Production Technology
Thermoforming
In the offline process, the extruded sheet is fed from the roll to the thermoforming line and heated until it can be thermo-elastically formed. The plastic is pre-stretched over the tool, moulded with the aid of compressed air or vacuum and finally cooled to below the deformation limit. In the inline process, on the other hand, the granulate is processed via sheet extrusion to the finished, thermoformed product - all in one closed process.
In a secondary recycling phase, thermoforming technology offers a resource-saving option for the production of plastic packaging, as the scrap (hole-punched sheet grid) is ground directly at the machine and incorporated into the middle sheet layer for the next production cycle.
Your Advantages:
- creation of complex, high-precision moulded parts
- moderate tool costs
- cost savings through clever engineering with effects on stacking and ultimately logistics processes
- great freedom in design, functionality and aesthetics
- high cycle rates; higher output
- increased efficiency due to robot-supported stacking technology and automated packaging systems
Materials we use: PS, PE and PP
Products: e.g. coffee capsules, cups, trays, tubs, lids, ...
Injection Moulding
Plastic granulate is melted or liquefied and compressed by heating elements. If there is sufficient melt in the injection unit, the material is pressed into the mould by the resulting pressure. Cooling starts immediately and the volume is reduced. In order to maintain the required level permanently, the material is improved with low pressure until the desired shape is achieved. Finally, the mould cools down and the final moulded part is removed or ejected.
Your Advantages:
- one-time tool/mould costs
- direct operation from raw material to finished article
- high reproductibility of production and low post-processing costs
- fully automated process
- rapid process for the production of precision parts, including geometries with undercuts
- for technologically challenging, special packaging with an eccentric appearance
- IML refinement if wished
Materials we use: all thermoplastics
Products: Any special shapes such as buckets, tubs, coat hooks or technical components such as refrigerator parts or ventilation units
Sheet Extrusion
Plastic granulate is continuously melted, then forced through a wide-slit shaping nozzle by a screw press and finally wound onto a roll after passing multiple cooling rollers.
The sheet is then used for direct or internal (inline) or external (offline) further processing.
Our Portfolio:
- Closed
recycling circuit: regrind silo - extrusion line - punching grid mill
(reprocessing of the recycled material into the sheet middle layer) - various sheet thicknesses and widths
- wide range of colours (matt, gloss or with specialeffects)
- multi-layer sheets (up to 9 layers) with or without EVOH barrier layer
- mono films, transparent films or multi-layer sheets
- fulfilment of the most varied shelf life requirements
- temperature resistance from + 2 °C bis + 121 °C
- microwave-resistant
- pasteurisable, sterilisable
- sealable and peelable sealing possibilities
- organic film composition; shrink-reduced sheet with NATSHEET® from our more environmentally friendly product series that can be designed according to the degree of sustainability with NAT-LINE®
Materials we use: PP, PS and PE with or without an EVOH combination
Refinement
Labelling
The article to be labelled passes through the conveyor belt of the labelling system individually. Parallel on this path, a roller conveyor aligned from top to bottom transports the label series. The label is centred on the lid by means of the laser recognition unit installed in the machine.
Labelling enables the finishing of geometrically more demanding shapes, also with corners and edges.
Materials that can be labelled on: all thermoplastics
Products: e.g. ready meal lids, cups, bowls, ...
Offset Printing
Dry offset printing is an indirect contact flat printing process, as the printing plate and article do not come into direct contact with each other during the entire process. Rather, the process works in a coupled cylinder system in which the printing sample or ink is applied from the printing plate to a blanket cylinder and then to the article to be printed.
Materials that can be printed on: all thermoplastics
Products: e.g. cups and trays for various foods
In-Mould-Labeling (IML)
IML technology combines the production and finishing of injection-moulded parts. In contrast to conventional injection moulding, this process involves placing the printed polypropylene (PP) label in the mould and then injecting it with the molten polymer. During curing, the part to be produced takes on the shape of the mould.
The Result:
An injection moulded part finished with a label and all this in a cost-efficient process.
Your Advantages:
- excellent print quality due to offset printing
- moisture and temperature resistance; therefore also very suitable for refrigerated and deep-frozen goods
- time and cost efficiency; production and decoration of the packaging are created in one working step, ensuring considerable savings in intermediate storage and transport costs
- 100% recyclability as label and packaging are made from same polymer
The highly complex colour and material structure of our suppliers' in-mould labels gives you a look and feel with which you can present your product on the sales shelf - almost in picture quality!
Embossing
Embossing is a marking process in which the extruded sheet is pre-stretched by means of an upper punch and then formed using compressed air within the dies of the tool section. The desired design is eroded in advance into the inside of the mould.
The entire finishing process takes place within the thermoforming or injection moulding process.
Materials that can be embossed or engraved on: all thermoplastics
Products: e.g. coffee capsules, cups and trays, lids, ...
Quality and Precision
„Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.“ – Henry Ford
Quality Management
With active quality management in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 and the extensive know-how of our employees, we guarantee quality at the highest level.
In addition to various inline inspection instruments, a competent team in all areas of production and final inspection also ensures the highest possible security level offline.
We work according to international BRC/IOP standards. We thus also set standards in strict hygiene conditions in and around our entire production processes.
Organisational control mechanisms ensure reproducibility, traceability, action measures and the ongoing analysis and optimisation of all links in the consumer chain.
In addition, säntis packaging carries out regular ATP tests (hygiene tests) at its facilities and is audited and checked at regular intervals by external, independent certification bodies.
Offline Quality Procedures
High-precision plastic parts require highly qualified measuring technology.
In recent years, we at säntis packaging have raised thermoforming technology to a level that allows us to achieve manufacturing tolerances similar to those of injection moulding. For example, we guarantee precision in the hundredths range in the manufacture of plastic capsules.
Using our OCT measuring system, we test during the process with absolute precision and maximum measuring speed. Especially in the field of manufacturing capsule systems, OCT technology is used to determine various geometric properties on the 3D component, such as the outer and inner diameter, wall thickness or general mass at a defined height.
The measurements are made with an accuracy of +/- 1 µm.
Inline Quality Procedures
On our production facilities, we measure and test for various deviations with different optical measuring instruments during the ongoing production processes.
Sheet Extrusion:
- camera system in reflection and transmission for detection of impurities and imperfections on the sheet surface
- integrated ultrasonic measuring device in the low µ-range
Camera System in Injection Moulding:
- parallelism or flatness/planity of the injection-moulded part
- positioning or centring of the IML
Camera System in Thermoforming:
- diameter, position and roundness of the punched hole
- measurement of the outer diameter of capsules, cups, etc.
All camera systems used in the machine park are equipped with 4k resolution.
Laboratory
Our development department processes and accompanies up to 1,000 tests and samples annually.
We measure, test, control and develop a wide variety of components in a modern laboratory. With precise instruments, we measure material specifications, colour references, layer structures, wall distributions, thermal deformability and much more.
Warehouse & Logistics
säntis packaging operates with a functional logistics system in which an automated warehouse with a pallet conveyor system eliminates the interface between production and goods export/delivery in a cost- and above all time-efficient manner. In addition, mobile data acquisition via MDE hand-held devices ensures batch-controlled warehouse management of our FIFO deliveries, which contributes significantly to our internal process optimisation.
Werkzeugbau
Tool Construction with CAD
In an internal tool and product design department, our experts construct customer-specific solutions, creatively and functionally. Using CAD modelling, our designers transfer the technical data of the packaging requirement to sample or subsequently to series tools.
We accompany you professionally and comprehensively from the idea to the realisation and guarantee:
- cost innovation
- quality
- competence: experience & expertise
- product innovation: aesthetics & attractiveness
- product functionality: uniqueness & handling
- quick time to market: high flexibility and rapid implementation
Tools: Construction, Revision and Optimisation
In the sense of a well-founded and rapid development process, we design and build prototype tools in-house. Depending on the requirement profile, we offer simple and cost-effective application solutions up to complex multi-cavity moulds.
Of course, all maintenance work is computer-assisted and proactively monitored by us.
We have decades of know-how in the manufacture, maintenance and optimisation of tools from all areas of production and production technologies we cover.