How to Properly Seal Products with Packaging Machines

How to Effectively Seal Products with Automated Packaging Machinery

Packages with insufficient seals can compromise your product and subsequently hurt your company. Inadequate sealing can result in higher costs for machine reworking, recalibration, scrap, and spill cleanup. For perishables such as food items, a bag without a proper seal can result in shorter shelf life, poor product quality, risk of contamination, and messes for consumers.

Forming Adequate Seals with Heat Sealing

Most versatile packaging machines create seals using heat seal jaws or bars. When heated, these parts close over the portion of the package where the seal will be, causing the sealant layers to melt and fuse together. However, certain factors can result in faulty seals.

Here are some of the preventable issues.

Poor Sealing Jaw Construction and Uniformity

One issue that could happen has to do with poor uniformity. The strength of a packaging seal must be uniform to properly protect the packaged product. Sealing jaws can only create the perfect seal if they operate with consistent force and temperature across the entire sealing area. To make sure your seals are uniform, choose a packaging machine with sealing jaws that have been forged from a single piece of metal. This can help avoid temperature and pressure fluctuations, resulting in a strong seal.

The problem with sealing jaws made with more than one piece of metal is that they can create inconsistent seals because of fluctuating pressure and temperatures.

Misaligned Sealing Jaws

If package seals are weak on one side but strong on the other, this likely indicates that your jaws are poorly aligned. Oftentimes packaging machine technicians and operators will move the jaws into alignment using a small piece of metal. However, this isn’t the safest method.

You’re better off following a preventative maintenance plan that checks for misalignment at various points throughout the machine’s lifespan, such as:

Prior to startup
Following a material jam
Following changeovers
Following recent maintenance or upgrades

Dust & Debris in the Seal Area

When product is present in the bag seam throughout the heat sealing process, the areas where the product is present won’t adhere properly. This can have a negative impact on seal integrity, resulting in risk of leaking and contamination. To prevent dust from gathering on the seal area, you should clean it periodically.

Perform Preventative Maintenance

Packaging machine technicians or operators should clean and inspect sealing jaws on a daily basis as part of a complete preventative maintenance plan. This can help ensure that dust and other particulate won’t build up on the sealing bars. This can also help make sure that any small issues with sealing jaw alignment or function are identified and addressed before they can become a major problem.

Impulse Sealing

Rather than heat sealing, another sealing method to consider is impulse sealing. Unlike heat seal jaws that require consistent electricity and heat, impulse sealing bands only need electrical energy, creating heat solely during the heating phase of the sealing cycle. These bands heat up and cool down within a few hundred milliseconds to a few seconds at most. This gives the package seal time to cool prior to being released from the sealing mechanism.

By avoiding the aforementioned issues and implementing preventative maintenance measures and cleaning, you can keep your packaging machines working the way they should.

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Repairing Used Packaging Equipment

Whether you’re working with new or used packaging machinery, unexpected problems can cause major frustration while disrupting the operation of your business. Trying to figure out the source of a problem and fix it yourself can prove daunting, especially if you aren’t particularly well-versed in the machine’s internal operations.

There are different ways that you can seek help, though, without resorting to costly equipment replacements. For example, some packaging equipment companies provide maintenance and repairs in addition to the machinery itself. Working with a company like this allows you to more easily maintain the high performance of your used packaging equipment at all times.

Know What’s Wrong

If your equipment isn’t working properly, and you’re not sure what’s wrong, there may be a way to fix it without going through the trouble of selecting and purchasing replacement machines. Some packaging equipment companies will be able to help you discover any problems and advise you extensively on how to fix it. You’ll be able to save much-needed money as well as time when you have hands-on assistance.

Receive Visitations

When you are unsure about which areas you should examine in your packaging system, you can benefit from a professional maintenance visit to your facility. Qualified and highly trained staff from a packaging equipment company can figure out if there are problems of which you are unaware. Not only can equipment be examined, but operators can also receive training in order to expertly use it.

Increase Productivity

Purchasing new equipment can take time, especially when you don’t know where to start. If any machinery malfunctions and you’re not sure if the issue warrants a purchase of used packaging equipment, contact a company that can perform regular preventative maintenance and repairs—you may be surprised at what you can learn about your own machines.