Introduction
As a lightweight, strong and environmentally friendly packaging material, corrugated cardboard has good cushioning and compression resistance and is widely used in commercial fields such as transportation and commodity packaging. Its production process seems simple, but it contains many fine processes and technologies. Let’s learn how corrugated cardboard is transformed from raw materials into finished products.
The process of making “corrugated cardboard” starts with “kraft paper” and uses a “corrugator” to make it into a wavy groove structure. The grooved medium is sandwiched between two sheets of linerboard, and finally corrugated cardboard is made through processes such as corrugation, gluing, lamination, drying and forming. This enhances the cushioning and compression resistance of the cardboard and is widely used in packaging, logistics and warehousing.
What Are the Raw Materials for Making Corrugated Cardboard?
The raw materials for making corrugated board mainly include base paper (face paper, lining paper, corrugated core paper), adhesive (starch glue or PVA glue) and some auxiliary materials (such as reinforcing agent, waterproofing agent, etc.). Base paper can be a mixture of recycled paper and some fresh fiber. It is the key component of liner and core paper, giving the board strength. Starch glue helps to bond the core paper and liner together to form a durable and flexible material.
How Does a Corrugator Machine Work?
The corrugator is the heart of the process. It consists of multiple parts that bond the base paper into a sheet of corrugated board through preheating, corrugating, gluing, laminating, drying, cooling and cutting to make it more flexible. After that, the fluted media is glued between two liner sheets, which are then pressed together to form the final structure. This allows the corrugated board’s characteristic wavy fluted pattern to be formed.
How is Corrugated Cardboard Made Step by Step?
1. Pre-treatment of base paper
Base paper roll: Corrugated board is usually composed of face paper, core paper, and noodle paper. After these paper rolls are placed in the electric or hydraulic support of the corrugator production line, they are heated and softened by the preheater to form board, which is convenient for the next step.
2. Corrugated forming
Corrugated roller: The base paper is bonded to the face paper by the single-sided machine to form a single-sided corrugated board.
3. Gluing
Gluing device: Through the gluing machine, glue is applied to the formed corrugated core paper and bonded to the face paper.
4. Drying, cooling and shaping
Drying: The bonded board is dried by the double-sided machine to accelerate the drying of the glue and enhance the bonding strength. After the cooling function of the double-sided machine, the board is cooled by the cooling roller to stabilize the shape. Fix the shape for subsequent processing.
5. Cutting
Vertical and horizontal cutting: The processed corrugated cardboard is cut vertically and horizontally on the cutting machine of the production line according to different needs, which further facilitates the smooth progress of the next process.
Is Corrugated Cardboard Environmentally Friendly?
Corrugated cardboard is an environmentally friendly packaging material with the advantages of being renewable, degradable and recyclable. By optimizing the production process and using environmentally friendly materials, the environmental advantages of corrugated cardboard in the packaging industry are more prominent. However, in order to further improve its environmental performance, efforts are still needed in terms of ink selection, recycling system construction and reducing excessive packaging.
What Are the Different Types of Corrugated Cardboard?
Corrugated cardboard comes in different variations, each designed for specific applications:
- A-type flutes
Advantages: Suitable for packaging lighter items, with greater cushioning force. - B-type flutes
Advantages: Suitable for packaging heavier and harder items, mostly used for packaging canned and bottled items. In addition, there is a tendency to use the hard and unbreakable characteristics of B-type flutes to make complex-shaped combination boxes after punching. - C-type flutes
Advantages: The number of flutes per unit length and the flute height are between A-type flutes and B-type flutes. The performance is close to A-type flutes. In recent years, with the increase in storage and transportation costs, the smaller C-type flutes have attracted people’s attention and have now become the flute type adopted by European and American countries.
How Much Does a Cardboard Manufacturing Plant Cost?
Setting up a cardboard production plant is a capital-intensive industry. A small plant may cost between $500,000 and $1 million, while a more advanced plant may cost tens of millions of dollars. The cost depends on important factors such as plant construction investment, equipment investment, raw material investment, and labor cost investment. Therefore, you need to be fully prepared before investing in a plant so as to occupy a dominant position in the market share.
Summary
Thank you for your time. I believe you have learned from this article the machines and steps required to produce corrugated cardboard. Whether you are interested in this industry or just curious about the packaging production process, as long as you want to produce standard corrugated cardboard and need a professional equipment supplier to customize your packaging solutions, please contact us now to get quality service and exclusive quotes!
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