
More and more packaging manufacturers are making their products from monomaterials such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). Although these are easier to recycle, they require special handling during processing, for example when sealing. The Saxon company watttron offers special sealing heads for processing stand-up pouches.
Stand-up pouches with spouts (e.g. for liquid soap) have been successfully introduced to the market in recent years and are widely used in the packaging industry. As part of sustainability initiatives, many companies are switching their packaging to monostructured, recyclable films made of PE or PP. These structures do not have a rigid or temperature-resistant outer layer and are much more difficult to seal with conventional tools. The temperature of the surface of the sealing mould is important in order to seal these newly developed monomaterials properly.
When sealing, two surfaces are bonded together by a combination of heat, time and pressure. These three parameters are particularly important for good sealing quality. It is also important to ensure that the geometric contour of the mould is optimally matched to the contour of the spout, especially when sealing the spout. Without careful application of these three elements, poor sealing results can occur, such as leaking packaging or unclean sealing seams and even broken films.
Precise sealing without film deformation
This is where the cera2seal technology from sealing expert watttron comes in. It enables customers to apply a customised temperature profile to the sealing area. The watttron sealing mould is made up of several individual modules consisting of individual heating pixels. In digital sealing, these pixels are controlled by software that makes it possible to assign a specific temperature to each pixel. The temperature should be higher in the foil/pourer area than in the foil/film area. This means that more heat can be applied to the spout area and less heat to the film sealing area. The result is an exact sealing of the spout and no deformation of the film.

In addition, the sealing moulds have a metallic contour on the underside of the assembly that can be milled to fit the specific spout shape. There are several spout geometries used for stand-up pouches and therefore different contours are available to fit these geometries. Spout materials can vary from relatively soft low density polyethylene (LDPE) to rigid monopolypropylene (PP). The pressure must therefore be applied according to the material and with a contour that best matches the geometry of the spout.
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