What are Different Tests to Check the Stack Ability of Plastic Packaging?

Across the world, plastics is the widely used packaging material for different industries. From pharmaceuticals to F&B industries, it can be used for storing and transporting any type of non-reactive material, be it solids, liquids or powder. Depending upon the intended use, packaging tests are performed to check if it can withstand the conditions. Subjected to extreme working conditions, tests are performed in labs by simulating the environmental conditions. Primary test instruments that we use on plastic packaging are dart impact tester, vacuum leak tester, the coefficient of friction tester that determines the behaviour of packaging in real working conditions.

When we are talking about plastic packaging, we are primarily talking about plastic bottles, jars, barrels, boxes, blister boxes, etc.

Dart Impact Tester

Packaging material often comes in exposure to harsh working conditions like temperature, humidity, impacts and so on. Dart impact tester is one test which determines how your plastic pack would respond if some object falls freely on it. It calculates the energy that causes the plastic samples to fail under specified conditions. The dart is a hemispherical head and dropped from variable heights. The dart is clamped on an electromagnetic holder that releases the dart at a press of a button. The maximum weight that you can test with this instrument is 500gms.

Vacuum Leak Test

Seal of plastic packing is the main component that ensures the safety of content inside. Vacuum leak test is a brilliant tool that can check the seal integrity, pressure decay, seal performance of specimen. In this test, the sample is placed inside the vacuum kit and the air is sucked out of it. In this condition, if the specimen successfully keep the contents inside without leakage or bursting, it passes the test.

Coefficient of Friction Test

The friction between the plastic materials is very less. Due to this property of material, the slippage between the products increase. What is the stacking tendency of the material is determined by the coefficient of the friction tester. In this test, samples are placed over each other, a slider block is then placed over the sampled attached to a pulley. This pulley starts pulling the slider block and you can see the output reading on microprocessor based display.

Depending upon your industrial requirements, you can add more tests into it or skip any of these. Presto Group offers a wide range of testing equipment which are used in packaging industry. All these testing instruments are made in compliance with ASTM or JIS or BIS or may be all three.