Packaging

Consumer packaging

Most of the modern products are supplied in pre-filled packages, and the packaging should hold the content and, at the same time, be easy to crack open by the final user. This twofold necessity, coupled with the mounting environmental laws, puts a strain on the manufacturers to maximize the use of materials at the expense of performance.

Packaging design is often a trade-off between competing attributes. As an illustration, the puncture resistance should be coupled with the controlled onset of tears, while still ensuring that, the safe closures are easily accessible. In the pharmaceutical field, seals are designed to be as safe as possible in terms of integrity, but be able to allow a predictable peel strength to safely open.

The material thickness in which plastic containers are filled needs to be distributed with caution in order to have the strength to withstand the process of filling, capping, stacking, and storing. Top-load testing is widely used in order to check the ability of bottles to resist compressing forces vertically. Equally, aerosol cans and ring-pull closures are to be tested to meet the acceptable ergonomic actuation force. Packaging is increasingly becoming a design-oriented object, and this offers even more challenges trying to grasp and test such products.

The Presto Stantest designs force and torque testing systems coupled with application-designed fixtures to test the packaging performance in the design validation and production quality control. The software has advanced control and analysis software that allows accurate, repeatable tests and standards-compliant testing with very little human intervention.

Transit packaging

In the case of transit packaging, the goal is to attain the best protection by using the minimum material and reduced weight. At the material level, the tests are important in the determination of overall packaging performance.

Examples of these tests are the edge crush, ring crush, and flat crush, which have been proven as good signs of a strong board and may, in most cases, have an almost similar result to full box compression. These assessments can effectively be done using a universal testing machine. Moreover, adhesive testing, tapes, strapping materials, friction properties, stiffness, tensile strength, and puncture resistance can also be tested on a single integrated system.

Solutions of Presto Stantest help to adhere to international and industry-specific standards, such as ASTM, BS EN, ISO, DIN, CEN, FEFCO, FINAT, and TAPPI, among others, which provide the same quality in both local and export markets.