While almost all of us are bound to appreciate the delectable pastries that were brought in for teatime this evening, its accompanying set of plastic deli containers aren't due to receive any form of simple consideration, let alone some prominent adoration! While items that are involved for the momentary packaging of food at the takeaway counters of restaurants all around the world are very much taken for granted by one and all equally, here's a special tribute on how they're mass produced in the first place; read on to know more!
1) Cardboard/boxboard packaging derivatives; everything from fast food trays to protein shake boxes.
(i) The printing process: depending on the customer's requirements, cardboard/boxboard sheets are printed with the logos and colours that symbolize an enterprise within the facility itself. Once this is achieved, the paper-based sheets are ready to undergo the following step.
(ii) The cutting process: In accordance to what a customer personally prefers once again, these sheets are split into equal dimensions.
(iii) The bonding process: After transportation to a specialized form of machinery, the feeding of each of these sheets leads to a step-by-step progression of glue application and folding.
(iv) Et voila! A typical lunch tray is ready - and that too within means of a modest budget!
2) Plastic packaging derivatives - made by a process called 'thermoforming' (for all items ranging from soup containers to cutlery)
(i) Starting with an extruder, pellets of transparent polystyrene and a few opaque, coloured ones (for pigmentation purposes) are fed in via this form of machinery in order to change this form of plastic's solid state into a molten one.
In due course, this viscous plastic is formed as a sheet shortly prior to the stage of injection moulding.
(ii) These plastic sheets are then sucked into vacuums that bear the shapes and/or patterns of the desired commodity for moulding purposes. When executed by means of state-of-the-art robotic automation systems, this specific step constitutes only a mere 3 minutes of total process time!
(iii) Next, each container/piece of cutlery/straw is carefully cut and split as individual units from the main sheet, while any remnants of the sheet are sent back to the extruder for melting and recycling.
(iv) Whilst cutlery items such as spoons, forks, knives and tea/coffee stirring implements have completed all its stages of manufacturing, straws and cups undergo an extra stage or two, as elaborated herewith:
• Corrugation (for straws): a corrugated cavity at one end of the straw creates flexibility for bending, thereby ensuring a better sucking experience from the mouth.
• Lip-rolling (for cups): the brims of cups are run through the oven once again, where a slight, momentary blast of heat re-enables malleability of this region to guarantee jagged-free edges in the finished product.
1) Cardboard/boxboard packaging derivatives; everything from fast food trays to protein shake boxes.
(i) The printing process: depending on the customer's requirements, cardboard/boxboard sheets are printed with the logos and colours that symbolize an enterprise within the facility itself. Once this is achieved, the paper-based sheets are ready to undergo the following step.
(ii) The cutting process: In accordance to what a customer personally prefers once again, these sheets are split into equal dimensions.
(iii) The bonding process: After transportation to a specialized form of machinery, the feeding of each of these sheets leads to a step-by-step progression of glue application and folding.
(iv) Et voila! A typical lunch tray is ready - and that too within means of a modest budget!
2) Plastic packaging derivatives - made by a process called 'thermoforming' (for all items ranging from soup containers to cutlery)
(i) Starting with an extruder, pellets of transparent polystyrene and a few opaque, coloured ones (for pigmentation purposes) are fed in via this form of machinery in order to change this form of plastic's solid state into a molten one.
In due course, this viscous plastic is formed as a sheet shortly prior to the stage of injection moulding.
(ii) These plastic sheets are then sucked into vacuums that bear the shapes and/or patterns of the desired commodity for moulding purposes. When executed by means of state-of-the-art robotic automation systems, this specific step constitutes only a mere 3 minutes of total process time!
(iii) Next, each container/piece of cutlery/straw is carefully cut and split as individual units from the main sheet, while any remnants of the sheet are sent back to the extruder for melting and recycling.
(iv) Whilst cutlery items such as spoons, forks, knives and tea/coffee stirring implements have completed all its stages of manufacturing, straws and cups undergo an extra stage or two, as elaborated herewith:
• Corrugation (for straws): a corrugated cavity at one end of the straw creates flexibility for bending, thereby ensuring a better sucking experience from the mouth.
• Lip-rolling (for cups): the brims of cups are run through the oven once again, where a slight, momentary blast of heat re-enables malleability of this region to guarantee jagged-free edges in the finished product.
