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How Do the New High-Performance Stretch Films Compare to Your Rapid Bander? Hi Rob, great question, and one I am certainly not afraid to answer. For many years there was little advancement in stretch film technology because, after all, it’s just something you wrap around the product before it ships! More recently, when pressed by customers experiencing significant load failures, stretch film companies began looking closer at various resin blends to achieve higher performance. And by higher performance, I mean an improvement in load containment. By Adopting more complex resin blends and upgraded manufacturing techniques, they were able to deliver improved…

I See That Your Rapid Bander System Uses 2 Rolls of Film as Opposed to the Normal 1 Roll. Does It Mean That Each Revolution of the Machine Counts for 2 Wraps? Hi Ray, thanks for the question and the opportunity to clarify something that a lot of people have misunderstood. The quick answer: we apply one wrap for each revolution of load, not two. Or to put it another way, you are wrapping the pallet with a single web of film, formed from two layers provided by the two rolls. Now, let me explain why, even with two rolls, you…

We Have Stretch Wrap Machines, but I Really Don’t Understand How They Work. Can You Explain the Basic Function and What Adjustments Can Be Made? Hi Ted, thanks for a really great question. I have talked at length about stretch film and the physics of load containment, but have not really focused on the stretch wrap machine itself, which is an integral part of the process. There are several types of machines in use, but they all have some basic elements in common. There are rotary table machines, where the load is placed on a table which rotates as the film…

How Much Film Do We Need to Apply to a Pallet of Our Product for Good Load Containment? Hi Ally, and thanks for your question. Let’s start by defining the role that stretch film plays in load containment, and then we can get into more specifics. First and foremost, the job of the stretch film is to prevent movement of product throughout the load. So, by definition, it must resist the forces which are applied to the load during transport. This is achieved in two ways: First, it must unitize the load by applying force, around the load, as the stretch…

Do the Corners of the Tier Sheets Poking Through the Stretch Film Affect Load Containment? Hi Jordan, thanks for the question. I know this will come as a surprise, but there are two answers to this question. First, if you are using conventional stretch film and a sharp corner pierces the film, the hole is likely to propagate or enlarge. The extent of the enlargement depends on the tension (between the pre-stretch carriage and load). However, it is certain that if the tension is set for maximum load containment, the web will break immediately when the corner of the tier sheet…

How Much Film Should We Be Using to Wrap Our Pallets? Hi Eli, thanks for submitting your question! There are several factors that come into play when determining the right amount of film to apply. First and foremost is to identify what is most important to you. Limiting stretch film cost per pallet, preventing load failures during transportation (or in the warehouse), or reducing source material are the three main categories. For some, it may be increasing capacity or throughput, without adding facility, equipment, or personnel by reducing the number of wraps applied, although I know that does not apply in…

Have You Been Able to Duplicate Your Test Lab Results at Customer Locations? Hi Howard, what a great question, and one I am sure is in the mind of anyone with whom we discuss a lab project. The short answer is yes, in every case we have been able to duplicate our lab results at customer locations, improving load containment, reducing film usage, increasing machine throughput, and saving them money. There are several reasons that we have had such great success. First, we use scientific method in our testing. The forces we apply to the load during testing are measured by…

Is the Testing You Do in Your Lab an ISTA Test? Thanks for the question, Jesse. It is a question that comes up often when customers send product to our lab for testing. The test protocol used in our lab is different from what is used by ISTA. To understand the difference, let’s take a close look at our objectives. The ISTA test is a pass/fail test where a certain threshold is met, similar to Underwriter’s Lab. As an example, when you see the UL label on a product, it means that product has passed certain tests, but it DOES…

Load Containment Follow Up We had a great response from the last Ask Steve post. Several of you asked about Total Applied Stretch and how it factors into load containment. So, I thought that would be an excellent follow up question to answer. Total Applied Stretch is exactly what the name implies. It is the total amount the film that has been stretched from its starting point on the roll to its ending point on the load. It is the sum of the pre-stretch (stretch in the wrapper’s carriage) and the applied tension (stretch between the wrapper and the load)….

Why Do We Have Load Failures, Even When We Meet Our Corporate Force to Load Containment Standard? That is a great question Clint, and a very common issue (and one that is not well understood). First, let’s talk about what load containment is, then how we measure it, finally how effective that measurement is. Load containment boils down to basic physics. A body (your load) in motion carries inertia based on its mass and velocity. It will remain in motion until a force equal and opposite stops it. You might think, if that is true, we should have perpetual motion…