Best Practices on Shrink Bundling Aerosol Cans

Introduction:

As we know, heat and volatile aerosol cans can be a dangerous combination. Exposure to high temperatures can cause aerosol cans to rupture and explode, resulting in potential damage to machinery and personal injury.

Despite this risk, aerosol cans often require bundling in small packs as part of the secondary packaging process. Let’s review our insights and experiences to ensure we’re handling this process as safely and effectively as possible.

What to know:

Holland Packaging offers shrink bundling machinery specifically designed to safely run aerosol cans. Do not use a regular non-compliant shrink bundler if the content of the container may in any way explode if exposed to prolonged heat.

To safely shrink wrap aerosol cans, look for the following machinery features:

    • Temperature Control: Maintain precise temperature control in shrink tunnels to prevent overheating. A tunnel temperature alarm (with redundant heat sensors) can prevent the machine from running if the temperature is out of range.
    • The “Swing Down” design of floor: This feature allows big volume of cold air to enter tunnel when activated directly beneath the product. This will immediately cool down the cans and avoid possibility of it reaching flash point.
    • The “Swing Up” design of tunnel curtains: This feature opens the heat curtains at either end of the shrink tunnel to dissipate hot air from the tunnel.
    • Prevent Obstructions: Use guide rails within the shrink oven to prevent aerosols from getting trapped and causing blockages.
    • Tunnel Jam Sensors: Use tunnel jam sensors to track cans entering and exiting the shrink tunnel. If a can falls and causes a count discrepancy, the system should alert the operator and shut off the steam valve.
    • Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS): to keep the conveyor tunnel running even in case of e-stop / power outage.
    • Containment Guarding: Use containment guarding made of expanded metal around the shrink tunnel hood
    • Cool Down: Use a shrink tunnel air blast cool down.
    • Emergency Stops: Install emergency stop switches to immediately shut down the shrink wrap heaters in case of an emergency. Additional contactors can ensure complete power cutoff.
    • Ventilation: Ensure the equipment is operated in a well-ventilated area.