If you only want to pack a shipment occasionally, conventional folding cartons are sufficient. However, as soon as serial boxing is envisaged, every move counts. The automatic bottom is an invention that considerably speeds up the process of setting up a box. Moreover, this innovative solution reduces the number of gluing points.

Folding boxes with automatic bottom are available in all sizes. Due to its efficient handling, this type of carton is particularly suitable for order picking or packaging of serial products.

History of the folding box - a brief overview

The year 1839 is considered the birth of the folding box. At that time, it was not glued but assembled with clamping pins at the corners. The folding box was an inexpensive solution for safely packaging products that were sensitive to impact and scratches. Not only was it cheaper than the wooden boxes that were common at the time, it was also much lighter.

At the same time, the gradual onset of industrialization brought high-value goods within the financial reach of ordinary citizens. Whether ceramics, bottles, instruments or foodstuffs - they all had to be packed in one place and transported over impassable distances to the customer. The folding carton was thus a midwife for the mail order business.

In 1879, serial mass production also reached this packaging solution. With new machines for cutting and punching cardboard boxes, the production of cardboard boxes became much more productive.

When industrial gluing machines also became available in 1895, the folding carton was without competition. With industrialization now in full swing, and the consequent cheapening of mass-produced and branded articles, demand continued to rise.

Application of folding boxes

These can be the goods themselves, but the folding carton also often serves as outer packaging for high-quality containers, inside which the actual product is located. Folding cartons thus often function as transport containers for cans, tin boxes or sales cartons.

In addition to their function as primary or secondary packaging, folding cartons serve as carriers of messages of all kinds. These can be advertising messages. Likewise, useful information such as weight or handling instructions can be printed on the outside.

What is an automatic floor?

ends are connected to the inner part on both sides with only one side. For easier handling, the connection points are designed as a joint or hinge by means of a suitable embossing.

The box folded flat becomes a tube by standing up. The end pieces are folded in and fixed with adhesive tape or glue. For a small number of pieces or the occasional packaging of single pieces, this method of construction is sufficient.

However, if large batches are to be packaged, the cumbersome process of gluing on both sides becomes an obstacle to productivity. This is where the automatic bottom comes into play.

A Folding box with crash-lock base is just as flat as a normal folding box when folded. As soon as it is erected, however, the automatic base folds into position. It thus fulfills two tasks:

• Stabilization of the folding box
• Making a stable subfloor

Once the folding box is fully unfolded, the automatic bottom prevents it from collapsing again. The box can then be placed on the bottom and filled. The lid is kept in most cases with the conventional folding box design.

The four sides are folded shut and fixed with adhesive tape or glue. However, modern solutions also offer significant relief on the top side. The lid is folded shut and secured with a tab. This tab only needs to be fixed to prevent it from slipping out.

All that is needed is a small piece of adhesive tape or a few drops of glue. This reduces the consumption of adhesives to a minimum and additionally speeds up the erection of the carton.

What are the advantages of the automatic floor?

The main advantage of the automatic bottom is the speed with which the folding box can be built up due to its help.

In a direct comparison, the assembly of a carton with automatic bottom is up to 5x faster than with conventional folding cartons, which have to be glued on both sides.

This makes the automatic bottom carton more advantageous not only in manual production. The automatic unfolding of the bottom makes this type of carton just as ideal for the automated production of opened cartons.

In a production line, the opening, erecting, and filling of a carton are thus combined into one process that takes only a few seconds. Only a minimum of automated or manual effort is required to close the carton at the top.

In both manual and automated series production, the automatic base thus offers a significant time advantage and productivity gain compared to the traditional folding carton, which is opened on both sides.

This solution nevertheless has one weak point: the load-bearing capacity of the automatic base is not quite as great as that of the conventional folding box. The latter offers a double layer of cardboard over the entire surface.

Due to its design, the automatic base is not completely double-bearing. However, this disadvantage can be easily remedied by inserting an additional sheet of cardboard. This means that an automatic bottom carton has the same or even a better load-bearing capacity than a normal folding carton open on both sides.

For which industries and products are boxes with automatic bottom suitable?

The advantages of the automatic floor are so outstanding that it has become the standard in many industries. The high efficiency of its installation makes it the solution of choice wherever serial work is required.

This does not always have to be machine production. Accelerated production of stable cartons can also improve efficiency when picking orders.

Cartons and folding boxes with automatic bottom are therefore used in the following industries and products:

• Serial packaging of loose goods or piece packaging
• Repackaging of larger containers
• Transport cartons for picked orders

The automatic base is used across all industries for the serial packaging of loose goods or unit packs.

 

With this solution, manufacturers save the manual labor or the additional machine to seal the bottom. Typical products are food packaging, medicines, non-food bulk goods (detergents, dishwasher tabs) and much more.

In terms of size, outer packaging with automatic base is not subject to any restrictions. They are just as suitable for the smallest outer packaging as they are for appliance cartons. Washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers can be packaged just as efficiently as tablets or frozen peas.

Large cartons with automatic bases are used as standard for shipping departments to make packed goods ready for transport. These large cartons are produced in standard sizes so that they fit exactly on a standard pallet. This makes loading the truck particularly efficient and makes optimum use of the entire space.

Cartons with automatic base are already standard in many industries due to their advantages, especially where serial work is carried out.

Materials for cartons with automatic bottom

The materials from which cartons are made basically depend on their use. Small protective and product packaging for loose piece goods are made of thin-walled cartonboard. However, they usually still have marketing functions.

For this reason, they are coated white at the factory and printed at the customer's site to match their brand message. Outer packaging, on the other hand, where stability and load-bearing capacity are important, is made from multilayer corrugated board.

This is a three-ply cardboard consisting of a top layer, a top layer and an intermediate layer of corrugated cardboard paper - it gives the packaging the robustness it needs for transport. This strong packaging can also be printed as desired.

Automatic cartons are offered in any size and design. The type of folding is irrelevant for the function of the carton. Therefore, the right carton with automatic bottom is also available for every application.

Weaknesses of folding boxes

As robust and reliable as folding cartons are in performing their task, they nevertheless have two weak points:

• Fire
• Water

Cardboard is a flammable material. It is theoretically possible to design cardboard packaging to make it flame-retardant or flame-retardant. But these measures are not only at the expense of costs.

They can likewise pose a risk to health. Flame retardants often have undesirable side effects, such as promoting cancer.

For this reason, these additives are not normally used in the manufacture of folding cartons. Cardboard boxes are sensitive to moisture and humidity. Cardboard is made of strong paper. This is essentially nothing more than a mix of glue and fibrous materials.

In the event of moisture penetration, the glue detaches from the fibers. The material loses internal strength and practically dissolves. Therefore, cartons must always be kept dry. In the case of product packaging, the sensitivity to moisture is reduced to a certain point by varnishing or plastic coating.

As a rule, however, outer packaging or large cartons must be protected against rain or other effects of moisture by external measures. Tension films, shrink films or shrink hoods are suitable for this purpose.

A shipping carton is usually only a temporary container for a product. It does not have the durability of a wooden crate, a tin can or a glass bottle. Humidity, infestation by vermin, mold or extreme dryness affect the material relatively quickly.

Therefore, only cartons that are specially designed for this application are suitable for permanent storage. With a suitable material mix and an appropriate coating, the use of cartons as permanent packaging is possible accordingly.

As a rule, plastic containers, metal boxes or wooden boxes are more suitable for this purpose. A transport box should be used only for its original purpose - transporting the goods.

At the destination, you should empty it and recycle it. The environmentally friendly and resource-saving material cardboard is particularly suitable for this.

Conclusion

The folding bottom is an innovative feature of cardboard packaging. It speeds up the production of cardboard packaging by four to five times. This makes it the product of choice when the supply of packaging is time-critical.

This is especially true for series production. An automatic floor significantly increases the productivity and efficiency of a production line, so that switching to this type of packaging can ultimately lead to higher profits.

FAQ

1. Are cartons with automatic bases more expensive than conventional folding cartons?

   The unit price of a carton with an automatic base is only minimally higher than that of traditional folding cartons. In series production, this small cost disadvantage is very quickly compensated for by the higher productivity.

2. Can cartons with automatic bases be set up by machine?

   There are machine solutions that set up cartons automatically. This makes this step easy to integrate into a packaging process.

3. Do cartons with automatic bottom need to be glued?

   Another particular advantage of cartons with an automatic bottom is that additional gluing of the bottom can usually be dispensed with. If the carton is also ordered with flap closure, only a minimum of adhesive is also required for sealing the top.