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TYPICAL VOCABULARY

For reference, here is a list of typical vocabulary associated with Polyolefin Shrink Film:

 

  • Angel Hair - Thin strands of film appearing at the cut end of film resulting from sealing.

  • Ballooning - A pillow effect created when air is trapped within the shrinking bag.

  • Bead Seal - A thin round weld created when pressure and heat are applied to two layers of film.

  • Bi-Axial Orientation - Oriented along both X and Y-axis.

  • Blocking - A condition in which two layers of film adhere to one another.

  • Blown Film - A film extruded by air inflation.

  • Burn Through - A temperature or condition where a film becomes cloudy or burns in the shrink tunnel.

  • Centerfold Film - A film that has been folded in half, lengthwise.

  • Centerfolder - A mechanical device used to create centerfolded film.

  • Coextrusion - Two or more polymers extruded and combined in a die, each forming a distinct layer in the final film.

  • Cold Slip - The amount of force required to slide two surfaces against one another at ambient temperature.

  • Cold Flex (CF) - Ability of a film to perform at low temperatures without failure.

  • Copolymer - Result of two monomers being combined through polymerization.

  • Core - A paper tube on which film is wound.

  • Cross-Linking - A process which binds the polymer chains into a network. Significantly increasing a films heat stability and strength.

  • Crow's Feet - A series of wrinkles radiating out from a finished package's corners.

  • Dog-Ears - Triangular projections of unshrunk film at the corners of finished packages.

  • Drape - The softness of a film characterized by the ability to conform to irregular shapes.

  • Electron Beam - A device used in the cross-linking process.

  • Fish Eyes - A scalloped surface on a finished product surface.

  • Form-Fill-Seal - A type of equipment which produces a tube of film into which packages are introduced.

  • Gauge - A term used to describe the thickness of a material.

  • Hole Punch - A mechanical device used to produce an air evacuation hole.

  • Hot Slip - The amount of force required to side two surfaces of heated film against on another.

  • Impulse Seal - A heat sealing technique where the element is pulsed with voltage during the sealing cycle.

  • L-Sealer - A term used to describe equipment where the seal area is in the shape of a "L".

  • Laminate - A general term used to describe structures comprised of two or more materials.

  • Lap Seal - A seal made with two layers of film overlapping one another.

  • Machinability - The ability to form and seal on overwrapping equipment.

  • Machine Direction (MD) - The direction the film is manufactured and moves through the sealing equipment.

  • Memory - The ability of a film to maintain its characteristics after shrinking.

  • Monoaxial - A film which is oriented to shrink in only one direction.

  • Monolayer Film - A single layer film extruded from one or a blend of raw materials.

  • Mutilayer Film - A film comprised of more than one layer of similar or different polymers.

  • Opaque - Relatively impervious to light.

  • Optics - The visual properties of a film.

  • Orientation - The stretching technique used in the manufacturing of film.

  • Oriented - The stretching and aligning of a film's molecules at a temperature below its melting point.

  • Perforations - Air evacuation holes in a film made by pin perforators.

  • Pin Perforators - A device used to produce small holes in film to allow air to escape during the shrinking process.

  • Polyethylene - A simple thermoplastic polymer of ethylene.

  • Polymer - A material made through the process of polymerization.

  • Polymerization - A gas heated under pressure forms a solid.

  • Polyolefin - A generic term used to describe ethylene and/or propylene based plastics.

  • Polypropylene - A thermoplastic polymer of propylene.

  • Preferential Shrink - The characteristics of a film to shrink more or less in a specific direction.

  • PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride. Also a type of shrink film.

  • Seal Wire - An element made from nichrome wire used to seal film.

  • Selvage - Another term for trim waste.

  • Shrink - Defined as the ability to become smaller.

  • Shrink Tunnel - A type of equipment featuring a chamber producing heat and airflow designed to shrink film.

  • Singlewound Film (SW)- A single layer of film wrapped around a core.

  • Slip - The quality of a film to move over surfaces with little resistance.

  • Static - An electrical charge built-up in plastic film.

  • Static Seal - A type of longitudinal seal used in FFS equipment. Overlapping film edges are adhered via a static charge.

  • Tap Switch - An electrical device used to control the amount of voltage introduced to sealing elements.

  • Tear Initiation - The amount of force required to initiate a tear.

  • Tear Resistance - The ability of a film to resist the propagation of a tear.

  • Transverse Direction (TD) - The direction parallel to the film width.

  • Trim - The amount of excess film severed during the sealing process.

  • Trim Seal - A seal made by using a sealing wire element.

  • Unbalanced - Unequal orientation in the LD and TD.

  • Wind - The direction in which the film is wound on the core 

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