To completely solve the problem of film waste, it is essential to accurately trace every stage of film loss during the production process. In manually adjustable small vertical bag-making, filling, and sealing machines, the vast majority of waste film in the factory's waste bins originates from the following four types of friction and loss points.
When switching production batches, operators often leave excessive safety margin for bag length or select film rolls with a width much larger than the required size of the forming cylinder. To ensure that the material passes smoothly through the sealing grippers, technicians manually adjust the bag length by 8-10 mm. Over a long period of month-long mass production, excess plastic accumulates, resulting in thousands of meters of film waste.
The losses caused by misalignment of the film roll itself are even more serious: if the film roll is not precisely centered on the unwinding shaft relative to the center of the forming cylinder, it will deviate to the left or right during operation. After the film deviates, it will wrinkle inside the forming cylinder, and the operator can only stop the machine, cut the film, and re-thread the film, resulting in the loss of several meters of raw material before even producing a single bag of finished products.
Human error during production changes and equipment restarts is the main source of film loss. New operators, in order to confirm the photoelectric color mark positioning sensor and the straightness of the vertical seal edge, often feed 15-20 empty bags continuously without load; this behavior is very common.
When the equipment starts or stops midway, the dynamic tension of the film will momentarily become unbalanced. Sudden changes in tension can easily cause 2-3 bags to be poorly sealed or leak, resulting in discarded bags. When changing film rolls, if technicians arbitrarily pull out 3-4 meters of film for easy roller feeding, this material will directly become waste, indirectly reducing production costs.
Different flexible packaging films exhibit vastly different feeding performance on vertical packaging machines. If the equipment is factory-tuned to be compatible with thin, highly flexible OPP/PE film, but high-barrier rigid composite film is forcibly used, film feeding failures will immediately occur.
If the film is too thin or lacks sufficient toughness, and its speed is mismatched with the traction machine's operating speed, the rubber traction belt and film feeding rollers will stretch or even tear the film. Conversely, if the film width is much larger than the specifications of the matching forming cylinder, the excess film material will compress the vertical sealing strip, causing heavy and deformed sealing edges, failing the pressure resistance sealing test, and the entire batch of finished products will have to be scrapped.
The operating condition of equipment parts directly determines the smoothness of film feeding. In workshops processing fine powders, spices, and oily snacks, loose material residue will accumulate on the surface of the guide rollers and tension shafts, forming sticky residue, significantly increasing the friction of the contact surface, causing film dragging, jamming, and film deviation.
After prolonged use, wear and tear on the horizontal sealing grippers, cutter, and traction belt significantly reduces clamping and cutting accuracy. A dulled cutter cannot completely cut through the packaging bag, causing film accumulation and jamming. Each time the operator cleans the film feeding channel, a large amount of film material is wasted.
To reduce raw material costs, there's no need to purchase entirely new automated equipment. The key lies in standardizing daily adjustments, meticulously calibrating existing equipment, and maintaining a clean production environment.
To effectively reduce packaging film waste, manual adjustments must be precisely quantified. First, calculate the actual space occupied by the material inside the bag, reserving only the minimum allowance required for secure and neat sealing of the top and bottom edges. When changing to new rolls, use a measuring tape or equipment to mark alignment lines, ensuring the roll is perfectly centered relative to the forming cylinder's center line.
Adjust the tension brake or counterweight of the swing roller to ensure the film is firmly but not taut. Excessive tension will break the film and cause color mark misalignment; insufficient tension will result in disordered film feeding, creating unsightly slanted creases at the forming cylinder.
Develop a standardized step-by-step operation checklist, which operators must strictly adhere to each shift when changing production or switching products. No need for no-load film feeding verification; the operator can manually thread the film through the guide eye, smoothly lay it across the forming cylinder, and manually confirm alignment before starting the equipment.
When splicing new and old rolls, trim the end of the old film and precisely attach it to the film placement rack using thin, high-adhesion tape. A smooth splice can smoothly pass through the forming cylinder without snagging or tearing the film, eliminating the need for a wasteful emptying and testing process.
Collaborate with film suppliers to select the appropriate film material that matches both the material weight and the equipment's mechanical parameters. For packaging lightweight granular snacks, replacing the 80-micron thick rigid composite film with a 50-micron flexible composite film improves feeding stability and reduces raw material procurement costs. The film width should only allow for sufficient overlap for secure sealing/flat sealing. In mass production, every 10 mm reduction in roll width can save hundreds of yuan in raw material costs.
At the end of each shift, a 10-minute quick cleaning procedure is performed. Operators use lint-free cloths to wipe all guide rollers, swing roller assemblies, and forming cylinders to remove dust, sugar powder, and oil residue.
| Component | Maintenance Operation | Frequency | Effect on Waste Reduction |
| Film Guide Roller + Forming Tube | Wipe dust, oil stains, and material residue | Per shift / each product change | Prevent film dragging, wrinkling, and tracking deviation |
| Sealing Jaw | Clean with copper brush, check heating wire condition | Daily | Ensure uniform sealing and prevent film burn-through or melting damage |
| Cutting Knife | Check whether the blade is dull or chipped | Weekly | Ensure clean cutting of packaging bags and prevent film tearing or machine jams |
| Unwinding Shaft Tension Brake | Test tension stability, check bearing clearance | Monthly | Eliminate film slack and tracking deviation issues |
Loss cannot be controlled if it cannot be quantified. A shrink wrap loss record sheet is posted next to the equipment control panel. Operators record the quantity of rolls of film used and the estimated weight/number of bags of waste film each shift.
Work teams can visually see the total amount of waste film each shift, prompting them to conserve raw materials during film changes and machine trials. Simultaneously, the basic data in the ledger allows workshop managers to quickly locate operators and products with high loss rates.
If raw material costs rise abnormally, it's crucial to quickly pinpoint the root cause of loss. Operators can perform the following four quick checks on-site while the equipment is running:
Observe the film's movement from the film feeding rack to the swing roller. If the deviation exceeds 2 mm, it indicates the roll is not centered or the tension rod is misaligned.
Carefully inspect the finished packaging bags. If the gap between the material filling line and the top seal exceeds 3-5 mm, the bag length is set too long, a major cause of film loss in vertical packaging machines.
Standing next to the forming cylinder, if you hear sharp friction or tearing sounds, or if the film noticeably jams or shakes during feeding, it indicates excessive traction tension or film sticking to and accumulating on the forming cylinder.
Briefly pause the machine and manually rotate each guide roller. If the rollers are stuck, have high resistance, or are covered with material dust, it will increase friction, causing abnormal film feeding and film scrapping.
The equipment's design prioritizes ease of operator setup, significantly improving film loss management. Our compact vertical packaging equipment emphasizes machine rigidity and a simple manual alignment structure, equipped with a sturdy, thickened film feeder and sensitive, adjustable tension components. Ordinary operators can easily center the film and precisely lock onto stable film feed parameters.
The equipment eliminates complex, multi-layered menu settings, focusing on a stable and repeatable mechanical alignment structure. Small and medium-sized packaging manufacturers can achieve high-precision adjustments and extremely low film loss right out of the box. Standardized and standardized workshop operating habits, combined with stable equipment hardware, will make minimizing film loss a daily norm.
LINK packaging machinery primarily serves factories worldwide and fully understands the need for clients to obtain long-term remote technical support without requiring on-site engineers. If your production line consistently faces issues such as high scrap rates, film misalignment, and frequent film burn-through of grippers, there's no need to figure out solutions on your own. Contact our application technology team immediately, provide your existing packaging bag dimensions, film parameters, and real-time equipment operation videos, and we will offer in-depth remote fault diagnosis and customized equipment debugging guidance to help factories around the world achieve smooth, low-loss mass production.
1.Why does film tension matter in production stability?
Incorrect film tension can cause multiple issues. Too tight tension may stretch or tear the film, while too loose tension can cause wrinkles, misalignment, and unstable feeding, leading to extra waste.
2.How does film width selection impact waste reduction?
Using a film that is too wide for the actual bag size creates unnecessary trimming loss. Selecting a properly matched film width helps minimize edge waste and improves overall material efficiency.
3.Can different film materials affect machine performance?
Yes. Films that are too soft, too rigid, or brittle may not match machine speed or tension requirements. This can lead to tearing, instability, or inconsistent packaging results.
4.How often should the machine be maintained to reduce film waste?
Regular maintenance is recommended, including cleaning guide rollers, checking sealing wheels, and inspecting cutting blades. Routine checks help ensure stable film feeding and prevent avoidable breakage.
5.What happens if guide rollers are not cleaned?
Dust buildup can cause film deviation and extra trimming waste.
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