Sandwich Panels – Construction Sector

The sandwich panels industry has undergone major developments in the 90s and continues to have a trend of significant growth, especially in developing countries.
Transporting very long packages (even longer than 16 metres) is definitely not economical, so it is much more advantageous to install production systems close to areas where these panels are used.
Moreover, the packs of panels are often stored outdoors: otherwise, given the size of the packages, enormous warehouses would be required for production by the end client since they can remain outdoors for a few days before being assembled.
Therefore, it is clear that the package must be protected well against severe weather conditions, especially in certain areas.
Since they are very long packages, it is also impossible to use wooden pallets for handling with a forklift or crane, and it thus becomes important to insert strips (usually polystyrene), which ensures entry with the forks under the package.
Given the above, for years there has been a transformation in the packaging system of packs of panels: insertion of polystyrene strips below the pack rather than wood, and wrapping with stretch film instead of strapping.
What advantages does this solution have?

• the polystyrene strip is cheaper than wood and is completely dry, therefore, contact with the panel does not generate any type humidity that may damage the product
• wrapping with stretch film does not damage the polystyrene strip, thus no other protection accessories are required
• as well as protecting the product, wrapping with stretch film also ensures better containment of the package during the loading, transport and unloading phases of the packages

How to carry out these operations automatically?
Area srl manufactures a type of machine such as the Ring 140 – 180 – 210 (depending on the dimensions of packs to package), which ensures:

• automatic wrapping of the packs of panels
• the option to also cover the head and tail of the package
• the option to automatically insert polystyrene strips under the package
• the option to pre-stretch the stretch film in order to ensure perfect packaging and significant saving of plastic material

Area srl is an international leader in this particular sector with over 200 machines sold in the last 10 years on the world market and has become a recognised guarantee of reliability by end clients as well as companies that build complete systems for this application and that normally install these machines.

To further confirm the above, and to emphasise the importance of this sector for Area srl, other machines have been developed as accessories to the packaging machines:

• self-adhesive applicators for “overlapping” model BLUE TAPE
• fabric adhesive applicators with PET reinforcement for “sheet steel joints” model COIL TAPING

Both machines can be applied to the outfeed line of reel holder reels before profiling:

• the former, BLUE TAPE, is used to apply an adhesive tape (usually blue) on the cover panels and in line with the pre-cut in order to facilitate removal of the upper sheet steel and the polyurethane relating to the pre-cut part, which must then be overlapped
• the latter, COIL TAPING, is used to keep the tail of the finished coil and the head of the new one inserted together, ensuring continuity of the sheet steel, and therefore, an automatic exchange of the coil