Shrink tunnel

Heat tunnel for shrink wrapping bakery goods

A shrink tunnel or heat tunnel is a heated tunnel mounted over or around a conveyor system. Items such as packaging, have shrink film loosely applied; with heat, the film shrinks to fit snugly around the wrapped object.^[1]

Uses

Shrink labels.
Combining small items for sale and display (example: bottled water).
Tamper resistant or Tamper-evident bands or seals.
Form large unit loads for transport.
Form primary barrier on foods such as cheese, meats and fish.
Skin packs.

Types

The heat source can be based on Heating element (electrical resistance), Infrared heater, steam, or gas flame. Often forced air is used to improve convection, sometimes focusing the heat on one component of the item.

Tunnels are available with or without a conveyor system. Some are built into a production line or are integral with machinery that also applies the shrink film. Others are movable by hand or by castors. A shrink tunnel, referred to as an oven, may be equipped with an integrated conveyor of two different kinds. The roller conveyor or the belt conveyor. Roller conveyors can be used with polyolefin, PVC, and shrink polyethylene films. The space in between the rollers is filled with hot air from the bottom of the tunnel to shrink the film layer around the object, creating a sealed package. When used with polyolefin and PVC based films the rollers are called "live" or spinning. When used with polyethylene films the rollers are called "dead" or not spinning. The tunnels with Teflon mesh belts and polymer mesh belts are used for smaller packages, or when the package may have an instability and need a stable platform.

Some heat shrink tunnels have two or more zones for heating and controlled cooling.

References

↑ Soroka, W (2008). Illustrated Glossary of Packaging Terms. Institute of Packaging Professionals. p. 33. ISBN 1-930268-27-0.

Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

Packaging

General topics	Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Disposable food packaging Food packaging Luxury packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Package pilferage Package testing Packaging engineering Pharmaceutical packaging Reusable packaging Shelf life Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage

Containers	Aerosol spray Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bags and flexible containers Barrel Biodegradable bag Blister pack Bottle Box Bulk box Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Drum Envelope Flexible intermediate bulk container Foam food container Folding carton Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Juicebox Keg Matryoshka doll Multi-pack Oyster pail Packet (container) Padded mailer Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Popcorn bag Retort pouch Sachet Security bag Self-heating can Self-heating food packaging Shaker-style pantry box Shipping container Skin pack Spray bottle Tin can Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box

Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Foam peanut Glass Hot-melt adhesive Kraft paper Label Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Low-density polyethylene Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security seal Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat

Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Curtain Coating Die cutting Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Graphic design HACCP Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection molding Laminating Laser cutting Molding Papermaking Plastic welding Plastics extrusion Printing Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Track and trace Vacuum forming Ultrasonic welding Vacuum packaging Verification and validation

Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapping Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine

Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Paper recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management

External links

More information about shrink tunnels

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Shrink tunnel

Uses

Types

See also

References

External links