IRTA Group boasts a technical department dedicated exclusively to developing forming tubes for any kind of bag regardless of format, size or material.
Some of the formats we can manufacture are the ones known as pillow, gusseted, doypack, block bottom, square package and our own exclusive IRTA pack DUO. Nor can we forget the large formats which permit us to make bags with handles or hand and finger holes, etc…
Commercial commitments often oblige us to work for various companies and brands (at the same time?). The result is the continuous changing-over of reels of film and forming tubes as the work dictates. Thanks to our system of rapid reel and forming tube change-overs, stoppage times are reduced to a minimum which is beneficial in every way to a company.
Starting from a few minimum requirements we are able to construct any former to adapt to any kind of bag or package that a client may request.
Parts of the forming tube
A forming tube or shaper is made up of three clearly different elements which we are going to describe below:
The tube: Gives us the size of the bag or pack. It is usually made of AISI 304 stainless Steel.
Collar: The collar gives us the shape or format of the bag or pack. It is usually made of AISI 304 but with a special pattern to enable the sliding of the plastic film.
Mountings: The mountings fix this unit to the packaging machine and feed fall hoppers, etc. This part of the forming tube is usually made of anodized aluminium.
Special covering and Teflon coating
Finishes will vary depending on the clients’ needs but our machinery is usually delivered with a sandblast finish in a uniform color. However, if products are to be packed in damp or cold conditions, we recommend that the component parts be Teflon coated to eliminate condensation and the possiblity of bag malformation through the slipping or sliding of the film. Although this Teflon coating is usually black, we have a wide range of other colours available at the client’s request.
