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Non-contact laser sealing of thin polyester food packaging films

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journal contribution
posted on 2013-09-18, 11:09 authored by Neil Brown, David KerrDavid Kerr, Robert M. Parkin, Michael R. Jackson, Fangmin Shi
We describe a laser-based, non-contact sealing technique for thin, polyester-based lidding films, used in PET containers for food packaging. The method uses a beam-steered laser to seal the container, thereby enabling virtually instant changeover from one product line to another. Unlike conventional sealing PET film processes, no bespoke tooling is required to hold the package components in close proximity and under pressure whilst the seal is formed. This greatly reduces sealing machine tooling costs and potential downtime at product changeovers. Results are presented that show that the process is able to produce seals of higher strength using thin (26μm) polyester film than those from the conventional thermal/mechanical process. This provides a potential for increased production flexibility, reduction in product wastage, and for reducing the cost and embodied energy in construction of a less massive sealing machine.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Citation

BROWN, N. ... et al, 2012. Non-contact laser sealing of thin polyester food packaging films. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 50 (10), pp.1466-1473.

Publisher

© Elsevier

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2012

Notes

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in the journal, Optics and Lasers in Engineering. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optlaseng.2012.04.001

ISSN

0143-8166

Language

  • en

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