Packing your products into corrugated cardboard boxes and shipping them off can be worrisome, especially if the product inside is valuable and fragile. If any of the products are damaged, it can be costly. So naturally—to help alleviate this worry—you should consider making the corrugated boxes more durable and increase their bursting strength.
But how can you increase the strength of corrugated cardboard so that you won’t have to worry about damaging any products they contain? Here are a few ideal options that you can consider to help solve this problem.
Increase the Number of Plies
A simple and easy way to make cardboard stronger is by adding more plies to the corrugated sheets produced. Corrugated cardboard is designed with multiple layers of corrugated mixed between plies. Since there are many different kinds of corrugated cardboard, each incorporates different amounts of plies to increase the bursting strength of the actual corrugated box. If you increase the number of plies around the corrugated sheets of cardboard produced, the strength of corrugated cardboard material will increase. Even adding extra plies to each side of the cardboard can help augment its strength.
Understand Flutes
The arches in the corrugated cardboard material are called flutes. Their shape was designed by ancient architects long before anyone wondered how to make cardboard stronger, much less before it was first created. These architects found that the strongest way to support or span a space was with an arch. The earliest examples of this technique in architecture are thought to have been built in the 27th century BC. However, modern versions are still being used to this day in buildings around the world.
When you look at a sheet of corrugated cardboard, you can see arched cardboard material glued between the plies—they are one of the main determining factors in the durability of corrugated cardboard. There are a few different kinds of flutes, and to strengthen a corrugated box, wholesale box manufacturers should consider what type of flute they should use for each product.
- A Flute was the first type of flute developed for corrugated cardboard and contains about 33 flutes per foot.
- B Flute was then developed for lighter loads so that the boxes could be less condensed but be able to keep the enclosed product safe. It has 47 flutes per foot.
- C Flute was the third type of flute developed and is a general choice for most companies. It has 38 flutes per foot.
- E Flute is a general option as well and contains 90 flutes per foot.
- F Flute has 120 flutes per foot, and companies often use it for small folding boxes because of the size of flutes it contains.
All of these different flutes can be used to create corrugated boxes that best match a particular product. When packaging a product, the kind of flute you use should be taken into careful consideration. If not, then you may increase the risk of damaging the shipment.
Know the Types of Corrugated Sheets
There are a few kinds of corrugated sheets, and you need to learn them to know how to make cardboard stronger.
- Single face (when one piece of corrugated cardboard material is glued to one piece of linerboard)
- Single wall aka Double Face (The corrugated cardboard is glued between two sheets of flat linerboard)
- Double wall (two pieces of corrugated cardboard are glued between three parts of linerboard, one on each side, with the third piece in between the two)
- Triple wall (three sheets of cardboard between four pieces of flat linerboard)
Those who want to know how to make cardboard stronger must remember the effectiveness of corrugated sheets. They will improve bursting strength as you add more plies and boost flute durability. Increasing the width of both them adds another option to gain strength. Creating a strong corrugated box can help guarantee high-quality product shipping by keeping the internal portions of the cardboard box safe.
If you are interested in materials that can help strengthen your corrugated boxes, such as packaging box dividers and other corrugated partitions, we’ll be happy to help supply them for you. Contact General Partitions Company INC for more information.