Cardboard Packaging

Corrugated cardboard is a lightweight, stiff, and strong material made of three layers of brown Kraft paper. In 1884 a Swedish chemist, Carl F. Dahl, invented a process for pulping wood chips into a strong, tear-resistant paper. Because the Kraft process produces a substantial piece that is resistant to tearing, splitting, and bursting, he named it the Kraft process.


If you want to know about it, here is a comprehensive guide to manufacturing cardboard boxes. You can read the full article for a better understanding.

Manufacturing of Cardboard Packaging
Here is the step-by-step process of cardboard packaging manufacturing given below.

Table of Contents



The tree

Cardboard is made of recyclable trees. Wood is often sourced from managed, sustainable forests, and any trees felled are replaced to keep the forest's ecosystem intact. Softwood trees like pine and fir are generally used for their manufacturing. In addition to having long fibers, they create tension that increases the strength and smoothness of the cardboard.

Furthermore, different trees' paper and cardboard have different colors, so you can choose according to your preference. For instance, Spruce trees are light brown, while silver birch trees are dark brown.

Talking about it in more detail, it has two types of layers used in box manufacturing. In most cardboard boxes, test paper is used for the inner lining, and Kraft paper is used for the outer lining. Compared to test paper, Kraft has a smoother finish that can be easily printed. Lastly, Kraft is more resistant to water damage, which makes it an excellent choice for the outer surface.

Pulping

In the process of cutting down trees, wood chips are made. After that, wood chips are broken down into pulp. It may be possible to achieve this by chemically heating or crushing the wood against a stone. Ensure that the pulped wood chips are clean and suitable before creating paper.

You can also add chemicals such as sodium sulfate to increase pulp strength. After this process, it remains unchanged, so you can use bleach to make it appear white.

Pulp to Paper

Paper or board is made from the pulp as part of the pulp process. A sizeable automated machine called a Fourdrinier makes paper from pulp. In essence, machine beaters squeeze and pound the pulp in a large tub before the pulp can be made into the finished paper product.

Filler materials like chalk and clay can be added to make a product more opaque. It is also possible to add sizing such as starch, rosin, and gums at this stage.

Furthermore, steam-heated cylinders remove any remaining water from the nearly made paper, which is pressed between wool felt rollers.

The Cutting Process

When you have the corrugated cardboard in hand, it's time to cut it according to the box size. Depending on production demands, many machines are programmed to cut cardboard to scale from a comprehensive guide automatically. A trimmer is then used to finish the card once the basic outline is cut.

After that, trimers are used to cut it. Lastly, when the box is ready for assembly, the trimmer creates scores in the cardboard to make folding easier.

The assembly process

The assembly of the box depends on its requirements, such as rigid boxes, telescope boxes, mailer boxes, and folding carton boxes. Flaps and slots may be the best option if a business wants to build its boxes on demand. Furthermore, tape-built packages are often efficient to construct on market. Boxes with more robust construction are usually folded and stitched together with glue and stitching.

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