Additive Manufacturing for Custom Package Design

Gas barrier laminate, packaging material, and vacuum insulation material that have excellent gas barrier properties even after folding. The laminate has a specific structure with layers: a polyolefin base layer, a first polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer, a vapor deposition layer, and a second PVA layer. The vapor deposition layer is between the two PVA layers. The indentation hardness of the second PVA layer is 0.5 GPa or less. This laminate design provides improved gas barrier performance compared to mono-material polyolefin laminates after folding, which is important for applications like foldable packaging and vacuum insulation.

Source

Two-layer food packaging container with a built-in inner tray that reduces manufacturing costs and prevents spills and odor mixing during transportation. The container has an outer container body, an inner tray fitted inside, and a lid that covers both. The inner tray has a flange fitting portion that connects to the outer container body flange. The lid has a straight side that abuts against the inner tray flange. This securely attaches the inner tray and outer container. The straight side prevents separation and spills. The flange fit helps prevent tray separation and mixing odors during transport.

Source

Box for packaging flower pots that protects the pots and flowers during transportation. The box has multiple nested inner boxes that surround the pot and flowers. The lower inner box holds the pot, has supports to prevent movement, and a through hole for the stem. The upper inner box prevents the lower box from moving. The outer box encloses them. This provides secure fixation and cushioning of the pot and flowers during transport.

Source

Vertical packaging system with a hoisting device to automate sequential packaging processes in a compact vertical layout. The system has a vertical fixing arm with multiple stations arranged from top to bottom. A lifting mechanism moves the arm up and down. Each station has a driving device to move and secure a packaging box. This allows a box to be moved through the stations vertically for sequential processing like filling, sealing, and labeling in a compact vertical layout.

Source

Automated system for packing solar panels into boxes to minimize damage and enable uniform packaging. The system has a table to place the panel stack, an alignment frame to horizontally align the stack, and a robotic arm with gripper to pick up and place the stack into a box. A controller coordinates the alignment and packing steps. This allows accurate, damage-free packing of aligned panels into boxes.

Source

Multilayer substrate for packaging materials with improved gas barrier properties and adhesion between layers. The substrate has a stretched polypropylene layer sandwiched between an outer layer and an inner coating layer. The coating layer contains a resin with polar groups to improve adhesion of subsequent layers like vapor deposited films. This prevents delamination and improves gas barrier performance compared to polypropylene-only substrates. The multilayer substrate can be used in packaging applications and the packaging material is made by laminating the substrate with additional layers like vapor deposited films and sealant layers.

Source

Biodegradable barrier film for packaging applications that has improved oxygen barrier properties and transparency compared to existing biodegradable films. The film is made by alternately laminating layers of an aliphatic polyester like polylactic acid and a polyvinyl alcohol. This structure provides both oxygen barrier and transparency. The layers are melt extruded, alternated, and then biaxially stretched and heat set to form the film.

Source

Automated machine for making pouch packages with cushioning. The machine converts sheets into a strip of expanded dunnage and then folds it into a pouch. The conversion step involves layering an upper cover sheet, lower cover sheet, and expanded slit sheet with adhesive between them. Pressure is applied to bond the cover sheets together. The folded pouch is formed by creasing the strip, applying adhesive to the edges, and compressing them to seal.

Source

Paper-based packaging material with high barrier properties to gas, water vapor, odor, and fat for food packaging applications. The packaging has a metallized layer on one side, typically aluminum applied by transfer metallization. Additional functional coatings are added to improve barrier properties. The metallized layer is bonded to the base paper using an adhesive. Coatings like PVOH or saccharide solutions are applied to the metallized side to block oxygen, moisture, and odor. A protective layer is added over the barrier coatings to prevent moisture degradation. The final packaging can have both metallized and non-metallized sides for aesthetics. The coating steps are done after transfer metallization.

Source

Autonomous packing system for fully automated delivery stations to pack customer orders without human intervention. The system uses an autonomous packing apparatus with a movable shelf, an output device to dispense packing material, and a computerized management system. The system pre-packs some material before items are placed on the shelf, then moves the shelf to pack more material after items are loaded. This allows efficient packing of mixed item orders in a compact station without a conveyor belt.

Source

A packaging machine for efficiently producing overlapping groups of products in a single layer that can be inserted into outer packaging. The machine has a spreading table with support bars that can adjust the spacing between rows to match the product layout. This allows forming the overlapping group on the table instead of using a heavy and complex robot tool. The table has two single-row support bars between the wider row bars. The products are fed onto the table, spread into the overlapping pattern, and then transferred to the outer packaging. The table spacing is adjusted to match the desired product layout. This simplifies the grouping process compared to using a spreader robot tool.

Source

Packaging element for stabilizing products like syringes, ampoules, etc. in cardboard packaging. The packaging element is made from a single foldable sheet and has a base body and at least one recess to hold the product. The packaging element is inserted between the base and cover layers of the packaging. The recesses stabilize the products and prevent movement during shipping. The packaging element can be easily folded from a single sheet for simplicity and efficiency.

Source

Gas barrier film for packaging that improves adhesion to other layers when laminated. The film contains a resin with a carboxyl group-containing polymer and a dehydration-condensation heteroatom compound. It optionally has adjacent layers with a polyvalent metal compound and/or an oxide, hydroxide, or nitride compound. The film provides high gas barrier properties and enhanced adhesion to laminated layers compared to conventional gas barrier films.

Source

Processing dairy bottle recycling into new dairy bottles to enable closed-loop recycling of dairy packaging. The method involves creating new dairy bottles using recycled dairy bottles in the middle layer. The middle layer is made of opaque recycled plastic, like PET, to block light and preserve vitamins. The inner and outer layers are white for contact with the product. This allows using recycled opaque bottles instead of virgin plastic. The opaque recycled material provides sufficient light blocking.

Source

Automated cargo packaging device that can pack cargo without skills by allowing user input on box stacking and sheet color. The device has a platform with a slot for boxes, telescoping grippers, a rolling member with clamping units, and a sliding arrangement. The grippers stack boxes, the rolling member wraps with sheet based on user-specified color, and the sliding arrangement moves around the boxes to wrap. A color sensor detects the user-specified sheet color.

Source

A high-speed system for converting sheet material into custom-sized packaging templates and boxes with features like printing, cutting, creasing, and erecting. The system has separate components for each conversion function arranged in sequence. This allows customization options like dynamic printing placement and size variation based on box size, while minimizing throughput limitations from complex repositioning movements between functions. The system also enables features like box erection and automated transfer.

Source

Automated cargo packaging device that automatically wraps stacked boxes without manual involvement. The device uses AI imaging to detect box dimensions, a motorized roller to unwrap sheet, robotic grippers to position sheet, and wheels to maneuver around boxes for even wrapping. Telescopic rods extend platform height for wrapping over tall boxes. After wrapping, a motorized cutter trims excess sheet. The device provides an automated, self-regulating way to pack stacked boxes without manual labor.

Source

A method to form a bubble valve for sealing and dispensing fluids from flexible packages. The method involves using two aligned formable films, like thermoformed sheets, where one is placed on top of the other. Channels are sealed between them to create a pathway. Then both films are thermoformed into pockets simultaneously. Finally, a separate film is sealed over the bottom of the pockets to trap air and form the bubble valve. This allows precise alignment and registration of the pockets compared to forming them separately.

Source

Biodegradable film made from bacterial cellulose with enhanced properties for food packaging applications. The film has a bacterial cellulose matrix with protein entrapped inside. The matrix is coated with a crosslinked layer containing an ionic polysaccharide, polyether, and metal cation. This composite film has advantages like high oil and water resistance, biodegradability, and transparency compared to plain bacterial cellulose. The protein-coated cellulose is made by growing a symbiotic bacteria-yeast colony to produce cellulose, then harvesting and coating it with the ionic polysaccharide-polyether-metal mixture.

Source

Polymeric structures for flexible packaging, like films for food packaging, that do not require primer coatings to improve adhesion between layers. The structures are treated with a nitrous flame (NFT) process at different times. The NFT treatment activates the polymer surfaces and eliminates the need for primers. The NFT flame, which has higher temperatures than standard flames, functionalizes the polymer surface. This improves adhesion between layers and coating materials without primer. The NFT treatment can be applied in-line during film production or during conversion steps.

Source