Training Archives - Greener Corporation

Fill Knowledge Gaps to Achieve Package Quality & Productivity Goals on Flow Wrappers & Vertical FFS Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:53:30 +0000

A Tech Bite from Greener Vice-President & co-owner Matt Wojtech

Many packagers report high turnover rates with their mechanics and other technical staff. The resulting shortage of long-term, hands-on experience creates significant knowledge gaps.

This Greener Tech Bite outlines a series of essential questions that must be answered to successfully solve problems and achieve your package quality and productivity goals on flow wrappers and vertical FFS baggers.

If your technical staff does not have the experience to address some or all of these questions, Greener Corporation’s Technical Specialists can help you find the answers you need and provide training to expand your team’s knowledge base.

1. Flexible Packaging Material

Do the capabilities of your flexible packaging material match both your product’s protection needs and your production throughput requirements?

Product Protection Requirements

Your product may require hermetic seals, but your material’s structure may not be capable of producing this level of seal integrity.

Or you may be using an expensive material structure capable of hermetic seals when your product does not require that level of protection.

Seal Testing Methods

Do your seal testing methods appropriately measure your seal integrity requirements?

Machine Speed / Throughput

Is your flexible packaging material capable of producing the seal integrity you require at the machine speeds needed to reach your throughput levels?

The material’s manufacturing seal range should be determined to answer this question.

2. Scrap

It is also important to understand the impact of scrap on your packaging process.

Scrap Rate & Cost

What is the current scrap rate, and what is the cost?

Causes & Solutions

What causes scrap, and what needs to change to reduce the scrap rate?

3. Machine Speed & Efficiency

The setup of your flow wrapper or vertical bagger is also crucial. Do your current setup and adjustments fully optimize machine speed and efficiency?

These include mechanical settings, such as sealing jaw serration alignment and knife adjustment; dwell or pause adjustments; temperature settings; and sealing pressure adjustments.

4. Product Presentation

Looking upstream from the wrapper or bagger, is the presentation of the product accurate and consistent?

Vertical Form Fill Seal Baggers

On vertical baggers, are charges of product accurately measured by the scale? Do they stay compact and flow consistently into the bag forming process?

Horizontal Flow Wrappers

Is the product feed into your flow wrapper accurately synchronized with the wrapping process?

Add Experience to Fill Knowledge Gaps

With over 60 years of experience, Greener Corporation can help you fill knowledge gaps that prevent you from achieving your package quality and productivity goals.

Our Technical Specialists will evaluate your whole process, from product production and infeed to finished packages, and help you:

Recognize problems and opportunities
Find solutions
Train and increase the knowledge base of your technical staff

Contact Greener Corporation to get the broad-based, technical service and training you need. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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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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Flexible Packaging Materials Consulting

Michael Wojtech — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:10:52 +0000

Greener Corporation provides a broad range of Flexible Packaging Materials Consulting resources for flow wrappers and vertical baggers.

Whether you need to assess your current material or evaluate new structures, our materials and machinery experts can help you Establish Objectives, Identify Options, Run Trials, and to Select and Implement the material that best meets your objectives.

Integrated Solutions

Greener’s integrated approach considers how the design and condition of your flow wrappers or vertical baggers will affect results and determines what machine adjustments or component updates may be needed.

Early Involvement & Collaboration

The earlier in your selection project that we work with you, and the more we collaborate with packagers, machinery OEMs, and materials suppliers, the more effectively we can integrate four essential elements of your process to produce optimal, timely results.

1. Establish Packaging Objectives

Greener can help you establish clear packaging objectives, based on the requirements of your product, distribution channel, and other criteria, that provide important standards for evaluating a material’s performance.

Barrier Properties

Barrier Properties protect against the transfer of odors, gases, or moisture.

Seal Integrity

Seal Integrity should correlate with your barrier requirements.

Sustainability

Sustainable recyclable and compostable materials must meet specific compositional and structural guidelines.

Machinability

Machinability testing indicates how a material’s thickness, stiffness, coefficient of friction, thermal conductivity, and other properties affect the packaging process.

Cost

Per-package material cost and the anticipated costs of machine downtime and scrap rates must also be considered.

2. Identify New Material Options

If you are unable to meet your objectives with your current material, we can help determine a list of new material options—perhaps even suggesting materials you may not have considered.

3. Trials and Evaluations

To help narrow your initial list down to the most promising options, Greener can assist with preliminary machine trials at your facility or run these trials in our Packaging Lab.

We can then help you run more extensive trials with this refined list of materials.

Adjustments and Part Designs

Before you run trials, Greener can assess the characteristics of these materials and recommend machine adjustments or updates to former, sealing jaw, and other part designs that are needed to optimize results and get a truer picture of each material’s potential.

A new material that meets your objectives for sustainability, for instance, might require higher seal initiation temperatures and be more easily damaged by excess pressure.

Package Testing

To evaluate machine trial results, we’ll help you establish criteria and determine the best package testing methods. For example, if your product does not require a material with a strong oxygen barrier, then seal integrity does not need to be hermetic.

Packages can be tested at your facility or in our Packaging Lab.

4. Select and Implement New Material

Well executed machine trials and testing can be used to determine which flexible packaging material best meets your objectives in a production setting.

We will help you implement changes to adjustment procedures and component designs, along with any necessary training, on the wrappers or baggers that will run the new material and ensure consistent results across different makes or models of machinery and at multiple facilities.

Greener’s Flexible Packaging Materials Consulting provides an additional resource to help you integrate and improve all aspects of your packaging process.

To learn more about solutions for improving package quality and productivity on flow wrappers and vertical baggers, contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Sealing Leaks at the Triangle of Death on Flow Wrappers and Vertical Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:06:28 +0000

Are you consistently meeting your standards for package seal integrity and production speeds on your flow wrappers and vertical baggers? This Greener Tech Bite explains causes and solutions for a common package sealing problem where high integrity seals are required—the unsealed gap where the lap seal or fin seal intersects the end seal, sometimes referred to as the “Triangle of Death.”

For anyone who has struggled to seal these gaps, this nickname is no exaggeration.

Package Geometry

On a typical package, the end seal thickens from two to three layers where the vertical sealing overlaps, or from two to four layers where the fin seal folds over. On packages with gussets this transition occurs multiple times, creating, in effect, a series of plateaus and abrupt valleys.

Packaging Material Structure

To consistently seal the gaps created at these transition points, the structure of your flexible packaging material must be appropriate for your package geometry, required machine speeds, and other conditions.

The Sealing Process

But limitations within the seal packaging process can cause leaks at the Triangle of Death to persist.

Temperature Cycles

As explained in our previous Tech Bite, sealing jaw temperatures fluctuate as each package is sealed, and temperatures vary more widely if production slows down or is interrupted.

Seal Range

Machine speeds are limited by the need to keep these temperature cycles within the seal range of your packaging material.

Heat, Pressure, and Time

With adequate heat, pressure, and dwell time, sealant layers designed with the necessary mass and flow properties—shown here in yellow—can flow into and seal off the Triangle of Death.

But sealing jaw temperatures must remain below the point where they distort or melt the exterior packaging material layers, shown here in blue.

Sealing pressure helps to move sealant into these gaps, but too much pressure can crush or split the seal, especially at thicker sections where the lap seal, fin seal, or gussets intersect

It can be difficult to sustain the balance of heat and pressure required to seal these gaps while also maintaining required machine speeds.

Sealing Jaw Design and Setup

Here’s where improving the design and setup of your sealing jaws can help you seal the Triangle of Death.

Dura-Therm

Jaws made from Dura-Therm, a highly conductive alloy, reduce temperature cycles so you can maintain seal quality at higher speeds.

Serration Pattern

Sealing jaw serration patterns are not universal; your sealing jaw serrations should be designed to optimize sealing pressure and heat transfer for your specific packaging conditions.

XR™* Sealing Jaws

Greener’s XR™* Sealing Jaws combine the benefits of Dura-Therm and our unique serration geometry to seal leaks at the Triangle of Death and:

Improve Package Quality
Increase Machine Speed
Run Sustainable Materials & Hard to Seal Packages
Reduce Flexible Packaging Costs

Easy Seal™ FLEX

Easy Seal™ FLEX Jaws accommodate the extra thickness at the fin seal fold to further optimize sealing pressure and heat.

Setup Procedures and Training

Once you determine the optimal sealing jaw design for your application, establish proper sealing jaw setup procedures and provide training to consistently produce high-quality seal packaging.

If you experience sealing problems at the Triangle of Death, consult with our experts at Greener corp about packaging material specifications, sealing jaw designs, and setup procedures for your flow wrappers and vertical baggers.

Greener Corporation provides integrated parts and technical service solutions worldwide.

* patent pending

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Setting Up Shim Style Knives and Anvils on Flow Wrappers

Michael Wojtech — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 13:49:59 +0000

Establishing accurate knife and anvil adjustment methods on flow wrappers is critical not just for cutting, but also for producing quality seals and avoiding preventable production delays.

This Greener Corporation Tech Bite details setup procedures for shim style knives and anvils that consistently optimize package quality and productivity.

1. Check the Seal

Before installing knives and anvils, make sure your sealing adjustments are correct.

Temperature Settings

For heat seal applications, confirm that temperature settings are within the prescribed range.

Clearance

Clearance, the narrow gap between the upper and lower sealing jaw serrations, should be set just wide enough to create an interference fit for a double layer of film—generally about the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Trial Packages

Run trial packages, with product if possible. Cut the packages apart with scissors and test the seals with your standard method.

2. Clean the Slots

Once you are producing quality seals, remove old shims and clean product buildup in the anvil and knife slots.

Left uncleaned, this residue creates an unstable base that prevents knives from cutting cleanly and consistently.

3. Install the Anvil

Install a new anvil in the clean slot, typically in the lower sealing jaw.

Always replace the anvil along with the knife. A new knife paired with a worn, scored anvil requires excess pressure to cut and will fail prematurely.

Make sure you install the anvil with the working surface, which is ground with a radius, facing up. (Some anvils have a radius on both sides.)

The height of the anvil should range between the root and the mid-point of the serrations. Sealing jaws from some manufacturers have deeper slots that require shims to raise the anvil up to the proper position.

If your anvils and knives are held in from the end, don’t overtighten the set screw—this can arc them upward in the center and prevent a clean cut.

4. Adjust the Knife

Shims

Install the new knife with a .005” or .15 mm thick shim. If your sealing jaws have deeper slots, you’ll need a thicker shim to start.

Shims should be high quality stainless steel, free from burrs or kinks, and slightly longer than the knife.

Check Setup

If your sealing jaws are heated, allow the knives and anvils to reach operating temperature.

Check your set-up by running a standard piece of notebook paper through the jaws.

Additional Shims

If the knife doesn’t cut, add a .003″ or .05 mm shim and check again.

If it still doesn’t cut, raise the knife by replacing the two shims with a single, .010″ or .25 mm shim.

Continue to add shims, if needed, until the knife cuts cleanly.

Always use as few shims as possible. Multiple shims create an unstable platform that prevents the knife from producing consistent cuts.

Troubleshooting

If a new knife needs to be overadjusted to cut, such that you can hear it banging and feel the heavy impact with your hands, you may need to address other conditions on your flow wrapper such as spring pressure adjustments, worn springs, damaged bearings, and damaged sealing jaws or shafts.

Never use clearance to adjust the knife. This will cause sealing problems and force you back to the first step, to readjust your sealing setup and then reset the knife.

Once you are successfully cutting and running production, be aware that temperature variations, due to changes in line speed or for different products or packaging materials, may require slight readjustments of the knife.

If you’d like to improve your knife and anvil setup and train your staff on optimal quality packaging procedures, contact Greener Corporation’s Technical Support Team.

Greener Corp provides integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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An Illustrated Guide to Flow Wrapper Cutting and Sealing Heads

Michael Wojtech — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:03:26 +0000

This Greener Corporation Tech Bite presents an introduction and refresher course on flow wrapper cutting and sealing head components. Knowing these components and understanding how they function is important, base knowledge for operators, maintenance personnel, engineers, packaging material suppliers, and others that work to efficiently produce quality packaging.

The following illustrations and descriptions are based on a common cutting and sealing head design. Components and adjustment methods may differ on some wrapper makes and models, but their overall function remains the same.

Shafts

The head includes a lower shaft and an upper shaft.

Bearings and Bearing Blocks

Bearings that support the shafts and allow them to rotate accurately are mounted in the bearing blocks.

Gears

The lower shaft is driven by the packaging machinery. A gear on the lower shaft mates with and drives a gear on the upper shaft. In most cases, the upper gear can be adjusted to spin the upper shaft independently of the lower shaft to ensure proper alignment and phasing of the sealing jaws.

A split, or anti-backlash, gear can be adjusted to remove backlash, or free play, between the gears, which causes misalignment of the sealing jaws.

Sealing Jaws

Lower sealing jaws are mounted on the lower shaft, and upper jaws on the upper shaft.

Sealing jaws should be installed with proper mounting bolts and hardened washers to ensure that they are accurately seated on the shafts and don’t shift out of alignment.

A flow wrapper can utilize one to four, and occasionally more, pairs of sealing jaws, depending on package length and line speed requirements.

Heaters and Thermocouples

For heat seal applications, cartridge heaters and thermocouples are inserted into holes bored in the sealing jaws and are connected to the temperature controller through slip rings or rotary electrical connectors mounted on the end of each shaft.

Clearance Adjustment Rods

On many wrappers clearance adjustment rods are adjusted to set the clearance between the upper and lower shafts when sealing jaws are installed.

Some makes and models use other clearance adjustment methods.

Pressure Springs

On most flow wrappers pressure springs are adjusted and locked to create the pressure required to seal and cut packages.

Some wrappers utilize compression washers to create this pressure.

Anvils and Knives

Anvils are typically installed in the lower sealing jaws. Packaging knives installed in the upper jaws are adjusted with shims or screws to properly contact the opposing anvil and cut the packaging film.

Product Carriers

Product carriers mount on the lower shaft to support packages and keep them on the same horizontal plane as they pass from the infeed belt, through the cutting and sealing head, and onto the discharge belt.

With basic knowledge of the cutting and sealing head assembly on your flow wrappers you can better understand not just the function of individual components, but also how their design and adjustment effect each other and the resulting package quality and productivity.

To learn more about design, setup, and problem-solving for cutting and sealing head components, visit and subscribe to our Technical Resource Blog and contact Greener Corporation.

We provide Integrated Parts and Packaging Machinery Services worldwide.

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Integrated Parts & Technical Services for Flow Wrappers & Vertical FFS Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Thu, 18 May 2023 13:40:34 +0000

It takes more than just the right cutting, sealing, and forming components to meet your production goals on flow wrappers and vertical baggers. When you work with Greener Corporation, we integrate premium, customized parts with the technical support and services that you need to optimize package quality and productivity.

Problem Resolution

Greener Corp will help you resolve immediate packaging problems, prevent future issues, and discover quality and productivity improvements you may not have thought possible.

Installations

For all our cutting, sealing, and forming parts we offer an installation service option, to ensure optimal set-up and performance from the start.

Line Evaluations

Through line evaluations we analyze your whole packaging process and recommend solutions to solve problems, improve procedures, and implement unrecognized opportunities to improve package quality and productivity.

Evaluations can cover single machines or complete lines and focus on specific issues or provide a current state analysis.

Training

Greener Corporation’s training programs are customized for your packaging conditions and goals on flow wrappers and vertical baggers. We provide classroom and hands-on sessions for machine operators, mechanics, engineers, management, and owners that empower your team to integrate all parts of your packaging process and efficiently produce quality packaging.

Project Development

Our Greener corp technical and engineering staff can help you develop and implement a wide range of package quality, productivity, and cost saving projects such as new film qualifications, new products, and machinery redesigns.

Our solutions-oriented approach at Greener Corp integrates custom designed parts with the technical support that is essential for success, whether your project involves a single packaging machine, full product lines, or regional and international endeavors.

Flexible Packaging Materials Consulting

With the expansion of our Packaging Lab, Greener Corporation provides a broad range of consulting resources to help you select, test, run, and solve problems with sustainable and traditional flexible packaging materials on flow wrappers and vertical baggers.

To discover how integrated parts and technical services can help you improve package quality and productivity, contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Case Study: Rejected Packages Delay Production – Sealing Problems Diagnosed & Solved

Mark Green — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 23:08:06 +0000

When sealing problems kept a packager of energy bars from meeting their production requirements, they contacted Greener to see if we could help develop a solution. They explained to one of our technical experts that rejects and downtime due to split or unsealed packages had reached the point of crisis.

Mechanics were constantly monitoring and readjusting their horizontal flow wrappers and struggling to keep them running. He recommended a line evaluation and training as the fastest and most effective way to diagnose the causes of their problems and implement lasting solutions. The client agreed, and arranged for him to visit their facility.

Diagnostic Questions

WHAT is the Problem?

Once on site, he learned more about the split and unsealed packages that were delaying production.

WHERE do Problems Occur?

Problems occurred on both the leading and the trailing seals, with all the heat seal and cold seal films that they ran, and on all wrappers, which were the same make and model.

WHEN do Problems Occur?

The split and unsealed packages occurred intermittently but repeatedly. Even after set up was adjusted and production was restored, the problems returned.

Sealing Jaws – He discovered that the serration pattern on the sealing jaws, which was the same on all wrappers, was too sharp. It was difficult to apply adequate sealing pressure without splitting the film. Reducing spring pressure to eliminate splits often caused poor seal quality. The serration design, he determined, must be updated to solve this problem.

Mechanics had to overly rely on spring pressure adjustments on these machines. Accurately setting the clearance between the jaws was difficult, since it required the bearing blocks to be shimmed.

The one-piece design of the current, drum-style jaws made them difficult to set up, since the head had to be disassembled to install or remove them from the shafts.

WHAT has Changed?

He also found that variations in product size had a larger impact on seal quality than the client realized. The sealing jaws clipped the edges of bars that were too tall and pushed product into the seal area, resulting in poor seal quality and unsealed packages.

They had ordered new processing equipment to eliminate the oversized bars, but it had not yet been delivered.

Solutions

He recommended that the client purchase new, redesigned sealing jaws for one wrapper and evaluate the results. But their packaging problems were urgent, and they decided to convert all eight machines right away.

Sealing Jaw Design

For each wrapper, Greener would manufacture and return to install:
• New shafts that remained on the machine when jaws were changed, along with new bearings and pressure springs
• Easy Seal™ bases
• Easy Seal™ jaw inserts

The new sealing jaw design, with QUICK-CHANGE inserts, an updated serration profile, and FLEX sealing faces, would improve seal quality, provide fast, accurate set-up, and reduce lead times for replacement parts.

Also included were custom, stainless steel shim kits to improve the ease and accuracy of clearance adjustments. The currently used brass shims were malleable and often had burred edges.

Results

Sealing Jaws

After he returned and installed the new sealing jaws, problems with split seals caused by sealing jaw design were eliminated. Mechanics no longer needed to monitor each wrapper and fewer adjustments were needed. Production levels increased.

Product contamination from oversized bars still caused some problems, but this issue will be resolved when the new processing equipment is online.

Training

Mechanics reported that the training helped them better understand why problems were occurring and how to correct them.

If you’d like help troubleshooting your packaging problems, contact Greener Corporation. We develop and deliver full process solutions, worldwide.

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Running Sustainable Packaging Films on Flow Wrappers & Vertical FFS Baggers

Matt Wojtech — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 18:46:47 +0000

Are you planning to test or convert to sustainable packaging films on your flow wrappers or vertical form-fill-seal baggers? Your current machine set-up and components may not provide quality results with these paper-based, recyclable, or compostable materials.

This Greener Tech Bite outlines steps in your packaging process that you should evaluate and adjust before running these new films. You’ll find links to resources for:

• Machine Set-Up • Standard Operating Procedures

• Sealing Jaw & Former Design • Training

Compared with your current film, sustainable materials may:

• be thicker or stiffer

• be more easily damaged

• or require a different, and perhaps narrower, sealing temperature range

Their machinability and sealability differences can impact everything from film unwind and package formation through to the finished, cut and sealed package.

Package Formation

Sustainable materials may bend and fold differently and be more easily wrinkled or damaged, causing cutting and sealing problems and poor package appearance.

Follow these links to review package formation adjustments and former designs that will help accommodate these differences:

Flow Wrappers

Vertical Baggers

Sealing and Cutting

The set-up and design of your sealing jaws and knives should also be evaluated and adjusted for the new film.

For Flow Wrappers and Vertical Baggers

Carbon Impressions

These resources on carbon impressions will help you identify sealing and cutting problems and develop solutions.

Heat

This Tech Bite will help you maintain more consistent sealing temperatures across the face of your jaws.

Sealing Jaw Design

Your sealing jaws should be designed for the specific characteristics of the new, sustainable material.

Standardization

Standardizing this jaw design across wrappers, lines, and facilities will help ensure consistent, quality results.

More Resources for Flow Wrappers

Clearance & Pressure

Backlash

Knife Set-Up & Sealing

Working With Greener

Greener can work with you at any point on your sustainable film project, even in the early, conceptualization stages. In addition to recommending and delivering revised component designs, we can:

• Provide remote or on-site Technical Service

• Help you develop revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• Present Training programs to implement the new SOPs

These case studies, though they do not involve sustainable films, demonstrate the full-process support that Greener can provide:

Film Trials

Package Diagnostics

SOPs & Training

For more technical resources specific to your project variables, contact Greener Corporation. We develop and deliver full process solutions, worldwide.

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Case Study: Resolve Cutting & Sealing Problems with Standard Operating Procedures & Training

Matt Wojtech — Thu, 13 May 2021 20:08:22 +0000

One of Greener’s Technical Salespeople discovered that knife purchases by their customer had grown by 35% over the past year, at an additional cost of nearly $10,000. It seemed unlikely that additional production had accounted for all of this increase, which indicated to him that the customer could be experiencing problems on their horizontal flow wrappers.

He contacted the maintenance and production managers at the customer and asked about potential causes for the significant increase in knife usage. They reported that:

• No additional flow wrappers or shifts had been added; production levels remained the same.

• The packaging material had not changed.

• Cutting and sealing problems, however, had become a consistent cause of downtime over the past year. They had experienced higher than normal staff turnover, and their newer mechanics and operators were still learning how to set up and maintain the flow wrappers.

We suggested a comprehensive line evaluation to find the root causes of these issues and develop long-term solutions. The customer agreed, and scheduled Greener to conduct the evaluation.

When one of Greener’s technical service experts walked onto the customer’s packaging floor a few weeks later, he heard the repeated, heavy impact of knives striking against anvils.

Further investigation revealed the likely reason for this over-adjustment. In an effort to minimize downtime during production, mechanics were replacing worn knives without changing the anvil. New knives had to strike the anvil with great force in order to cut across the impression made by the previous knife.

At first changing just the knife had been a limited, emergency measure to keep a machine running until the end of a production run. But over the past year this had become a standard practice. The ultimate result was higher knife costs and increased downtime to address cutting and sealing problems.

The line evaluation also revealed that leakers usually occurred on the leading seal of the package. Based on the cutting issues this made sense. The force generated when an over-adjusted knife strikes the anvil pushes the sealing jaws apart and can prevent the serrations from transferring adequate sealing pressure and heat.

A trial was run on one wrapper where both new knives and anvils were installed. Cutting occurred more silently, without excess pressure, and the chronic seal quality issues were eliminated.

As we developed a plan with the customer to consistently replicate these improvements on the whole packaging line, another recent change was identified. With the intention to save time and increase package quality, machine operators had been empowered to make small wrapper adjustments that had previously required a mechanic. But with many new and inexperienced operators, these adjustments were often ineffective.

The maintenance and plant managers realized that they needed to create and implement standard operating procedures. They asked Greener to help establish these standards and to provide training.

Our technical expert returned and conducted classroom and hands-on training programs for packaging machine operators and mechanics on all shifts.

The better informed and well-trained staff quickly produced tangible results:

• Knife usage and costs returned to previous levels.

• Downtime was significantly reduced.

• Both seal integrity and package appearance now far exceeded minimum quality standards.

To learn how line evaluations and training can help you improve your packaging process on flow wrappers and vertical FFS baggers, contact Greener Corporation.

We develop and deliver full process solutions, worldwide.

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