How a pouch or bag is made directly impacts the package's ability to keep the good food or product in, and the bad germs and contaminants out. This presentation reviews the critical manufacturing criteria required to ensure a safe pouch package, and to validate pouch seal quality.
1. Heat Sealing
The value of a stable process
Scott A. Fuller
Product Line Manager
CMD Corporation
2. 2
Have you ever tasted, seen or heard
something from the past and thought . . .
“That’s just the way I remember it !”
3. 3
From DVD “Neil Peart: Taking Center Stage”
Thanks to Neil Peart & Hudson Music, LLC for permission to use this clip
4. Memorable Because
It’s Consistent
• An epic drum fill, played by an iconic
drummer
• Still as recognizable today, as it was in
1981
• Wouldn’t sound anything like that if I were
to play it
5. Consistency is the Goal
In Package Converting,
success is achieved
through consistency…
…package after package
…from lot to lot
7. Consistency is Valuable!
• Consistency in the way “Tom Sawyer” was
played by Rush at every concert made the
song one of the most recognized and replayed
rock songs of all time…
Replays = Purchases = Value
• Pouches that perform as specified, every time
= Repeat Business = Value
8. The Purpose of the Pouch
• The Pouch has 5 main jobs to do:
o To contain the product inside
o To protect the product inside
o To transport the product from one location to another intact
o To identify the product and the brand
o To inform the consumer
• Our focus will be on the top three functions
• A consistent seal is vital to each of those
three functions
9. 3 Why’s and a How
• Why is a stable sealing process valuable to the
Consumer?
• Why is a stable sealing process valuable to the
Brand Owner?
• Why is a stable sealing process valuable to the
Converter?
• How can I achieve this stable sealing process?
10. Value to the Consumer
Value is like a snowball rolling down a hill
• To the individual Consumer, a failed seal is inconvenient
o Time consuming to clean the mess
o Relatively low monetary loss
• The greater loss is the loss of confidence in the product
and possibly the brand itself
o Is the product safe?
o Has it been tampered with?
o Can I trust it in the future?
11. Value to the Brand Owner
Now, the snowball gets a little bigger…
• To the Brand Owner, a failed seal starts to get costly
o Seal failure in the retort chamber could contaminate the whole
batch
o Seal failure in transport could result in rejection of a pallet, or even
a full truckload
o In extreme cases, product spoilage or contamination due to seal
failure could result in product recalls
o Much higher monetary loss
• Loss of confidence is also an issue at this level
o Even if the failure doesn’t make it to the consumer, loss of
confidence in a product at the store level can become very costly to
the Brand Owner
12. Value to the Converter
At the Converter level, the snowball can become devastating
• The Converter has invested significant money to be able to produce a
pouch:
o $2MM - $3MM USD for 3-layer extruder…$5MM - $6MM USD for 7-layer
o $2.5MM - $3MM USD for a 10-color press
o $1.5MM USD for a laminator
• By the time the material reaches the pouch machine, it is the most
expensive it can be
• To prevent the issues we spoke of earlier, it is critical that the pouch
machine be consistent and efficient
• Yet, many Converters gamble on a pouch-making process that is neither
consistent nor efficient. Some lose. That loss can be devastating, even
resulting in bankruptcy
14. It All Comes Down to
Confidence
The expectation is that a finished pouch will perform as
specified
• How confident are you that it will?
• In what are you basing that confidence?
o “The pouches have always performed well in the past.”
o “That’s why we test and inspect.”
o “We plan for a certain percentage of failures in the market.”
Technology is now available to Pouch Converters, which
can provide a confidence that is fact-based, supported
by data, and driven by the process
15. 15
The Trinity
• Temperature, Time and
Pressure remain the key
ingredients to creating a seal
• Temperature control in Fusion-
Sealing has, historically, had
the most profound impact on
seal quality
• Today, remarkable control over
temperature can be achieved
Time
TemperaturePressure
Seal
16. 16
The New Focus
• Structures are becoming ever more sophisticated
• Time and pressure play a more important role
• Converters are now shifting their focus from
simply ‘dialing-in’ the temps, to closely monitoring
the effects of time and pressure
18. 18
Inherent, seemingly insignificant, system differences
combine to produce a significant force differential:
• Variability in gauges, regulators and air-cylinder condition
• Variability in spring force
• Variability in mechanical tolerances
Why the Difference?
19. 19Copyright 2010
The Solution
Intelligent Sealing Technology combines
mechanical simplicity with advanced, closed-loop
controls technology to provide a sealing process that
minimizes variation, and provides access to real-time
data to be used for process validation
20. • Eliminate lost motion
• Minimize mechanical
linkages
• Design for structural
integrity under the most
demanding conditions
Simple Mechanics
21. 21
Advanced Controls
• Precise, closed-loop position
control
• Precise, closed-loop force
control
• Real-time process data output
for Time, Temperature, and
Pressure--each time the sealer
makes contact with the
substrate
23. 23
• Simplified mechanics, like a fixed anvil design, can minimize
sources of variation
• Sophisticated, recipe-based controls take much of the
process out of the hands of the operator, providing lot-to-lot
consistency, regardless of which operator ran the product
• Closed-loop feedback, coupled with newer controls
applications, provide a more consistent sealing process from
pouch-to-pouch and lot-to-lot
Consistency and Control
Are Achievable
24. 24
• Consistency in the application of Temperature, Pressure and
Dwell-Time has a profound value
• The heat-sealing of today’s substrates is becoming more and
more complex
• Adopt the philosophy of improving and controlling the sealing
process
• Reduce risk by minimizing reliance on the human element
• Never stop seeking ways in which to improve your entire
process!
Take Aways