mooning Archives - Greener Corporation Technical Resource Blog

NeedThere is no one-size-fits-all solution for the design of crimpers and sealing jaws on horizontal flow wrappers and vertical baggers; they should be specified according to the packaging film, products, and conditions of your packaging operation.

This post, the last in our four-part series, reviews design options for crimpers and jaws. The optimal combination of serration patterns, materials, and special features can dramatically improve seal quality and productivity when sealing across extra film layers at the end seal. Read more

Varying thicknesses of film at the end seal can cause sealing problems, especially at the transition points of multiple film layers created by the fin or lap seal, gussets, wrinkles, creases, and at the corners. Applications of pressure and heat must be great enough to cause the sealant layer to flow into and seal off these voids. However, excess pressure can easily crush or split the end seal, while overheating distorts the seal and can cause poor hot tack, where the film springs back open, or “moons,” before the seal can set.

Package Quality Issues_vertical baggers_Greener Corp

The operating window for creating quality seals can be elusive, resulting in packages that leak, are distorted, and have little appeal to consumers. Read more

For heat seal applications, each packaging film structure has a Seal Initiation Temperature (SIT), at which the sealant layer is heated enough to flow into and seal off gaps in the end seal and provide a minimally acceptable seal, and a Maximum Temperature, beyond which the film distorts, fractures, or has inadequate hot tack (seal strength and integrity while the seal is still warm). The temperature range between the minimum and maximum is the film’s Operating Window.

For a number of reasons, regulating heat is not as straightforward as simply adjusting the temperature setting within the operating window for the film you are running.

♦ The sealing face of crimpers and sealing jaws is often hotter in the middle than at the ends, where heat dissipates more quickly. These inconsistencies are readily apparent in the thermal profile shown below:

Stainless Steel Crimper Thermal Profile

mooning

Sealing Over Extra Layers of Film at the End Seal (part 4 of 4): Optimizing Crimper & Sealing Jaw Design

Troubleshooting Extra Layers of Film at the End Seal (Part 2 of 4): Refining and Eliminating Wrinkles and Creases on Vertical Baggers

HEAT: Improving Seal Quality and Consistency

For a number of reasons, regulating heat is not as straightforward as simply adjusting the temperature setting within the operating window for the film you are running.