How Our Ultrasonic Technology Works
Fundamentals
- Retrofit existing form-fill seal packaging equipment, or get it in a new machine.
- The UltraThinSeal™ system is designed for both rotary and reciprocal-style machines.
- Create seals as narrow as 1 millimeter – but know that you have other options!
Specifics
Traditional heat-sealing equipment – like horizontal and vertical form-fill seal (HFFS and VFFS) bagging machines – requires multiple sonotrodes and heat jaws to operate. UltraThinSeal technology requires only a single sonotrode and no heated elements.
We mount the sonotrode, which some refer to as a “horn,” on the bagmaker reciprocating or rotary mechanism. The sonotrode vibrates at an extremely high frequency, producing friction that generates highly localized film heating at the molecular level until the surfaces bond – sturdily – together.
The UltraThinSeal single-sonotrode system design is lightweight and compact. Integration into existing machines is unproblematic. In terms of function, when your equipment has ultrasonic sealing capabilities, you simply start it up and go! There’s no heat-up time.
Seal & Film Science
With our ultrasonic sealing system, the resulting seal quality is outstanding. Film seals made with traditional heat sealing methods cannot be made through contamination, such as crumbs or powder, whereas the high-frequency vibrations of ultrasonics drive contaminants out of the seal area and produce consistently high-quality hermetic seals. As a result, ultrasonic seals enable increased shelf life of the packaged product – by more than 30%.
UltraThinSeal technology is effective for sealing a wide range of packaging materials, as long as there is a thermoplastic component, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. So, it works on all snack packaging films – complex laminate structures designed to optimize hermetic sealing, printability, and more. It even works on more delicate films that can’t be thermally sealed. The UltraThinSeal R&D team has proven the system’s effectiveness on environmentally friendly materials as well, such as bio-polymers and biodegradable polymers. However, our technology doesn’t seal paper or purely cellulosic packaging material, as these must be sealed with an adhesive.
How We Developed the UltraThinSeal System
UltraThinSeal technology is an evolved, highly specialized version of modern plastic welding. We started with the basic principles of plastic welding; then we expanded and fine-tuned the capabilities of the ultrasonics, integrated the system with multiple types of bagging equipment, and aligned it perfectly with the needs of those in the packaging industry.
Our system is faster (if appropriate for your needs). It’s more compact. It’s more accurate and versatile than the decade-old equipment commonly used to bond thicker, hard plastics in diverse manufacturing applications.
