Research & Development
Designing innovation, ensuring sustainability
Designers, laboratory technicians and product managers: at Arcoplastica, R&D on raw materials and packaging is the result
of teamwork supported by constant investment in state-of-the-art technology.
Advanced design is a fundamental requirement of the entire production process with these objectives:
• Maximisation of the quantity of raw material of the trays manufactured from recycling and consequent reduction in the use of virgin plastic.
• Thickness reduction: less plastic on the market.
• Simplification of materials: mono-material instead of multilayer plastics to simplify the recycling process.
Formulations
PET
PET
PP
PP
PS
PS
PLA
PLA
Applications
COLD STORAGE
COLD STORAGE
HEAT TREATMENT
HEAT TREATMENT
ready to cook
ready to cook
special sealing
special sealing
BARRIER PROPERTIES
BARRIER PROPERTIES
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Packaging tailored to your needs
We provide a solution designed and fully tested for each individual request: another strong point of Arcoplastica Research & Development. We design customised solutions that take into account the available budget, specific use and any processes to which the containers will have to undergo (e.g. pasteurisation, sterilisation, freezing, tempering in a conventional oven or microwave).
Study and analysis of materials
Physical analysis and characterisation of both incoming materials and those produced in our extrusion and thermoforming departments are performed in our in-house laboratory. Tests are mainly focused on the following aspects:
• resistance to high temperatures
• delamination
• tensile strength and brittleness
• stratigraphy, specific weight
• dimensional characteristics and tolerances
Arcoplastica works in partnership with certified external laboratories for a series of specific tests such as migration and food contact suitability tests.
Internal tests and analyses
Two dynamometers measure the tensile and sliding force of films and foils. They are used for mechanical characterisations of extruded films/laminates. Tests performed:
– delamination resistance of laminated films
– weld strength
– static and dynamic coefficient of friction (COF)
– tensile load
Our laboratory is equipped with a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer, which can characterise plastics by analysing the acquired FTIR spectrum and automatically comparing it with standard spectra. This tool is used for raw material acceptance and characterisation of extruded materials.
The colorimeter is used for measuring the absorbance and transmittance of extruded coloured films by measuring three (visible) light sources on the sample being tested.
By setting temperature, pressure and contact time, our laboratory welder tests the compatibility of two materials (tray + sealing film).
A microtome placed inside a cryostat is used. The sample to be tested is frozen inside the cryostat on a special ‘freezing bar’; once frozen and sectioned, stratigraphy is analysed using an electron microscope.
The Melt Flow Index (MFI) is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. It is measured by placing the polymer in a heated chamber, the melted polymer flows through a capillary rheometer: the weight of the polymer leaked in a given time corresponds to the Melt Flow Index. The greater the weight of the leaked material, the higher the Melt Flow Index, the lower the viscosity of the polymer.
Moisture content is measured using a thermobalance, which quickly and reliably determines the moisture content of materials with thermogravimetric analysis. The sample is weighed before and after superheating and the moisture content is deduced by weight difference.