Corrugated fiberboard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corrugated Fiberboard describes paper-based constructions of a fluted corrugated medium and flat linerboard(s). It is widely used in the manufacture of corrugated boxes and shipping containers.
Paperboard is a paper-like material, usually over ten mils in thickness. Some types of paperboard (corrugated medium and linerboard) are used in the construction of Corrugated Fiberboard.
Cardboard is a generic, non-specific, lay term used to refer to any heavy paper-pulp based board.
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[edit] History
In the mid-19th century, an ingenious concept enabled flimsy sheets of paper to be transformed into a rigid, stackable and cushioning form of packaging for delicate goods in transit.
Corrugated (also called pleated) paper was patented in England in 1856, and used as a liner for tall hats, but corrugated boxboard would not be patented and used as a shipping material until December 20, 1871. The patent was issued to Albert Jones of New York, New York for single-sided (single-face) corrugated board.[1] Jones used the corrugated board for wrapping bottles and glass lantern chimneys. The first machine for producing large quantities of corrugated board was built in 1874 by G. Smyth, and in the same year Oliver Long improved upon Jones' design by inventing corrugated board with liner sheets on both sides.[2] This was now corrugated board as we know it today.
The Scottish-born Robert Gair invented the corrugated box in 1842, consisting of pre-cut flat pieces manufactured in bulk that folded into boxes. Gair's invention, as with so many other great innovations, came about as a result of an accident: he was a Brooklyn printer and paper-bag maker during the 1870s, and while he was printing an order of seed bags a metal ruler normally used to crease bags shifted in position and cut the bag. Gair discovered that by cutting and creasing board in one operation he could make prefabricated cartons. Extending this to corrugated boxboard was a straightforward development when the material became available. By the start of the 20th century, corrugated boxes began replacing the custom-made wooden crates and boxes previously used for trade.
The corrugated box was initially used for packaging glass and pottery containers, which are easily broken in transit. Later, the case enabled fruit and produce to be brought from the farm to the retailer without bruising, improving the return to the producers and opening up hitherto unaffordable export markets. (There had previously been a great deal of waste when, for example, oranges were craned out of the hold of a ship, having been bulk loaded into it.)
[edit] Manufacture of Corrugated Board
Corrugated board is manufactured on large high-precision machinery lines called Corrugators running at 500 lineal feet per minute or faster.
The corrugated medium is usually a 26 lb/1000 sq ft (127 g/m^2) paperboard; higher grades are also available. It arrives to the corrugator on large rolls. At the single-facer, it is heated, moistened, and formed into a fluted pattern on geared wheels. This is joined to a flat linerboard with a starch based adhesive to form single face board. At the double-backer, a second flat linerboard is adherred to the other side of the fluted medium to form single wall corrugated board. Linerboards are often kraft paperboard (of various grades) but may be bleached white, mottled white, colored, or preprinted.
Common flute sizes are "A", "B", "C", "E" and "F" or microflute. The letter designation relates to the order that the flutes were invented, not the relative sizes. Flute size refers to the number of flutes per lineal foot. For example, "B" flute is approximately 1/4 inch from the top of one flute to the next, or 50 flutes per foot. "C" Flute is 5/16 inch from flute to flute or 42 flutes per lineal foot. "E" flute is 1/8 inch flute to flute or 90 flutes per lineal foot. Board thickness is an unreliable metric, due to various manufacturing conditions. However, a rough guide is: "C" flute=5/32 inch thick, "B" flute=1/8 inch thick, "E" flute=1/16 inch thick. The most common flute size in corrugated boxes is "C" flute.
Corrugated board is often graded by the basis weights of the linerboards, burst or mullen strength, edge crush test, or flat crush test. TAPPI and ASTM test methods for these are standardized.
The choice of corrugated medium, flute size, combining adhesive, and linerboards can be varied to engineer a corrugated board with specific properties to match a wide variety of potential uses. Double and triple-wall corrugated board is also produced for high stacking strength and puncture resistance.
[edit] Box Manufacture
Boxes can be formed in the same plant as the corrugator. Alternitively, sheets of corrugated board may be sent to a different manufacturing facility for box fabrication.
The corrugated board is creased or scored to provide controlled bending of the board. Most often, slots are cut to provide flaps on the box. Scoring and slotting can also be accoplished by die-cutting.
The "Flexo Folder Gluer" is a machine that in one single pass prints, cuts, folds, and glues flat sheets of board to convert them to boxes for any application, from storing old family pictures to shipping the biggest of plasma TV sets to the global market. The most advanced of FFG's can run at speeds of up to 26,000 boxes per hour.
The most common box style is the Regular Slotted Container. All flaps are the same length and the major flaps meet in the center of the box.
The manufacturer's joint is most often joined with adhesive but may also be taped or stitched. The box is shipped flat (knocked down) to the packager who sets up the box, fills it, and closes it for shipment. Box closure may be by tape, adhesive, staples, strapping, etc.
[edit] Recycling
Old corrugated containers are an excellent source of fibre for recycling. They can be compressed and baled for cost effective transport to anywhere in need of fibre for papermaking. The baled boxes are put in a hydropulper which is a large vat of warm water. Extraneous materials (string, films, strapping, tape, etc) are removed and contaminants are filtered and separated out. The pulp slurry is then used to make new paper and fiber products. Recycling helps resource conservation and helps developing countries without sustainable wood resources build a paper and packaging industry locally and develop their exports to global markets.
[edit] References
- ^ US122,023 (1871-12-19) Albert L. Jones Improvement In Paper For Packing
- ^ US150,588 (1874-05-05) Oliver Long Packings For Bottles, Jars, & C.
[edit] Further reading
- How To Package Your Product For Shipping. PackagingPrice.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-27. — A guide detailing how best to package items that need to be shipped. Includes technical information about using cardboard (corrugated) boxes.
- Fibrebox Handbook The corrugated industry's standard reference book.
- Koning, J., "Corrugated Crossroads, A Reference Guide for the Corrugated Industry", TAPPI Press, 1995, ISBN: 0-89852-299-4
- Good Manufacturing Practices for Corrugated and Solid Board Packaging This GMP-standard allows packaging for the food industry to be made to the highest standards of consumer safety. All details at the website of the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO)
- Brody, A. L., and Marsh, K, S., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN: 0-471-06397-5
- Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN: 1-930268-25-4
- "Guide for Packaging for Small Parcel Shipments", 2005, IoPP
[edit] Relevant ASTM Standards
( See also TAPPI Test Methods and Standards )
- D1974 Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes
- D4727 Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut Shapes
- D5118 Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes
- D5168 Standard Practice for Fabrication and Closure of Triple-Wall Corrugated Fiberboard Containers
- D5639 Standard Practice for Selection of Corrugated Fiberboard Materials and Box Construction Based on Performance Requirements
- D6804 Standard Guide for Hand Hole Design in Corrugated Boxes
- and others
[edit] See also
- Box
- Packaging and labelling
- paperboard, paste board, posterboard, Foamcore (a popular brand of foam board), composition board, Corflute.
- Cardboard boat race
- Paper recycling
