A Simplified Method To Test The Integrity Of Packaging Seals

By Leonard Thibodeau, Texture Product Manager, Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

For most items packaged in flexible packaging, a heat sealing process is used. Sometimes a heat activated adhesive is used while other processes simply heat the packaging material to soften it and press it together. In either case the security of the seal is a function of the amount of heat used, the amount of pressure applied and the length of time the pressure is maintained. The latter is often dependent upon the speed of the production line. Quality control over this process has a goal of maximizing efficiency, productivity and product quality. These are often opposing goals.

While one of our customers was fine tuning their production process, we discovered an easy and reliable method of testing the effectiveness of various changes in the package sealing process. Several adjustments were made and each adjustment was tested in one of three individual process experiments. Within each process experiment, we ran up to 5 separate tests to evaluate repeatability.