There is a lot of planning and design involved in consumer products. From protecting the contents to appealing designs to attract buyers, food and beverage companies can use hot melt adhesives to create a secure packaging. Hot melt packaging adhesives are designed to set quickly under short compression times, enabling strong bonds within seconds to protect the package contents. For packaging production lines to run smoothly and avoid downtime, operators need to understand how the adhesive and equipment work together to create a great bond.
Dispensing hot melt adhesive requires precision to assure the application is consistent under rapid production speeds. No matter the application pattern – dots, stitched beads or solid beads – it is important the hot melt adhesive nozzle provides clean cutoff, accurate placement and consistent material deposition. A key component of the application setup is the size of the nozzle. The selection of the nozzle size on an applicator plays a major role in the rate of flow and the amount of adhesive being dispensed or fired onto a package. Nozzles can vary by orifice size (diameter of the opening), or engagement length. Typically, nozzles are selected by their orifice size as it plays the larger role in affecting the adhesive bead width. For each application, the following must be considered when selecting the correct nozzle size:
- Achieving ideal adhesive bead width for package size
- Integrating set speed in the application
- Avoiding adhesive build-up from squeeze out or overspray
- Assuring good equipment condition
- Maintaining adhesive product levels and consistent temperature
Selecting the smallest orifice size that will not clog – generally ranging between 30mm to 45mm (0.012 inches – 0.018 inches) – is recommended to achieve optimal application.