It looks like a routine job: Chipboards and fibreboard’s (MDF, HDF) are inherently stable and are transported and stored weather-protected. Therefore, their packaging requirements are small. However and in spite of that, the packaging job is demanding because the packages differ exceptionally.
Chipboard and fibreboard are delivered in standard or individual sizes depending on the customer’s requirements. A standard size, a board is of about 10 qm, individual size sometimes only a few qcm. Packs of standard size weigh about 4 – 5 tons. They are often not more than half a meter high. Packs of individual size seldom weigh more than 1 ton but can be man-sized. In the raw condition the boards have a rough surface, if they are coated their surface is very smooth.
Edge protectors attachingThe strapping machine has to fill many different requirements caused by the varied characteristics of the packages. The standard packages are very wide and the machine also has to be able to strap very high because of the individual sizes. The machine has grooves for runnerboards but is also able to strap pallet of small individual packages. It will strap packages of standard size several times lateral and those of individual size several times crosswise. It protects the sensitive edges of the stack’s upper and lower surfaces with steel-angles if "protection boards" are not used. And last but not least its tensile strength is extraordinarily high. The high tensile strength is necessary especially because of the high stacks of individually sized boards, particularly if the boards are coated and smooth.