Bad quality packaging products collapses soon whereas good quality cartons are expensive. The thickness and quality of paper affect corrugated construction. The edgewise compressive strength in the corrugated box is evaluated by compressing a sample of this material.
The Edge crush test (ECT) is the test method to evaluate the cross-direction, crushing of a test sample of corrugated materials. The test gives complete information regarding the capability of a specific board to stop crushing. Edge Crush Tester determines the compressive strength of the sides of packaging material like solid boxes of fiber, corrugated box etc. For repeated and accurate test results, the machine is designed as per standards.
The procedures to create the test machines are explained in international and domestic standards. The test sample with sharp and parallel cuts to fit accurately with the perpendicular faces. The durability of the material is evaluated using this test. The raw material should be tested before starting the production as it is useless to test after the production process begins.
Edge crush test machine provides an easy comparison of the box using McKee’s formula. The compression strength being k. ECT x T x Z. Here k is constant, ECT is the edge crush value, T is the thickness of sample material and Z is the perimeter of the box. Ring crush Tester/Flat Crush Tester/Edge crush tester is the device to judge the smash quality of corrugated boxes.
Ring crush tester (RCT) determines the ring crush resistance of a paper strip into a ring with a standard length and width. The sample should be parallel to ensure proper determination of ring crush strength. The test result gives buckling behaviour of the sample rather than crush behaviour. A compression force is applied to the sample held in a ring form in a special sample holder and placed in a platen of the machine. The driven platen are made to approach the rigid platen at a constant speed until the sample collapses.
Flat crush tester helps the users to provide flat crush test for corrugated materials. Flat crush test has three types of fixtures that allow the users to perform three types of crushing test on samples. The machine can perform three types of test i.e. Ring crush test, Flat crush test and Edge crush test. The test is capable to measure the crushing strength of the materials and helps in maintaining better strength and quality. The device gives the result in digital format and allows the customer to get the peak value of the test earlier performed on the same device.
