In earlier posts, a summary of the article from Packaging Digest was typed from the magazine to give investors the info. That was only half of it. I'll add the rest describing the manufacturing process. Caution: Long post.
Pouchstock (Printpack Inc, Atlanta, GA) supplied on 385-mm wide rolls incorporates 40 gauge polyester laminated to a .00035-in. foil and a proprietary sealant for tearability and puncture-resistance. Under development for about a year, the new pouch is also produced on the Volpak S-240 DF (ACMA USA, Richmond, VA) intermittent-motion, horizontal form/fill/seal system that inserts the straw in-line.
Measuring 4 5/8 in. at its widest point and standing 6 1/4 in. tall, the unique juice pouch tapers toward the top seal which, like the water pouch, gets a clean directional tear, or Children's patent-pending "rip it sip it" feature, via a laser-cut score line just above the seal area. A machine-applied tear nick also facilitates opening. Laser scoring is performed by Laser Machining Inc, (Sommerset, WI). The drinking straw is enclosed within a 1/2-in wide double sealed area at one corner of the pouch, which keeps the straw securely in position during filling. Once the tear notch is accessed, a clean strip of film tears away across the top of the pouch, courtesy of the laser cut, and the straw pops up while the rest of the pouch remains sealed.
Shelf life of the various hot and cold-filled products is a minimum of one year.
Flexco-printed graphics for the Brain Forest juice drink line depict a lush waterfall scene closely replicating the design adopted for Brain Forest flavored spring water pouches, though on an opaque rather clear substrate: a deep green rain forest-filled background offsets a line art illustration of a small "kid-friendly" character, excitedly sipping from a juice pouch. The easy-tear top strip on the pack is identified with a graphic of a straw and the "rip it sip it" phrase. Private label graphics will be individually customized to be brand-specific.
The juice drink pouches will be utilized in a 10-pack outer carton also printed with the "rip it sip it" catch phrase and graphics found on the pouch. Outlook Graphics (Neehah,WI) provides the outer carton, which is being modified to a sturdy E-flute corrugated board, laminated with a .012 top sheet liner, offset printed in four color process plus an aqueous coating.
Efficiency, speed and most importantly accuracy were underscored by Children's to produce both water and juice drink pouches, especially in light of the product line expansion: company projections indicate a sales spurt of the new line of juices that Children's expects will continue through the rest of the 90's and beyond.
The technology to insert a straw and package the product at high speeds is what most impressed the packaging team at Childrens, says Perreault (TCBG, VP of manf), adding that the company appreciates the benefits of forming its own packages: "It's a question of economics and speed," he says. "Having our pouches made in-line gives us great control over the production process. The equipment is modular: it's also the best horizontal form/fill/seal liquid handling system out there for this type of application. There really wasn't another machine that could actually insert a straw inside a pouch, and do it reliably."
Able to reach a top speed of 120 pouches per minute, the Volpak system, from Spain, forms the bottom gussets, applies a double vertical seal for increased security and inserts the straw into the package just after pouch forming and prior to filling and sealing. Perreault pegs actual operating speeds of the machines running the Brain Forest pouches at about 110 per minute. The Volpak in this case generates pouches in a duplex mode, meaning it forms and fills two 200ml sized pouches at a time. In operation at the packaging facilities, the machine unwinds the pouchstock via a DC powered unwind unit and the stock proceeds through a series of rollers and indexes over a gusset former and plow, while film guides keep the stock taut and in place.
As the pouch material is plowed into shape, it reaches an embossing coder that applies a production code before the web enters a series of die-cut hole punching stations that create the bottom gusset. These will be sealed together against opposite sides of the film's inner web to make the pouch stand up properly. A bottom heat seal is then formed. The web carriage again advances to another set of seal bars, as the pouches begin to take shape and the two side seals are made. Cooling follows to set the seals, and at this point, the web of pouches is cut into individual pouches. A cutoff knife vertically begins dividing the continuous web between side seals and the pouches are opened by a combination of vacuum and mechanical fingers that ACMA says afford a smooth, controlled method of opening, every time. A notcher also cuts the tear nick in the top seal area.
The web indexes past a photocell that activates a pair of angled, rotating wheels receiving the straws from a gravity feeder; each long straw is introduced to the pouches on an angle. Meanwhile, the pouch material is tack-sealed around the straw to contain the straw on an angle. Next, the open-topped pouches are filled with the product, which is pumped to the filler's 15L holding hoppers. The duplex machine uses all stainless-steel filling and product contact parts and four filling heads-two per filling station-so that two 120mm wide pouches may be filled once. ACMA points out that the system can also make one large pouch 240mm wide. The lead pouch enters the second fill station; the trailing pouch enters the first. Filling occurs simultaneously on both stations. The sides of the pouches are stretched taut by a second set of mechanical fingers to eliminate any wrinkles before the pouches are top-sealed and ejected from the machine.
Utimately the pouches will be cartoned automatically by robotic systems from Protoype Equipment (Lake Forest, IL) that will position, pick and place them. For now, cartoning and casing is performed manually. (Someone on the SI thread mentioned it is automatic now).
Triseal (Econocorp, Randolph, MA) carton erecting/sealing equipment is about to be installed.
Typing lesson over...
Steve |
