In an installation for the treatment of containers, comprising at least one filling station and a packing station for processing film or packaging material blanks and having work components acting upon the packaging material and forming packages, at least one measuring device for dimensional deviations of filled containers, and a control unit for automatically adjusting at least one installation station depending on a dimensional deviation detected, work components in the packing station (P) acting upon the packaging material when the filled containers are packed are automatically adjustable by way of the control unit. In a method for packing filled containers, work components of the packing station acting upon packaging material are adjusted automatically depending on dimensional deviations measured in order to form packages of different dimensions with at least substantially the same packing density.

A material processing system includes an oven that cooks or bakes, with electrical resistance, dough contained within containers. The oven can include a frame defining, devices mounted, in a preselected pattern, on the frame for a reciprocal movement in a vertical direction during use of the system, each device configured to connect voltage to a respective container so as to cook or bake the dough with the electrical resistance, and one or more powered members configured to move the devices in the vertical direction. Conveyors are also provided to convey a plurality of rows of containers with a plurality of containers in each row along a material conveyance path, the conveyors disposed in a series with each other and with the oven along the material conveyance path, one of the conveyors disposed within the oven so as to position a batch of the containers in an alignment with the devices.

A method for packaging piece good batches is provided. A transport device transports a plurality of piece goods in particular in the form of a piece good flow in a specified transport direction, and a first wrapping device wraps a film element around the piece goods, the film element having a specified first width. The first wrapping device has a dispensing assembly which circulates around the piece goods, and the piece goods are supplied to the first wrapping device in order to be wrapped with the film element. The piece goods are wrapped with a strip-like element by means of a strip application device, the strip-like element having a smaller width than the film element.

A heat shrink tunnel with width adjustment includes a pair of opposing side wall assemblies, each including an outer wall and an inner perforated wall defining a plenum therebetween. The opposing side walls define a product path with the side wall assemblies being movable toward and away from each other. A heater/blower assembly disposed in each of the opposing side walls and has an outlet directed into the product path. A shroud extends over the side wall assemblies and an open top space between the side all assemblies. The side wall assemblies extend upwardly toward an inside of the shroud so as to define a small gap between tops of the side wall assemblies and the inside of the shroud. The shroud has a bottom wall. A conveyor is configured to convey items through the heat shrink tunnel. A tunnel includes a side wall assembly width adjusting assembly to move the side walls toward and away from one another by actuation of a single actuator.

An apparatus for heat treatment of a heat shrinkable film includes a steam generation apparatus that generates steam, a heated air generation apparatus that generates heated air not lower in temperature than steam generated in the steam generation apparatus, a mixed gas generator that generates mixed gas not lower in temperature than steam generated in the steam generation apparatus by mixing steam generated in the steam generation apparatus and heated air generated in the heated air generation apparatus, a reheating apparatus that generates superheated steam by reheating mixed gas generated in the mixed gas generator, and a supply portion that supplies superheated steam generated in the reheating apparatus to a heat treatment chamber.

A direct gas-fired process air heater assembly that utilizes a premix burner applied to a shrink wrap conveyor oven for uniform dissemination of heated air into the a recirculating air stream of a circulating blower, said air circulating blower directing the heated air into the shrink wrap chamber or tunnel for shrinking polymer film around packaged goods for shipment and/or storage. According to various aspects, exemplary embodiments are disclosed of the direct gas-fired packaged process air heater assembly construction features including the application of premix burner technology.

Dunnage may be applied to surfaces of items by nozzles coupled to one or more robotic arms that may be operated in six degrees of freedom within three-dimensional space. The dunnage is applied in substantially hollow pieces or sections by one or more 3D printing processes, e.g., by deposition. Such pieces or sections may be applied in one or more series or patterns along surfaces of an item prior to enveloping the item in one or more wraps or covers, or depositing the item in one or more containers. Various characteristics of the dunnage, such as materials from which the dunnage is formed, diameters or thicknesses of the dunnage, the series or patterns in which the dunnage is applied to the surface of the item, or any other factors may be selected based on one or more attributes of the items, such as dimensions or shipping and handling instructions.

A multilayer, heat-shrinkable film has a first portion containing an outer heat seal layer and a second portion containing a PVDC barrier layer and a second outer layer comprising polyester. Both film portions comprise polymer networks which are strained by solid-state orientation, but only the first portion contains a crosslinked polymer network. The film has (i) a total free shrink at 85° C. of at least 90% and (ii) an instrumented impact energy-to-break of at least 0.0.65 J/mil and/or an instrumented impact peak load of at least 70 N/mil. The film is primarily made from ethylene-based polymers. Packaging articles can be made by sealing the film to itself. The film comprises no polyamide or polyamide in an amount up to 10 wt %, on a total film weight basis.

A shrink-wrapping arrangement can be used for shrink wrapping containers or packages, including bottles, boxes, cans, or similar containers or packages, and a method of operating a shrink-wrapping arrangement can be used for shrink wrapping containers or packages, including bottles, boxes, cans, or similar containers or packages.

A packaging apparatus includes a control unit, a loading station that positions a tubular film around a product to be packaged, a sealing station, a control unit that controls the sealing station to create one or more seals on the tubular film, an evacuation assembly that includes a first member and a second member arranged opposite the first member, and a means for moving the product relative to and from the evacuation assembly. The first member includes a deformable portion. The first and second members are relatively movable between: a first configuration, in which the first and second members are spaced apart from one another, a second configuration, in which the deformable portion contacts at least part of the second member and/or part of the tubular film, and a third configuration in which the deformable portion is compressed in a compression direction towards the second member.