Cleaning Archives - Greener Corporation

Maintain Efficiency on Flow Wrappers with Systematic Preventative Maintenance

Michael Wojtech — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:46:06 +0000

A Tech Bite from Greener Technical Service Manger Jeff Fouche

Due to production demands and a shortage of experienced mechanics, maintenance on flow wrappers is often reduced to immediate problem solving. In the rush to restore production, this reactive maintenance relies on short-term fixes that don’t fully resolve the underlying cause of the problem and fail to restore peak efficiency. Repeat problems require additional quick fixes and further erode efficiency.

This Greener Tech Bite details systematic preventative maintenance practices for flow wrappers that sustain peak efficiency and production levels.

If you and your team don’t have the required time or experience to implement preventative maintenance, Greener’s Technical Specialists can provide regularly scheduled onsite visits to perform line evaluations, make necessary updates, and provide training on these procedures.

Systematic Preventative Maintenance

The following flow wrapper components and adjustments—from the product feed through to the package discharge—should be evaluated and updated at least every three months.

Product Infeed

On the product infeed, stretched or worn components cause product misalignment and create timing problems. Replace worn or stretched infeed flight chains. Inspect the belts—even those with automatic tensioners—and replace them if they are stretched, worn, or frayed and can’t hold the proper tension.

The product infeed should be level and aligned with the flow wrapper.

Rails – Deck Plates – Forming Box

Check the rails, deck plates, and the forming box for misalignment or damage and readjust, repair, or replace them as needed.

When not level, smooth, or properly positioned, these components inhibit movement of the product and packaging material, causing malformed packages that delay production.

Packaging Material Unwind

Replace the bearings of shafts and rollers on the packaging material unwind that don’t spin freely; they create excess tension that causes tracking problems.

Adjust rollers to create the proper tension on the packaging material as it moves throught he forming process.

Fin Wheels

Fin wheel issues can cause slippage, poor tracking, and seal problems. Make sure that the tension between the fin wheels is correct and adjust their tilt to prevent slippage and create tighter packages.

Replace fin wheels that are worn, damaged, or have sharp edges. Check the condition of the fin wheel bearings and replace them if needed.

Cutting and Sealing Head

The cutting and sealing head requires frequent inspection and updating.

Backlash

Check for and remove backlash between the upper and lower sealing jaws.

Gears

Inspect the gears and replace them if necessary.

Springs or Compression Washers

Assess the condition of the springs or compression washers and adjust or replace them as needed.

Bearings

Worn bearings cause chronic problems that can be difficult to diagnose. To determine if new bearings are needed, follow this bearing evaluation process.

Carbon Impression

Next, remove the knives and anvils and, with the sealing jaws at operating temperature, run carbon impressions to evaluate their condition and setup.

Sealing Jaws and Adjustments

Replace worn or damaged sealing jaws. Check and, if needed, readjust the clearance, phasing, serration alignment, and pressure.

Clean the slots to ensure that knives and anvils can be firmly and accurately seated. To prevent cutting problems, always replace the anvil when installing a new knife.

After adjusting the knife with shims or adjustment screws, re-check your sealing setup with another carbon impression.

Cleaning

At any point in the packaging process, insufficient cleaning can degrade efficiency.

Clean components such as belts, formers, deck plates, fin wheels, and both the upper and lower sealing jaws during scheduled production breaks and whenever time allows—before problems occur.

Regularly Scheduled Preventative Maintenance with Greener Corporation

Relying on reactive maintenance erodes package quality and output levels.

If you don’t have a systematic preventative maintenance program for your flow wrappers, consider partnering with Greener Corporation for regularly scheduled Technical Service visits. Our Technical Specialists will perform line evaluations, make necessary updates, and provide training to keep your flow wrappers running at peak efficiency.

To learn more contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical service solutions worldwide.

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Use Sealing Jaw Carbon Impressions for Preventative Maintenance

Michael Wojtech — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:47:34 +0000

A Tech Bite from Greener Technical Service Specialist Chris Stawasz

Sealing jaw carbon impressions are a vital diagnostic tool for solving cutting and sealing problems on flow wrappers and vertical baggers, and they also play a vital role in preventative maintenance.

This Greener Tech Bite outlines five opportunities where sealing jaw carbon impressions help you prevent problems from occurring in the first place.

Take Sealing Jaw Carbon Impressions

Whether solving problems or preventing them, always label your impression with the date, line and machine, direction arrow, and sealing jaw pair number so you can compare results over time and track changes.

We use “carbon impression” as a general term, but in practice make sure you use the correct paper for your application.

Carbon paper works best with unheated rotary sealing jaws and with reciprocating jaws at lower temperatures.

Use carbonless paper, also known as NCR paper, with heated rotary jaws and with reciprocating jaws at higher temperatures.

1. When You Install New Sealing Jaws

When you install new sealing jaws, bring them to operating temperature and use carbon impressions to evaluate your setup.

Clearance

For rotary jaws, use carbon impressions to ensure that the clearance between the upper and lower shafts is properly set and parallel.

Phasing

A carbon impression will also indicate if the phasing between the shafts is synchronized.

Alignment

For both rotary and reciprocating jaws, carbon impressions indicate if the serrations are misaligned.

Pressure

And carbon impressions will help you adjust sealing pressure so that it is even from side to side and across the length of the jaws.

2. Before You Install New Knives and Anvils

When knives and anvils on flow wrappers need to be replaced, remove the worn parts, make sure jaw temperatures are set correctly, and take a carbon impression before you install new knives and anvils. This quick, easy test will indicate if readjustments are needed to restore your standard setup and prevent future problems.

3. After You Clean the Sealing Jaws

A pause in production for cleaning provides another opportunity. After you clean the jaws, check your temperature settings and run a carbon impression to determine if spring pressure, alignment, or other settings have changed and need to be readjusted.

4. When You Run New Flexible Packaging Materials

Carbon impressions also provide vital feedback when you test and run new flexible packaging materials. Before you run a new material, bring your sealing jaws to operating temperature and run a carbon impression to ensure that your adjustments are at standard levels.

Take additional impressions as you test the new material; your new structure may have a different heat seal range, thickness, stiffness, or other characteristics that require refinements to your sealing jaw and knife setup.

5. Every Week and During Downtime

Systematic carbon impressions provide the feedback you need to prevent packaging problems. Schedule weekly carbon impressions from each flow wrapper and vertical bagger, and take additional impressions when opportunities arise during product changeovers and other downtime.

If you’d like help diagnosing your carbon impressions, send us a photo at custserv@greenercorp.com. We’ll help you identify adjustments that improve packaging performance.

Greener Corporation provides integrated parts and technical service solutions worldwide.

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Preventative Maintenance Quick Tips for Flow Wrappers and Vertical FFS Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 12:20:59 +0000

Many simple, easily implemented setup and preventative maintenance steps on flow wrappers and vertical baggers can have an outsized effect on package quality and productivity.

This Greener Tech Bite presents a series of Quick Tips that prevent cutting, sealing, and forming problems and help you troubleshoot issues when they do occur.

Cutting

Clean Knife and Anvil Slots

The value of cleaning on a regular schedule, instead of waiting until product contamination causes problems, can’t be overstated.

To clean knife and anvil slots on rotary sealing jaws, cut a piece of scouring pad and push it down into the slot with a hex wrench. And don’t neglect to clean the anvil slot, even though it can be more challenging to access.

Product buildup in the slot creates an unstable base that can cause intermittent cutting problems and knife failure.

Sealing

Clean Sealing Jaws Regularly

Clean sealing jaws regularly, but don’t use stiff, coarse bristled brushes—they damage the serrations and cause sealing problems.

Brushes with finer, softer bristles are more forgiving. They can be trimmed in length to clean more effectively and to keep them from splaying out.

After cleaning the jaws, run a carbon impression to check the current set up so that you can make any necessary corrective adjustments before resuming production.

Install Sealing Jaws with New Bolts and Washers

Install sealing jaws with new mounting bolts and washers. Worn, damaged bolts and washers, which can easily go unnoticed, cause inaccurate mounting and make jaws difficult to remove in the future.

To ensure accurate setup and to prevent the jaws from shifting out of alignment, use hardened, flat washers to mount jaws on flat surfaces.

Spherical washers or, if they are not available, split washers are best for mounting jaws on round shafts.

Replace All Rotary Sealing Jaws at the Same Time

Replace all rotary sealing jaws on a machine at the same time, and make sure all the jaws come from the same supplier.

You may be tempted to replace only one jaw, or just one of multiple pairs, to save time or reduce costs. But inaccurate setup caused by sealing jaws with different wear levels and designs creates sealing problems.

Check Sealing Jaw Temperatures with a Pyrometer

Sealing jaws are often hotter in the middle than at the ends, where heat dissipates more quickly. The controller, however, does not reveal this variability, since it usually only indicates the temperature at one point within the jaw.

Use a pyrometer to regularly check multiple points across the functional length of the sealing face, to make sure temperatures remain within the seal range for your flexible packaging material and conditions.

Ongoing issues with inconsistent sealing temperatures can be solved with updated heater and sealing jaw designs.

Forming

Vertical Baggers: Maintain Proper Roller Adjustment

On vertical baggers, adjust the rollers to create even, consistent contact between the material and the forming collar wing—between positions 1 and 2 in the diagram.

Too much, too little, or uneven tension, demonstrated by positions 3 and 4, can cause wrinkles and creases that degrade package appearance and cause sealing problems.

Flow Wrappers: Adjust & Tighten Guide Rails & Deck Plates

On flow wrappers, make sure the product guide rails and deck plates are adjusted and tightened properly, and exercise care when removing and reinstalling deck plates—they can be easily bent or otherwise damaged.

Misadjusted rails or deck plates that are not level and smooth can inhibit the movement of the product and packaging material and cause malformed packages that delay production.

Also make sure the forming box is square and level.

Preventative Maintenance Quick Tips

By investing a relatively small amount of consistent time and effort, preventative maintenance can help you decrease problems that delay production and reduce package quality.

To learn more about solutions for improving package quality and productivity on flow wrappers and vertical baggers, visit our Technical Resource Blog and contact Greener Corporation.

We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Setting Up Sealing Jaws on Horizontal Flow Wrappers

Michael Wojtech — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 19:12:24 +0000

Proper sealing jaw setup is critical for producing consistent quality packages; even slight misadjustments can damage the package and cause leaks that prevent you from meeting quality packaging standards.

This Greener Tech Bite explains nine essential procedures for accurately setting up sealing jaws on horizontal flow wrappers.

1. Clean the Shafts

Begin by removing the old sealing jaws and cleaning the shafts of any product buildup.

2. Sealing Jaws

Replace all sealing jaws on a wrapper at the same time, and make sure all the jaws come from the same packaging machinery supplier.

You may be tempted to replace only one seal jaw, or just one of multiple pairs, to save time or reduce costs. But running sealing jaws with different wear levels or different designs causes inaccurate setups that create sealing problems.

3. Insert Heaters and Thermocouples

For heat seal applications, coat heaters and thermocouples with heat sink compound before inserting them in the jaws. This will fill in air gaps to improve heat transfer and sensing accuracy.

4. Install Sealing Jaws on Shafts

Install sealing jaws with new mounting bolts and washers. Wear and damage to used bolts and washers, which can easily go unnoticed, can cause inaccurate mounting and make the jaws difficult to remove in the future.

To help ensure that the sealing jaws are accurately seated and don’t shift out of alignment, use hardened, flat washers on flat shafts and spherical washers or, if they are not available, split washers, on round shafts.

If possible, tighten bolts while the sealing jaws are meshed.

5. Heat the Sealing Jaws

For heat seal applications, bring the jaws to operating temperature before making adjustments.

6. Adjust Clearance

Begin by adjusting clearance, the narrow gap between the upper and lower sealing jaw serrations.

Many wrappers utilize clearance adjustment rods, as illustrated here. Some makes and models use wedges, shims, or other methods.

Rotate the sealing jaws together by hand to make sure they’re not hitting each other, and then run carbonless paper between them. Adjust clearance just wide enough to create an interference fit for the paper—about the same thickness as a double layer of your packaging material.

Check the carbon impression to make sure that the clearance is even from end to end and adjust accordingly.

7. Adjust Serration Alignment

Also use the impression to evaluate alignment and adjust the sealing jaws as needed so that the serrations mesh properly.

Our previous post on carbon impressions diagnoses examples of misadjusted clearance, alignment, and other issues.

8. Remove Backlash

Next check for backlash, or independent movement between the upper and lower sealing jaws.

With even minor backlash, the resulting misaligned serrations can damage and split the package and reduce seal quality.

On gear-driven wrappers a split gear on the non-drive shaft is used to remove backlash. Belt and chain-driven machines utilize a tensioner. Over time, worn gears and stretched belts and chains contribute to backlash, so periodically inspect these components and replace them when needed.

Learn more about backlash from these Tech Bite posts and videos.

9. Adjust Sealing Pressure

The next step is to adjust spring pressure. On most wrappers springs are adjusted and locked to create the pressure required to seal and cut packages. Some wrappers utilize compression washers.

Springs and compression washers often go unrecognized as the source of package sealing problems. Since evaluating their condition can be difficult, it is well worth replacing them on a regular basis.

Run five to ten packages through the sealing jaws, with product if available. Cut the packages with scissors and check seal integrity using your current testing method.

Adjust spring pressure as needed to meet your seal quality standards.

If you’re not producing quality seal jaws after following these procedures, discover the problem-solving solutions on our Technical Resource Blog and contact Greener Corporation for technical support. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Prevent Problems & Maintain Productivity with Carbon Impressions

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 15:11:16 +0000

Carbon impression are most often used to guide the setup of sealing jaws and to solve problems on flow wrappers and vertical form fill seal baggers.

But Carbon impressions should also be taken before each new production run and when variables such as product size or packaging materials change. These extra impressions will indicate ongoing adjustments and preventative maintenance that prevent package quality problems and lost production time.

Adjustments & Preventative Maintenance

Carbon impressions indicate changes that occurred during previous production that might otherwise go unnoticed, such as damage to jaws and knives, product contamination, or misadjustment of the clearance, sealing pressure, and other variables. You might find that sealing pressure is uneven across the length of the jaws, or that the serrations are not properly aligned.

Damage

Product Contamination

Misadjustment

Alignment

Knife Adjustment

On flow wrappers, weak impressions from the trailing seal could indicate that a worn knife had been over adjusted to make it last through the previous production run. Here the knife is striking the anvil with such force that the jaws bounce apart and fail to transfer adequate sealing pressure. You will know to replace this knife and anvil before production resumes to avoid seal problems and delays.

When changes to the product, packaging material, line speed, or other conditions occur, take new carbon impressions. They will indicate if adjustments to alignment, temperature, sealing pressure, knife setup, or other variables are needed to maintain package quality.

Sealing Jaw Wear

For example, sealing jaws that have begun to wear may still be producing quality seals. But with a new, thinner packaging material this wear can prevent the jaws from providing adequate sealing pressure.

Label & Save

Be sure to label your carbon impressions with the date, line and machine, direction arrow, and sealing jaw pair number and to save them. Not everything these impressions reveal will require immediate action, but when urgent problems do occur you can compare current conditions with previous results, recognize what has changed, and resolve the issue.

Paper Type

For accurate results, use the right type of paper for your situation.

Use carbon paper for unheated rotary sealing jaws, at initial setup or for when running cold seal films. Carbonless paper should be used when the jaws are hot.

For cold or hot reciprocating sealing jaws use carbon paper. When these jaws are run at high temperatures, carbonless paper may improve results.

Invest a few extra minutes to make carbon impressions a standard part of your preventative maintenance program. You will keep packaging problems from occurring and save hours of lost production.

If you need a supply of carbon or carbonless paper, or would like help interpreting your impressions, contact Greener Corporation. We provide Package Quality and Productivity Solutions worldwide.

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Knife Adjustment on Flow Wrappers: The Cost of Quick Fixes

Mark Green — Mon, 30 May 2022 22:19:40 +0000

When cutting problems delay production, quick fixes are often used to get flow wrappers up and running again. But instead of saving a few minutes of downtime, these shortcuts can cost you hours of production time.

This Greener Tech Bite identifies common quick fixes that bypass standard knife adjustment procedures. Their immediate and cumulative effects cause well over half of the cutting and sealing problems that we encounter.

Clearance & Pressure

Clearance is the narrow gap or space between the upper and lower sealing jaw serrations. It should be adjusted when the jaws are set up—before knives and anvils are installed—and be just wide enough to create an interference fit for a double thickness of film.

Adjusting spring pressure doesn’t change this gap. Spring pressure provides the resistance and tension applied by the jaw serrations to create the seal and the force for the knife to cut against the anvil.

Clearance is frequently mistaken for spring pressure and adjusted as a shortcut to solve cutting problems. But this is not a good option. It’s not uncommon for an improper clearance adjustment to cause a cascade of cutting and sealing problems that cost multiple shifts of lost production.

We can’t overstate the importance of proper clearance adjustment: NEVER use clearance to adjust a knife.

Temperature

Another common shortcut when cutting issues arise is to increase the heat, which can expand the height of the knife and anvil enough to cut. These temperature changes may be fine in the short term, but they are meant to be temporary, to get through the shift.

The problem with this shortcut is that the temperature often does not get reset, and the root causes of the cutting issue are not addressed. The effects of these and subsequent quick fixes accumulate and cause additional cutting and sealing problems.

If the knife fails again, even with the extra heat, the mechanic might decrease clearance until the knife cuts. They may not realize, however, that the intermittent crushed and split seals that develop soon after are caused by the incorrect heat and clearance adjustments.

In this case the fastest and least expensive strategy would have been to readjust or replace the knife and anvil when the problem first appeared.

Knife Adjustments

Taking the time to follow these standard knife adjustment procedures, even during production, will produce the highest outputs and best package quality.

• Set up the sealing jaws first.

• Clean the jaws, including the slots, before installing knives and anvils.

• Change knives and anvils together.

• Use fewer, thicker, high-quality shims.

• Remember that temperature impacts knife adjustments.

• Optimize and standardize knife designs.

When to Adjust and When to Replace

If you follow standard procedures and a knife still won’t cut without excessive pressure or banging, stop making adjustments. The best solution is to replace the knife and anvil.

If you can’t adjust a new knife to cut without banging, don’t continue. There are likely other, underlying conditions that should be corrected such as worn springs or worn bearings.

Technical Support

If you’d like recommendations for improving your knife adjustments, send us samples or photos of used anvils and contact Greener Corporation. We develop and deliver full process solutions, worldwide.

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Flow Wrapper Fin Wheels: Problems, Maintenance, & Design

Jeff Fouche — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 23:00:13 +0000

Fin wheels on flow wrappers are often overlooked as the cause of poor package quality or reduced productivity. This Greener Tech Bite explains the problems caused by contaminated and worn fin wheels and reviews maintenance and design options that will help you prevent these issues.

Most wrappers utilize at least two, and often three, pairs of fin wheels.

The first pair, typically unheated, works primarily to draw the film tube forward through the wrapper.

The second and third pairs seal the fin and guide the film tube forward.

Fin Wheel Problems

Slippage

As fin wheels wear or grow contaminated with product, ink, or film residue they begin to slip against the film. This slippage distorts the fin seal with wrinkles and creases that channel leaks in the end seal and make the package unappealing to consumers.

Pressure

Increasing pressure between the fin seals may help get you through a production run, but they should be cleaned or replaced, if worn or damaged, as soon as possible.

Relying on excess pressure will further degrade the condition of the fin wheels and wear out the shafts and bearings.

Heat

Raising the temperature setting to compensate for poor seal quality can damage the film and further contaminate the fin wheels with film residue or product.

Fin Wheel Maintenance

Fin wheels should be regularly cleaned and inspected as part of your preventative maintenance program. Replace them when they begin to wear.

Fin Wheel Design

When you need new fin wheels, Greener will recommend the optimal design for your packaging film, product, and running conditions. Design options include serration profile, material, and seal width.

Serrations

We recommend gripper grooves on the first pair of fin wheels. This design draws the film with less pressure and helps prevent slippage.

Material

High Durability Stainless fin wheels provide excellent durability and prevent rust and corrosion without the need for plating.

Dura Therm provides consistent, responsive heat transfer to help maintain narrow temperature windows. This material also offers excellent corrosion resistance.

Seal Width

Opportunities may exist to reduce the fin seal width on your package and decrease film costs.

Standardization

Our Project Development team can help you standardize fin wheel designs across multiple makes, models, and lines of flow wrappers to achieve consistent performance.

Optimizing the design of your fin wheels and regularly inspecting, cleaning, and maintaining them will help you achieve peak package quality and productivity on your flow wrappers.

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Preventative Maintenance Checklist for Flow Wrappers

Mark Green — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 16:39:40 +0000

Changes on horizontal flow wrappers occur regularly—during sanitation, product changeovers, part installations and adjustments, maintenance, and from wear and tear. These changes can impact the success of your next production run, yet they often go unnoticed.

This Greener Tech Bite presents our quick, Preventative Maintenance Checklist. By investing five or ten minutes to inspect these four areas before starting production, you will be up and running more quickly and avoid hours of downtime.

It’s easy to underestimate the value of these inspections, or to skip them when time seems too tight. But even details that may seem insignificant, such as a protruding screw in a deck plate, can cause problems.

Not everything you discover will require immediate action. But you’ll be able to track conditions such as backlash or jaw wear and know when its time to correct them—before they degrade package quality and disrupt production. When urgent problems do occur, you can compare current conditions with previous inspection results to recognize what has changed and resolve the issue.

1. Package Formation

Begin by checking the Package Formation components. Small, seemingly insignificant variations here can create wrinkles, pleats, and other deformities that cause leakers and other problems.

2. Controller

3. Sealing Jaws

4. Cutting and Sealing

Lastly, inspect the Cutting and Sealing process. Even without product, you can check the basics. Mount the packaging material roll and run some film through the head.

When you perform regular Preventative Maintenance Inspections, you’ll have time to make corrective adjustments before you are under the stress of production. Once product comes down the line, you will get up and running more quickly, with less scrap. And you’ll be able to keep running, with fewer problems and less downtime.

For more technical resources browse additional posts and videos and contact Greener Corporation. We develop and deliver Full Process Solutions, worldwide.

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Product Flow Issues on Vertical Baggers

Andrew Dennis — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 17:49:21 +0000

Refinements and Forming Set Designs that Boost Productivity and Package Quality

Optimizing packaging performance requires fine-tuning of the entire product flow process—from the way product is distributed into the measuring system through to the filled, sealed, and cut bag or pouch.

Symptoms of product flow issues on vertical baggers include downtime from product blockages and poor end seals and cutting problems due to product contamination of the sealing jaws and knife. Considered in isolation, as one-time incidents, each problem may only cause a relatively short period of downtime and a small amount of product and film waste. But when the cumulative impact of product flow issues is considered over time, the costs can mount.

When product flow issues grow to be chronic, and their costs are recognized, running speeds are sometimes reduced to the threshold where problems no longer regularly occur. In these cases the resulting reduced output levels may become embedded; the presence of a potentially solvable problem is masked, and opportunities to achieve full potential for output and package quality can be missed.

Fortunately, there are a number of refinements that can streamline the product flow process.

Creating individual “Charges” of Product

Finished product is conveyed into a scale, auger, counter, or other measuring system, which produces individual “charges” of product—enough to fill one package. Multihead weighers and counters combine product from multiple buckets in order to more quickly create a single, more accurately measured charge.

Charges must be compiled and released into the inlet chute of the forming set with precision timing and accuracy so that they remain consolidated and separate from each other as they move through the packaging process. Faster and more consistent product flow into the measuring system helps to create this separation by producing more compact charges.

Bottlenecks

Bottlenecks can occur as a charge of product moves from the inlet chute into the narrower confines of the forming tube. These constrictions may slow the movement of each charge and can lead to product blockages, especially in situations where:

The average product size is large in relation to the bag size.
Oversized product units are occasionally present.
The product is lightweight, oddly shaped, or has rough outer surfaces that slow its movement.

Seal Quality

As the charges move into the inlet chute, through the forming tube, and into newly formed bags or pouches, the spaces between them provide critical room for the jaws to close in order to seal and cut the package without interference from product contamination.

When a charge encounters bottlenecks it can slow down, become strung out, and fail to completely fill the newly formed bag before the sealing jaws close, trapping product within the end seal. Even small amounts of product within the end seal can prevent the sealing jaws from providing the even pressure and heat transfer required to create quality seals, and product contamination can keep the knife from cutting properly.

Downtime and Waste

Blockages occur at bottlenecks when product gets stuck or when a charge is so delayed and strung out that it “bridges” together with the charge that follows it, creating an overflow of product volume that clogs the forming tube. Machine stoppage and operator intervention are typically required to clear blockages, resulting in costly waste and downtime.

Bag Closers and Strippers

These components help to consolidate each charge within the film tube before it reaches the sealing jaws, helping to clear critical space for the sealing and the cutting of each package. To ensure accurate product flow the bag closers and strippers should be regularly cleaned and maintained, and should be refurbished or replaced when worn.

Inlet and Forming Tube Options

The design and precision of the inlet chute and forming tube play a critical role in optimizing product flow, and should be engineered to accommodate your specific packaging application. Available options include:

Straight Tube

• Creates a more abrupt transition from the measuring system into the forming tube.
• While this design works well for many applications, for some products and conditions the transition can be too abrupt and may create bottlenecks that increase downtime, reduce seal quality, and lower production rates.

Integral Cone
• The inlet cone is built into the tube, and the transition from large to small diameter happens more gradually, over a greater distance.
• Since the angle of the built-in cone is steeper in front than in back, some parts of the charge pass through the bottleneck fractionally ahead of the other parts, minimizing turbulence that slows down and strings out the charge.

High Cut Tube
• Provides a greater surface area, over the longest distance possible, from large to small diameter.
• This design maximizes the cross-sectional area available for product to pass through to minimize bottlenecks and blockages.

Comparing Inlet Chute and Forming Tube Designs

The image at right, with a view looking from above down into the forming tube, shows the larger surface area in the transition zone of an integral cone (red), compared to the smaller surface area in a straight tube (blue). High cut tubes provide an even larger transition zone.

As illustrated below, on Integral Cones and High Cut Tubes the angle at the front (X°) is steeper than at the back (Y°), so that X° < Y°. These designs stagger the charge and help keep it from slowing down and stringing out as it moves through the bottleneck.

The Integral and High Cut designs help stream product through bottlenecks and potential blockage points and can be crucial to maintaining product flow for many products, especially on high speed bagging operations. The entire charge enters the final bag earlier than if it had transitioned directly from the scales into a straight tube, helping to achieve faster speeds, larger doses, decreased downtime, or a combination of all three benefits while maintaining quality seals free from product contamination.

Consistent, Precision Construction

Even small deviations in the geometry and size of the inlet, feed tube, or forming set can disrupt the carefully choreographed sequence of events necessary to optimize product flow. Once the optimal design for your forming sets is determined, these components must be accurately and consistently fabricated—the first time and every time they are replicated. You should expect the same, dependable product flow and bag forming performance across multiple machines and with future orders of replacement forming sets, without resorting to lengthy, costly installation processes and modifications to achieve quality results.

Finding the Right Solution

Greener Corporation works in partnership with Kenray Forming to provide solutions that improve product flow speed and efficiency. Kenray’s computer aided design methods and specialized fabricating techniques eliminate variability from order to order, so that you achieve reliable, consistent product flow and bag forming performance.

Greener and Kenray will work with you to:

• Determine the forming assembly design that optimizes product flow for your application.
• Accurately and consistently provide the forming assembly designs that work best for you.
• Supply bag closers and strippers for TNA machines that provide improved performance and lifespan when compared to OEM equipment.

Are there opportunities to improve product flow on your packaging lines? Contact Greener Corporation for solutions that optimize packaging performance.

The post Product Flow Issues on Vertical Baggers appeared first on Greener Corporation.

Solving Cutting Problems on Flow Wrappers During Production

Mark Green — Sat, 12 May 2018 14:03:56 +0000

When cutting problems occur on horizontal flow wrappers during a production run, what are the best procedures to get packaging lines up and running again and to keep them running? Minimizing downtime, producing consistent quality packages, and managing costs require a balanced approach that includes:

Knowing which “quick-fix” adjustments will get knives cutting without causing additional problems and downtime. (Faster and easier is not always the best solution.)
Broad-based, Integrated Solutions that consider the entire packaging process to:
• Understand how each adjustment affects the whole system.
• Eliminate procedures that don’t work.
• Diagnose and correct the ultimate causes of problems. (Many issues stem from a combination of factors.)
• Implement solutions that help prevent cutting problems from occurring in the first place.

When Knives and Anvils Stop Cutting:

The following procedures can help to get knives cutting again or, if knives and anvils need to be replaced, to refine the installation process. In either case, these guidelines will reduce downtime and optimize long-term performance.

Implications:

Broad-Based Solutions:

Never adjust clearance to address cutting issues.

Incorrect clearance settings can cause:
• Premature knife and anvil failure.
• Degradation and premature failure of sealing jaws, shafts, bearings, and other critical components.
• Distorted and leaking end seals.

• Adjust clearance (the distance between the shafts) during the initial set-up of sealing jaws; do not use clearance to adjust knives.
Learn More

Eliminate Banging and Vibration when the knife and anvil come together.

• Knives and anvils that come together with excess force will fail prematurely, and can cause the degradation and premature failure of sealing jaws, shafts, bearings, and other critical components.
• This excess force can cause the crimpers to deflect apart as the knife strikes the anvil, degrading the quality of the end seal made after the cut (the leading edge of the package).

• Banging and vibration can be caused by improper clearance settings (see above).
• If clearance is properly set, then the knife is over adjusted. Reduce its height to eliminate banging and vibration. If the knife then fails to cut, follow the procedures in the table below.
• When banging and vibration are immediately corrected knives may continue to cut. If not quickly rectified, however, this condition will cause knives and anvils to fail prematurely and require replacement.

Readjust spring pressure with restraint.

• Over-adjusting pressure can cause premature knife and anvil failure.
• Excess pressure can corrupt the crimper adjustment, causing distorted and leaking packages.

• Evaluate pressure settings whenever new knives and anvils are installed, and adjust as necessary.
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Adjust heat with restraint.

• Excess heat may distort the end seal and cause leakers.

• Allow knives and anvils to reach operating temperature before making adjustments.
• The actual temperature of the crimpers, knives, and anvils is typically higher at set-up than during production, and the temperature can change according to line speeds. These variations may affect cutting performance.
• Higher or lower temperature settings due to product or film changeovers may require a slight readjustment of the knife.

Replace multiple, thin shims with fewer, thicker shims.

• Stacking up too many shims creates a spongy platform in the slot that will not allow the knife to exert adequate cutting pressure; compensating with other adjustments can reduce knife life and degrade seal quality.

• Using fewer shims—one .005” (.127mm) and one .003″ (.076mm) shim, for example, rather than four .002” (.05mm) shims—creates the most stable platform for cutting. Keep a convenient supply of shims available to make this a time-efficient procedure.

Use only high quality shims.

• Shims with burrs on the edge or that are too short do not provide the flat, consistent platform for knives and anvils that is necessary to exert consistent, even cutting pressure; compensating for this shortfall with other adjustments can reduce knife life and degrade seal quality.

• Shims must be flat and free of burrs, which can cause uneven adjustment, and should be longer than, or at least as long as, the knife. (Greener Corporation can supply high quality, pre-cut shim stock in a variety of widths and thicknesses.)

Always change the anvil when installing a new knife.

• Excess pressure required to get a new knife to cut across the impression in the old anvil can cause premature knife failure and create sealing issues.

• The time and cost necessary to change both the knife and the anvil are minimal compared to the downtime and increased costs caused by just replacing the knife.
• In an emergency, if you need to replace a knife but do not have a new one, installing a new anvil may get the old knife to cut again. Always follow up by installing a new knife and anvil when time allows.

Clean the slots when installing knives and anvils.

• Knives and anvils must be seated on a firm, flat platform to cut properly. Product build-up in the slot can cause intermittent cutting issues and knife failure; compensating for product contamination with other adjustments can reduce knife life and degrade seal quality.

• Practice preventative cleaning of the crimpers on a regular basis to facilitate faster, more precise knife and anvil adjustment and to prevent product build up that can ultimately cause downtime.
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To reduce downtime from cutting issues, make sure all those working to set-up horizontal flow wrappers and keep them running become familiar with the concepts listed above. If you would like help with establishing these procedures for your packaging operation, contact Greener Corporation about our integrated technical services.

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