the beginning of all corrugated packaging is corrugated board

a series of sophisticated machines acting in unison to create the

corrugated board is called a corrugator the raw material of corrugated board are the container board
grades of paper

liner which becomes the flat facings of

the board is primarily made from the

long fibres of softwood trees medium

which becomes the fluted middle layer of

corrugated board is made primarily from

shorter fibers from hardwood trees

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the first step in making corrugated board occurs in a machine called a single phaser 0

a single phase combines a liner and a medium to form a single face web .

to do this the medium passes through a set of corrugating rolls under high heat and pressure to form
the flutes that give corrugated board its strength and cushioning capability .

each set of corrugating rolls are made in specific glute profiles to create the performance attributes
needed for the finished packaging item .

a pressure roll loads the correct pressure and also brings the liner into contact with fluted medium

after a cornstarch based adhesive is applied to the flute tips by the glue roll .

the glue roll turns against a metering role to control the proper amount of adhesive that is delivered
to the flute tips.

it is critical that the correct pressure is applied to the corrugating roles and that the adhesive reaches
the proper temperature and consistency to form a strong bond between the liner and fluted

medium.

this combination is called the single phase web the single phase web then leaves the single phaser
and is elevated to a bridge that carries the web to the double glue unit and the double backer .

the liner and corrugated media are fed into the single phaser from opposite sides via a pair of Roll

stands for reach.

they are connected by a device known as a slicer.

the splicer allows for changing from one role to another without stopping the machine when the role
is consumed or when a change in paper grade or width is required .

as roll stock is unwound and heads to the single phaser the paper passes around heated rolls or
preheaters that bring the paper to the proper temperature for the corrugating process .
wrap arms control the amount of time that the paper is exposed to the heat enabling a degree of
control in increasing or reducing heat to the paper .

the single phase web is carried up and away from the single facer by inclined belts .

the web folds up in festoons for the length of the bridge until it enters the ENL section of the bridge
that leads to the triple stack .

this allows the single phase web to cure with a firm bond so the integrity of the flute structure is not
disturbed if double wall board is being made both of the corrugators single facers are running and
delivering to single phase webs to the bridge to be combined at the double glue unit.

the single face web is threaded through heated roles and into a machine called the double glue unit .

it applies the cornstarch based adhesive to the flute tips .

the liner that will become the outside facing of the corrugated board is threaded through the heated
rolls on the bottom of the triple stack.

The outside or double faced liner is joined to the single face web as the board is pulled into the
double backer.

the double backer generally has a top and bottom belt that pulls the board through the

machine.

the double backer has a series of heated plates that continue to transfer heat into the board to cure
the adhesive bond.

it is the belts in the double backer that pulled the board through the wet end of the corrugator

and push it to the dry end where the combined board is scored slit and cut to finish specifications .

after the board goes through the double backer it passes through a shear that severs the board to

permit order changes and then into a slitter score .

the slitter score slits the board into the proper width and if needed places the scores into the board

to the specific dimensions.

The state-of-the-art slitter score shown here has two separate slitter score sections,one section is
setting up for the next order while the other is running ,when it is time to change orders the shear
severs the board to create a small gap to allow the slitter score sections to either drop in or rise from

the board pad ,so the board can align between the top and bottom shafts that the scoring and slitting
heads are mounted on .

this feature allows order changes to occur at line speed .

after the board is slit and scored it continues to the cutoff knife the cut off knife, cuts to the precise
dimensions requested of the finished corrugated sheet.

most corrugators have an upper and lower knife so that two different orders can be combined to run
on the same width and grade of paper .

there are exit roles that eject the cut sheets onto belts that shingle the sheets to the stacker Bay's
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the stacker beds of the corrugator accumulate the sheets into stacks which are then discharged on
moving belts for the stacker operators to perform quality checks and prepare for strapping and

shipment.

converting machines turn corrugated sheets into boxes these machines print designs and branding
onto the boxes and cut the boxes into theproper dimensions for their need .

there are two main types of machines rotary die cutters and flexo folder gluer x', the flexo machine
glues and folds the box upon completion while the rotary die cutter leaves the Box unglued and flat

rotary die-cut boxes are typically formed by hand such as pizza boxes or wrapped around the product
and joined under customers equipment .

a rotary die cutter also has the ability to produce multiple boxes from each sheet whereas a Flex
amine yields one box for every sheet.

through a series of lasers and optical sensors called photo eyes and communication between an
inventory management system and real-time production scheduling ,material is

transferred to each machine Center onto an in feed conveyor .

automatic transfer carts keep each machine fed with corrugated sheet stock ,each stack is

broken down into smaller sections called blocks and shingled individually to a feed table .

the sheets are fed via a set of feed wheels that work in conjunction with feed rolls that insert the
sheet in the machine.

feed rolls are made of a soft durometer material that prevents the board from being crushed .

maintaining board caliper or thickness is essential to providing overall board strength to

the final box .

a vacuum transfer system carries the sheet through the Machine across multiple print sections.

on a rotary die cutter machine the designs and branding are printed on the bottom of the corrugated
sheet stock ,after the stock moves through the print section it reaches the rotary die cutters ,there
are different cutters for every box type that the factory produces ,the cutters

are built from two half cylinders with metal blades embedded as well as foam rubber sections to
eject the cut board scrap pieces.

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scrapp is recaptured and recycled back to a paper mill to be used in future roll stock production.

the next section is called the scrubber which removes any remaining loose cutouts and any rough

edges on the cut sheets .

the sheets are then shingled again to slow down the speed in which they reach the stacker .

if the cut sheets hit the stacker too hard it will damage their edges.
 the stacker beds accumulate the sheets into stacks which are then discharged on moving belts for
the stacker operators to perform quality checks and prepare for strapping and shipment .

at the beginning of the Flex oppress is very similar to

that of the rubbery die .

cutter stock is fed into the conveyor by the automatic transfer carts, each stack is broken down

into blocks, in this flexo machine the printing is done on the top of the sheet so the stock must be
inverted .

the stock is transferred to a pre feeder where the stacks are inverted ,this automation

eliminates the need for manual inversion.

the sheets are then shingled and loaded into a feed bed where feed rolls insert the sheet in the
machine .

print plates are mounted on a cylinder and an ink system allows ink to be applied to the print plate
where it transfers the ink to the board as it passes through the

machine .

this machine uses rotary die-cuts as well but it only produces one box per sheet unlike the rotary
only cutter which can produce multiple boxes per sheet, the scrap is again recaptured and recycled
for future roll stock .

on a flex OMA sheet glue is applied in preparation for folding .

after the glue is applied boxes are carried through a folding section with vacuum-assisted belts and a
series of folding rods forcing the panels to fold in the proper sequence .

the folded box is now glued and joined as it exits the machine and is stacked into bundles to the
customer

specifications ,added compression time is given to allow the glue to fully cure,depending on
customer specifications each bundle is strapped together to provide for stability in transit and

ease and handling at the end-user .

to aid in the quality process especially at high speed a high-speed detection system called clear vision
is used to monitor glue placement and gap measurements on every box .

a high-speed camera is placed at the point of glue application and can detect the amount and
thickness of the glue lines as well as the measurement of the slots in the front and back of each

box these.

measurements are compared to a developed standard that can predict whether a bad box will be
produced as it travels through the machine .

any out of spec box that is detected will be sprayed with a UV coating and the bottom of the bundle
will also be sprayed .
 as the bundle travels down the conveyor system a blacklight detects the UV coating and will eject
the bundle so that an operator can locate the off quality box and remove it prior to reaching the
customer .

to account for the speed of production a doubler is used to assist crew members in combining each

bundle in preparation for load for me.

the doubler stacks bundles on top of each other, these combined bundles are then assembled into a
specific stacking pattern to meet customer needs .

load tags are inserted into each unit to uniquely identify each load as it is sent to shipping to be made
ready for delivery to the customer.