Finding the right stretch wrapping solution is often a balancing act between many factors like budget, space, and quantity. However, sometimes the industry itself can impose limiting factors on the type of stretch wrap solution that best suits the application.
For instance, industries like building products, carbonated soft drinks, or distribution centers can limit the types of solutions that will work. We’ve talked about some of the specific challenges associated with distribution centers recently, but distribution centers also share some commonalities with industries like building products and carbonated soft drinks because they handle various product types and load sizes.
The products that make up a load matter
One of the things that can influence a stretch wrapping decision is the type of load being wrapped. This can impact the decision making process in ways that are obvious (distribution centers create non-uniform loads) and some not so obvious ways.
Two specific examples of load types that can create problems/influence the stretch wrapping process are concrete and carbonated soft drinks.
What do concrete and soft drinks have in common?
They both make a mess.
Specifically, concrete and soft drinks wrapped on a semi-automatic turntable stretch wrapper create a mess that is challenging to deal with. When pallets of concrete are wrapped on a solid turntable, abrasive cement residue collects on the turntable surface. Soft drinks can leak when they are being stretch wrapped, and when done on a solid turntable this creates a sticky mess on the turntable surface.
If wrapped on a conveyorized automatic turntable, both of these types of products can build up on the rollers and fall through the rollers to collect on motors, wire, bearings, drive belts, etc. that are underneath.
Why are straddle stretch wrappers a good solution?
In the examples above, the type of product being wrapped creates a maintenance issue.
Sometimes these issues can be avoided with a straddle stretch wrapper.
For instance, an automatic straddle stretch wrapper doesn’t have a single, solid wrapping surface.
Instead, a straddle stretch wrapper features a conveyor design with space between the rollers. Abrasive residue, like concrete, falls through the rollers and doesn’t accumulate.
Obviously a straddle stretch wrapper can’t solve every problem. Sticky substances can accumulate on straddle stretch wrappers rollers like they do on an automatics conveyor. Finding the right stretch wrapping solution should take product type into consideration, however, because sometimes the type of machine can help avoid maintenance issues.
Load weight considerations
Load weight is also often a prime influencer in the straddle stretch wrapper decision. Straddle stretch wrappers are ideal for applications with either very heavy or very light loads.
Straddle stretch wrappers can accommodate loads that are significantly heavier than a turntable wrapper. Most turntable options, for instance, have a max weight capacity around 5,000 pounds. Straddle wrappers can accommodate much greater max weights.
On the other end of the weight spectrum, very light loads (or unstable loads) are also best wrapped on a straddle wrapper. Turntable wrappers rotate the load and this rotation can compromise the load integrity if it is very light or unstable. A straddle wrapper solves this problem by holding the load still while the wrap arm rotates around it.
In industries like building products, soft drinks, and distribution centers loads are most often going to fall into the overweight category that put them outside a turntable wrappers capacity.
Check out these posts on stretch wrappers:
- Should I Buy a Semi-automatic or an Automatic Stretch Wrapper?
- 3 Things Scarier Than Bad Stretch Wrapping
- 3 Ways to Improve Your Stretch Wrapping Success
This post was published on September 26, 2016 and updated on September 28, 2016.
September 26, 2016
