Most packaging suppliers quote a construction. We work the part, the failure mode, and the handling conditions first, then quote the construction that solves it.
Design
| Capability | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Structural design | CAD design of the construction, fold pattern, and part geometry |
| Design for use | Handling, stacking, storage, and shipping conditions the part will see |
| Value engineering | Caliper and ply reduction without losing the geometry, including K Score |
| Prototyping | Digital cutting table, samples in ten business days from design approval |
| Validation | First part approval, construction validation, and feasibility review |
The digital cutting table cuts the full caliper range up to .200 inches, so a prototype is made from the board the production part will run on. Samples arrive in ten business days from design approval.
Test Lab
The lab is a standalone department. Samples are conditioned first, then tested against the property that governs the application.
| Category | Tests |
|---|---|
| Conditioning | Air circulating oven, humidity chamber, water immersion |
| Dimensional | Thickness, basis weight, density |
| Strength | Mullen burst, internal bond, tensile, stiffness, bending strength |
| Compression | Edge crush, ring crush, small-scale racking |
| Stability | Dimensional stability, blocking, warp |
| Surface | Smoothness |
| Barrier | Water vapor transmission |
| Coating | Melt flow, viscosity |
| Flammability | Flammability |
Methods follow ASTM, TAPPI, and SAE procedures. The lab also tests to customer specifications and to military or government specifications where a program requires it.
Reporting
Test reports and certificates of analysis are issued on request. Samples are pulled and tested daily out of production, and monthly certification to customer specification is available on a standing basis.
Process conditions are recorded against each production order, so a finished part traces back to the rolls, the adhesive batch, and the run settings.
Allergen Testing
Allergen testing is available and coordinated through an outside accredited laboratory. Programs have been assessed for whey, soybean, coconut, egg, mustard, nut, gluten and gliadin, and sesame.
This matters where board is going into a plant that runs allergen controls, since incoming packaging is part of that plant’s own program.
Certification
Fibre Converters is certified to BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 6 for indirect food contact applications, and to ISO 9001:2015. Both certificates are on our Key Documents page.
Getting Started
Send us:
- The part or load, and how it is failing today
- What it ships in now
- Finished dimensions and weight
- Handling, storage, and shipping conditions
- Any customer specification the part has to meet
- Annual volume