Wrapping Machinery

A Flow Wrapping Machine is a horizontally operated machine with the packaging material mounted above the operating level where the product is loaded horizontally with a longitudinal seal formed below the pack.

Uses: solid products like biscuits, chocolate bars and phone cards.

Lower Reel Flow Wrapping

As above, except the packaging material is mounted below the operating level and the longitudinal seal is on top.

Uses: delicate products like vegetables and airline cutlery.

Band Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine that wraps a band of material around a product or group of products and secures it with adhesive or heat. The band is usually made of paper but increasingly can be made from plastic film.

Sleeve Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a band of thermoplastic material loosely around a product or group of products before being passed through a shrink tunnel to form a shrink wrapped pack. The band can be formed from one or two reels of film.

Stretch Banding Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a band of thermoplastic film tightly around a product or group of products without the application of heat.

Stretch Film Bundling Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a web of thermoplastic tightly around a product or group of products, in a series of turns while the product is conveyed through the machine.

Shrink Tunnel

A machine which shrinks a thermoplastic film around a product or group of products as they pass through a heated tunnel. The heating medium may be hot air, radiant heat, hot water or steam.

Shrink Oven

A machine which shrinks thermoplastic film around a product or group of products in a heated chamber. Used where the thermoplastic needs more heating time than a tunnel provides and a more constant heat to complete the shrinking process. Usually used for low cost and low speed operations.

Shrink Gun

A manually operated device in the shape of a gun which uses a flame or hot air stream to shrink thermoplastic film around large or difficult shaped products or where it is not convenient to use a machine for example on a building site or open area of a warehouse.

Shrink Frame

A machine which shrinks thermoplastic film around a product or group of products as it moves over the surface of the product. This is used for regular shaped larger items e.g. doors, radiators, double glazed windows or where long products such as timber or plastic pipes need to be grouped together for transportation.

Dip Tank

A machine which uses a tank of hot water to shrink a thermoplastic film around a product by dipping it in hot water. This is used for cheese because it limits the temperature rise of the product.

Overwrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a product or group of products in flexible packaging material with a series of folding, heat sealing or gluing operations.

Roll Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a cylindrical product or group of products, in a series of folding, heat sealing or gluing operations, to form a roll shaped pack. Common applications are packing biscuits or some types of confectionery.

Foil and Band Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a product in aluminium foil before applying a paper band to complete the pack. A common application is in some styles of chocolate confectionery.

Pleat Wrapping Machine

A machine which gathers and folds flexible material around a product and then seals at one point using a label. A common application is soap wrapping.

Stretch Film Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which pulls a web of stretch film around a product or group of products before gathering and heat sealing the film edges below the product. Usually used for fruit.

L-Sealing Machine

A wrapping machine which uses a thermoplastic film folded in half along its length. Products or a group of products are placed between the two halves of the film before it is sealed with an L-shaped sealing bar to produce a fully enclosed pack sealed on three sides. Very common in manual or low volume applications where products may vary in size, shape and quantity, such a stationery or greeting cards. It is often used in conjunction with a shrink tunnel.

Fold Over Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which folds a web of thermoplastic material around a rigid pack, overlapping but not sealing the edges of the film under the pack while the pack is being transported horizontally. Transverse seals are then made in front and behind the pack before the pack is passed to a shrink tunnel where the material shrinks and the overlapped material under the pack forms a seal. This is an unusual machine most commonly used for bundles of wood.

Skin Packer

A machine which seals products placed on a cartonboard blank by placing a thermoplastic film over the entire surface, which is heated so that the film forms a skin tight seal around the product and adheres to the surface of the cartonboard blank. Common in DIY and small building and electric products. It should not be confused with a form of Blister Packing which uses preformed rigid plastic components to attach the product to the cartonboard.

Fold Wrapping Machine

A wrapping machine which wraps a product in a deformable material e.g. aluminium foil or paper, in a series of folding operations.

Extruded Product Wrapper

A fold wrapping machine that wraps in a series of folds extrudable products such as butter or edible fat which is cut to size prior to wrapping in a deformable material.

Twist Wrapping Machine

A machine which seals the open ends of a wrap by twisting the material. Commonly use to wrap individual sweets or candies.