray’s new Horizontal Forming Tool mitigates these tracking variations, so fin seal widths can be reduced to decrease per package material costs while maintaining quality and avoiding production delays.
An integrated approach to optimizing package quality and productivity on flow wrappers begins with package formation.
To learn how optimally designed and adjusted formers, knives, and sealing jaws can improve your packaging results, contact Greener Corporation and Kenray Forming. We provide package quality and productivity solutions worldwide.
