BANDING
Putting multiple wraps of stretch film to certain areas of a load in order to reinforce the load.
BOTTOM WRAPS
The number of layers of stretch film that are applied to the bottom of a load.
FILM DANCER
A pivoting roller that measures the required film tension in a pre-stretch system. The dancer provides feedback to the control system in order to compensate for the varied feed rate demands caused by the load corners and thus maintains constant film tension during wrapping.
FILM FORCE TO LOAD
Also known as “film tension” or “film force”. The tensile force of the stretch film as it is applied to the pallet being wrapped (measured in pounds of force between the load and film carriage).
FILM OVERWRAP
The length of stretch film that folds over the top of a wrapped load. Overwrap improves load retention and can be changed by adjustment of the load sensing photo eye.
HOME POSITION
Position of the turntable and film carriage where the machine is ready to start a new wrap cycle and also finishes.
OVERLAP
The amount that a stretch wrap layer covers the previous layer on a wrapped load. Overlap improves load retention and can be increased or decreased by adjusting carriage speed.
PRESTRETCH
The process of stretching film prior to application of the film to the load. As the film passes through the prestretch carriage it is directed around the two rubber covered rollers which are rotating at different speeds. Because of the speed differential, the film is forced to stretch between the rollers.
PRESTRETCH CARRIAGE
The part of a stretch wrapper that performs the film prestretching prior to application to the load. As the turntable rotates, the carriage travels up and down vertically and wraps the film onto the load in a spiral pattern.
PRESTRETCH RATIO
A measure of how much a film is elongated by the prestretch process. Prestretch ratio is defined as a percentage change in film length. For example, a prestretch ratio of 200 signifies a change in length of +200%. The film length in this case is three times the length it was prior to stretching.
TOP WRAPS
The number of layers of stretch film that are applied to the top of a load.
WRAPS PARAMETERS
The variable settings that can be adjusted on a stretch wrapper in order to accommodate the load retention requirements of different loads. Typical parameters are bottom wraps, top wraps, carriage vertical speed (effects film overlap), turntable speed (effects wrapping speed), photo eye (effects film overwrap), and film force (effects load retention).