Web Printing and Feed Machine for Form Fill Seal Bond Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Form, fill and seal machines face issues with ruptured bonds between top and bottom webs due to high pulling forces, which can compromise sterility, especially when packaging sensitive items, and the use of nip rolls can cause ghost images on the top web, making packages unmarketable.
Innovation Solution
A web printing and feed machine with an infeed and outfeed web brake, an accumulator, and printers that deliver the top web at low or no tension to the form, fill and seal machine, ensuring the top web is not pulled through the printer by the bond or nip rollers, maintaining the integrity of the seal and preventing ghost images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the bottom web pulls the top web through the printer and onto the bottom web, then the top web is delivered to the sealing station, but the high pulling force stresses and can rupture the bond between the webs
Solution Approach 1:
A tension-free web guide roll is introduced as an intermediary element between the printer and the sealing station. This roll acts as a mediator that allows the top web to be delivered without transmitting pulling forces through the bond between the webs, thus preventing bond rupture while maintaining continuous web delivery
Solution Approach 2:
The pulling force transmission path is extracted from the system by allowing the top web to slide freely over the tension-free web guide roll. This separates the web delivery function from the force transmission function, enabling speed improvement without compromising bond integrity
2Productivity
If nip rolls are used to pull the top web from the printer at high speed, then throughput increases, but the nip rolls pick up wet ink and create ghost images on the top web
Solution Approach 1:
The nip rolls that cause ghost images are removed from the system. Instead, a tension-free web guide roll is used to deliver the top web. This extraction eliminates the source of the printing defect while maintaining the ability to deliver webs at high speed through the tension-free mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The tension-free web guide roll serves as an intermediary that enables high-speed web delivery without contacting the printed surface. Unlike nip rolls that grip and transfer the web (causing ghost images), this roll allows frictionless or minimal-friction passage, preserving print quality while achieving high throughput
3Ease of operation
If the top web is pulled through the printer by the bond with the bottom web, then the top web is delivered to the sealing station, but the pulling force can rupture the bond and destroy sterility
Solution Approach 1:
The tension-free web guide roll acts as an intermediary that decouples the web feeding operation from bond stress. The top web can be delivered to the sealing station through this mediator without the pulling forces that would otherwise stress the bond and compromise sterility
Solution Approach 2:
The web delivery function is segmented from the bond stress transmission. By introducing the tension-free web guide roll, the system separates the ease of operation (simple web delivery) from the bond integrity requirement, allowing both to coexist without compromising sterility
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures reliable heat and pressure bonding without stressing the bond between the webs, maintaining sterility and preventing ghost images, allowing for efficient and marketable packaging of sensitive items.
Implementation Method 1
The web handling and feed machine includes an infeed web brake and an outfeed web brake
Implementation Method 2
An accumulator with a drive roll on the web feed path between the infeed and outfeed web brakes selectively accumulates or pays out web
Implementation Method 3
The web handling and feed machine includes a printer or printers for printing desired images on adjacent panels on the top web
Implementation Method 4
the webs are heat and pressure bonded together to close filled pockets in the bottom web and form sealed packages
Data Source
AI summary
A machine and method for printing and feeding a top web onto a bottom web in a form, fill and seal machine without stressing the bond formed between the two webs.