3 things you should know about powder packaging

Let’s face it: consumers demand for convenience and industry demand for packaging sustainability won’t be going away soon. This is the reason why increasing number of companies is choosing a pouch as a container for a broad range of products. It is expected that the powder packaging market will continue to grow due to rising popularity of convenience products. Ground coffee, flour, spices, salt or instant drink mixes - The Premade pouch is a suitable packaging for all these products. Pouch protects the product from moisture and helps it to maintain its properties, so it is also a great choice for baby-food powder, tea powder, milk or protein powder. The Premade pouch is also utilized for non-food powders like enzymes, detergent powder or chemical additives.

Good and reliable packaging equipment manufacturer can develop a powder packaging solution according to your specific demands, but in order for him to provide the best piece of equipment there are three main things you need to know about powder packaging:

Free-Flowing or Non-Free-Flowing?

Powder with not cohesive particles is considered free-flowing.  These powders 'flow freely' when dispensed, like granulated sugar or table salt. These types of powders aren’t compactable under pressure and they don't hold their shape during manipulation.

Powder with cohesive particles is considered non-free-flowing. These powders can be compacted under pressure and tend to hold their shape when manipulated like brown sugar or powdered milk.

Flowability of your product dictates the type of filler you need for proper dispensing of your powder product into the pouch. Free-flowing product falls easily with the force of gravity. Non-free-flowing product because of its cohesiveness needs to be compacted and 'helped along' during packaging. Free-flow powder can be packed with the help of volumetric or free-flow auger product fillers. Non-free-flow powders are packed with the help of auger filler for dispensing of cohesive products.

What about Dusty products?

Let’s take a non-free-flow powder product like flour for an example. Dispersal of flour inevitably results in a cloud of dust. Dust particles cling to almost any surface and they can travel very far. Dust proof enclosures are very important for powder packing, because they prevent mechanical issues due to airborne particulates. Machines with washdown properties are a good solution for two reasons: Machine enclosures are water proof, so no water or dust can enter the machine. Dust particles will probably stick to some surfaces on the machine, but they can easily be removed with a spray of water.

 

What about Bulk Density and why is it important?

'Flowability' of the powder and how compactable it is under the pressure represent third measure called bulk density.  Bulk density is calculated through a basic formula: total mass divided by total volume. Bulk density is usually represented as g/cm3.

Dry, free-flowing products have a low bulk density and usually will not compress very much. Cohesive non-free-flowing products have a higher bulk density that gets even higher when compacted.

So what is the connection between bulk density and powder packaging machinery? Imagine 50g of moist sand vs. 50g of roasted coffee beans. The Weight is the same, but the package dimensions and types vary because of the empty space around and inside of the products. The sand can go in a smaller pouch, because it contains less empty space and is more compressed within the package. The coffee beans will need a much larger pouch because they cannot be easily compressed under the pressure and there is more empty space between the beans. This is why it is important to consider bulk density when packaging powders. Bulk density directly affects the pouch sizes and attributes, the type of filler required, and packaging speeds that can be attained.

If you are in a search for a compact sized, competitively priced and efficient powder packaging solution, check out our ROO-100. TheROO-100 is compatible with all standard filling options for powders; it can feature a washdown structure and allows for a 30 second changeover between a wide range of pouch sizes!

Efficient Packaging Machine Maintenance: Maintenance Kits

The most important element of plant capacity and operational reliability are appropriate maintenance and efficient spare parts management. Inconsistent and inefficient machine performance prevents facilities from working at a high level of output. Diagnosing the problem can take a while, which costs companies time and money even with a reliable supply of functional spare parts.

Unfortunately, the importance of spare parts and timely maintenance is still mostly overlooked. Many organizations operate without implementing fundamental aspects of spare parts management at their site. Don’t be one of those companies. In order to make a difference in the operational reliability, you must pay special attention to effective spare parts management and planned maintenance.

We are aware that crossing over from reactive to predictive operating strategy isn’t always easy. You have to set up new set of rules, procedures and standards in order to prevent problems before they arise, instead of fixing problems when they happen. Sadly, not all companies have the infrastructure for this kind of change.

This is why companies that cannot afford to stock spare parts and manage inventory turn to maintenance kits. With maintenance kits, you just have to plan for timely maintenance, and perform the required steps according to your maintenance plan. If you strive to cut costs, you should know that it is a more economic option to do machine maintenance once a year, than replacing one part after another as they wear out. Well planed machine maintenance and maintenance kits save your money in several ways:

1.       Less Downtime

Downtime costs your company money. If you know how much money it is, you can factor in lead times and determine the cost of an unexpected shutdown. Then, if you compare that to the cost of machine maintenance, you can see for yourself what’s more economic. Don’t forget that if you wait for the part to wear out, even if the supplier has the part in stock, delivering it to the site will typically cost you a minimum of 24 hours of unplanned downtime.

2.       Top Performance

Maintaining a machine on a regular basis ensures that the machine runs at its top performance. Running the machine with warn out parts results in inefficiencies and inconsistencies in performance and production becomes unreliable and unpredictable.

3.            No maintenance overhead

When a machine starts to show signs of poor performance, it means more work for your maintenance staff. Time is wasted while the maintenance team is diagnosing and searching for the parts that have worn out and need to be replaced.

 So if you are tired of trying to chase down problems on your machines, you might want to consider a machine maintenance kit.

Tishma Technologies’ Maintenance Kits provide all the parts you will need to replace during machine maintenance.  This means minimal downtime to complete the rebuild and greater performance! As already stated, maintenance kits are also a more economic option than buying all of the parts individually.

Contact us to see if we can provide maintenance kits for your machines.

Cannabis Packaging: Standards are high…

By now, twenty-four states legalized medical marijuana and that number will grow rapidly. Currently, cannabis is practically legal in half of the United States. It seems that stereotypes and misunderstandings about cannabis are old news, and the industry is blooming. It’s no surprise that many young entrepreneurs are dreaming of huge returns from the cannabis business. But reality is that business of cannabis is more than just the business of seeds, soil and water. Today's harvest requires a whole lot of innovation and talent.

This is the right time for manufacturers of cannabis products to start developing their brands and selling their goods to their target consumers. It’s also the right time for big and wise decisions since competition is high (pun intended). Cannabis producers need to start searching for a way to cut the production and packaging costs through improvement of the process in order for those huge returns to become reality. If you are one of them, bear in mind that you must understand how to package marijuana if you want to get your message about the benefits of your product across.

Finding and choosing the right cannabis packaging format and packaging system is an important part of the business. Packaging must communicate both the safety of the product and the features that set it apart from others. The right packaging equipment is your greatest ally. Whether you are in the business of recreational or medicinal marijuana, packaging systems that lowers your costs and saves your time and floor space can be one of your competitive advantages. So what is the best packaging format for cannabis?

Most important thing about cannabis packaging is that packaging needs to keep the freshness and aroma sealed inside while blocking harmful impacts like moisture, oxygen, and UV light. For this we recommend stand up pouches made with strong, FDA-approved laminated layers as one of the best ways for preserving cannabis. Whether you’re packaging marijuana itself, or cannabis edibles, flexible, stand up pouches and barrier bags ensure the integrity of your brand and the qualities of your product remain intact. Cannabis packaging that allows colors, graphics, and designs is also a good choice, cause it can really pop and make your brand stand out.

Of course, safety first! Make sure your medical marijuana packaging is childproof and difficult to open by little ones while still being easy to use by adults. On the other hand, resealable pouch is a must if you produce non-single use edibles or any other cannabis product. For this we suggest stand up pouches and bags that can be heat sealed via heavy duty zippers. Also, making your cannabis packaging 100 percent recyclable and landfill friendly is also a big plus. Environment friendly packaging appeals to customers who prefer more natural forms of medicine, such as cannabis.

Fertilizer and special nutrients used in the marijuana growing process can also be packed in a Pouch. Various film layers that work together provide strength and stability for the packaging to stand up on its own.

Pouch packaging also demands an efficient and economic pouch packaging machine. Search no more, because our ROO-100 pre-made pouch fill & seal machine is the right tool for the job. It can be enhanced with various add-ons and it is compatible with all standard filling systems. For example, the ROO-100 can be enhanced with code/date printer which is especially useful for printing serialization codes on medicinal marijuana pouches. In order to keep your cannabis product fresh for extended period of time, the ROO-100 can feature nitrogen gas flushing right before sealing the pouch. Since marijuana is sensitive to high temperatures, the ROO-100 can also cool the area of the pouch that got heated by sealing with the help of a seal cooler.

So, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur that aims high, arm yourself with the cannabis packaging equipment that will increase your efficiency! Choose our ROO-100 and get your cannabis on those shelves! Not only will your product stand out, it will also help shed the misunderstandings and misperceptions of this medicinal herb and the booming marijuana market itself.