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ProcediaScienceDirect
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Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
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Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
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Procedia Manufacturing 51 (2020) 501–504

30th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM2020)

15-18 June 2020, Athens, Greece.
30th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM2020)
Inline
15-18corrugated boardGreece.
June 2020, Athens, creasing
Inline corrugated
W.Nica, R. Chalmet, J. board
Roman, creasing
M. Juwet*
W.Nica, R. Chalmet, J. Roman, M. Juwet*
KU Leuven, Technology Campus, Gebroeders Desmetstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +32-9-265-8705; E-mail

KU Leuven, marc.juwet@kuleuven.be
address: Campus,
Technology Gebroeders Desmetstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +32-9-265-8705; E-mail address: marc.juwet@kuleuven.be

Abstract

Corrugated board sheets that are used in corrugated boxes have to be cut and creased before being folded and glued in the shape
Abstract
of the final box. Cutting and creasing are done by rolling a sheet of corrugated between rollers, carrying ribs that either cut or
Corrugated
crease board sheets
the corrugated. thattechnology
This are used iniscorrugated
applied forboxes have
decades andtoperforms
be cut andvery
creased
well.before being
However thefolded
rollersand
haveglued
to beinprepared
the shape
in
of the final
advance andbox.
oneCutting and creasing
pair of rollers are done
is required by rolling
for each a sheet
type and eachofdimension
corrugated ofbetween
a box. rollers, carrying ribs that either cut or
crease the corrugated. This technology is applied for decades and performs very well. However the rollers have to be prepared in
advance and one
In case boxes havepair
to of
be rollers is required
produced for each
on demand, eachtype
and and
everyeach
boxdimension
might have ofaaspecific
box. size. Cutting and creasing between
rollers is not possible and an alternative method is required. A corrugated board is put on an air permeable carpet. Underneath the
In casevacuum
carpet boxes have to be produced
is created to preventonthedemand, eachmoving.
board from and every box
It is might
then have aaspecific
cut using size.
sliding or Cutting
a rolling and creasing
knife. Creasingbetween
is done by a
rollerswheel
small is not that
possible and over
is rolled an alternative method
the cardboard is required.
along A corrugated
the folding lines, calledboard is put
top side on an air permeable carpet. Underneath the
creasing.
carpet vacuum is created to prevent the board from moving. It is then cut using a sliding or a rolling knife. Creasing is done by a
small wheeltypes
Numerous that of
is rolled over the
corrugated cardboard
board exist in along
terms the folding
of flute lines,
sizes and called top side
paper types. creasing.
Creasing can be done parallel to the flutes or
under an angle. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the optimal shape of the creasing wheel used for top side creasing. This
Numerous types
paper presents of corrugated
experimental board exist
research aimingin terms of flute sizes
at the optimal shapeandof apaper types. Creasing
multi-purpose canwheel.
creasing be done parallel to the flutes or
under an angle. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the optimal shape of the creasing wheel used for top side creasing. This
paper presents experimental research aiming at the optimal shape of a multi-purpose creasing wheel.

©
© 2020 TheAuthors.
2020 The Authors.Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier Ltd. Ltd.
This is an
This is anopen
openaccess
access article
article under
under the BY-NC-ND
the CC CC BY-NC-ND licenselicense (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review
Peer-review underresponsibility
under
© 2020 The Authors.responsibility
Published byofof
thethe scientific
scientific
Elsevier committee
Ltd. committee of FAIM
of the the FAIM2020.2021.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Keywords: e-commerce;
Peer-review packaging; box
under responsibility making;
of the cardboard
scientific processing;
committee creasing
of the FAIM 2020.

Keywords: e-commerce; packaging; box making; cardboard processing; creasing

1. Introduction In case of a pre-formed box, empty space between products

and the wall of the box should be filled with filler material,
1. Introduction
Over 1.500.000.000 parcels have been ordered via e- In case
serving as of a pre-formed
a cushion box,shocks
to absorb emptyduring
space between products
manipulation and
commerce in 2018. Products are stored in e-commerce and the wall
transport. Most of often
the boxthisshould be filled
packaging withrequires
concept filler material,
manual
Over 1.500.000.000
fulfillment centers and haveparcelsto have been and
be picked ordered
packedvia for
e- serving
work. as a cushion to absorb shocks during manipulation and
commerce in 2018. Products are stored in
shipment when receiving the order. Different warehouse e-commerce transport.
Recently Mosttheoften this packaging
concept concept requires
of a fold-around box hasmanual been
fulfillment
concepts andcenters andconcepts
different have toofbeindoorpicked and packed
transport for
are being work.
developed. Automated machinery to produce and fold the box
shipment when
used. In most receiving
cases additionalthepackaging
order. Different
is requiredwarehouse
to protect Recently up
is available theto concept
a maximum of speed
a fold-around box has
of 20-30 boxes been
a minute
concepts
the goodsand ondifferent concepts
their journey to oftheindoor transport
customer. Mostareoften
beinga developed. Automated
[1]. Most often machinery
high quality fanfoldtocorrugated
produce and foldis the
board usedbox
to
used. In most
corrugated boxcases additional
is used: eitherpackaging is required
the products are put to
in protect
a pre- is available
produce the up
boxtoin-line.
a maximum speed of
The choice of the
20-30
typeboxes a minute
of corrugated
the goods
formed box,on
or their
else a journey to thearound
box is folded customer. Most often a
the products. [1].
and Most often high
the design of thequality fanfold
box are corrugated
restricted by theboard is used to
technology
corrugated box is used: either the products are put in a pre- produce
crease andthecut
boxthein-line. The board.
corrugated choice of the type of corrugated
formed box, or else a box is folded around the products. and the design of the box are restricted by the technology to
crease and cut the corrugated board.
2351-9789 © 2020 R. Chalmet. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
2351-9789 © 2020
Peer-review©under The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
2351-9789 2020responsibility of the scientific
R. Chalmet. Published committee
by Elsevier Ltd. of the FAIM 2020.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the FAIM 2021.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the FAIM 2020.
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.10.070
502 W.Nica, R. et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 51 (2020) 501–504
2 R. Chalmet / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

This research studies creasing of corrugated board using

tools that can be installed above the cardboard passing by in a
packaging line. It aims at the use of cheaper cardboard,
increasing tool life and thus machine up time, allowing more
flexibility when designing a fold-around box.

2. Creasing effectiveness

This research focusses on single flute and double flute

corrugated board, thus covering more than 98% of board geo-
metry used in packaging. Single flute board consists of a bottom
paper, flute paper and a top paper. Double flute board consists
of a an addition flute and top paper layer. Flute height is
between 4.8 mm (A-flute) and 0.8mm (F-flute). Thickness and Fig. 2. A typical graph obtained from a folding test
structure of paper layers vary significantly according to the
required cardboard properties [2]. Creasing - also called scoring 3. Creasing wheel design
- of corrugated board should allow easy folding of the
corrugated along the crease line. No universal standards to The chance to pass the four criteria for effective creasing,
evaluate proper creasing of the boxes are found [3]. Cardboard depends on the design of the creasing wheel and on the creasing
manufacturers and converters use pass/fail and qualitative depth. In this research two main wheel variants have been
criteria such as: tested. The variant presented in Fig. 1a is tested using 12 unique
• Tearing of cardboard layers during creasing is not combinations of WD (wheel diameter), LD (lip diameter), LH
allowed (lip overhang), WW (wheel width) and H (free angle). Two
• Free folding without tools to force the corrugated to fold additional wheels according to Fig. 1b have been built and
along the crease line must be possible tested.
• Tearing of the cardboard during actual folding does not
occur
• Proper look of the folded board

For this research the definition of these criteria is improved:

1. No tearing in the cardboard during creasing
2. No folding in an adjacent flute occurs after creasing
parallel to a flute
3. No tearing in the cardboard during folding over 180°
towards the side of the crease line
4. The deviation of the straightness of the fold is less than
half of the thickness of the corrugated

A top side creasing tool is actually a small wheel that is pushed

downwards in the corrugated board and forced to roll over it.
During this rolling the flute paper layer is deformed and the flat
top paper layer is stretched. Therefore the first criterion (no
tearing during creasing) actually means no tearing of this top
layer.
To evaluate the three remaining criteria, cardboard has to be
folded in a reproducible way. Therefore folding is split up in
initial and final folding. The initial folding is most determining
and is done by a speed controlled folding test (see appendix A
for details). A 110mm by 100mm sample is creased in its length
direction and clamped over its full length parallel to the crease
line. The specimen is then moved towards a fixed obstruction
having a well-defined shape. The force in the direction of the
movement is measured. A typical force-displacement curve is
shown in Fig. 2. The maximum force can be used to compare
samples that pass all criteria. However in this research the test
is mainly used to evaluate the second criterion.
After completion of the initial folding, the sample is folded
manually over 180° to evaluate the third and fourth criterion. Fig. 1. Two general types of creasing wheels
 W.Nica, R. et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 51 (2020) 501–504
R. Chalmet / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
Over a hundred (108) board types with a wide variety of flute
sizes, paper thicknesses, paper qualities and a mixture of single
flute and double flute boards were available for testing.
Creasing, cutting and testing has been performed as 50%
relative humidity and 23°C according to the ISO 187 standard.
All board types provided are marked by a blind board type code.
The actual board type description is not provided. Occasional
reference to paper thickness, paper quality, flute size, … in the
text below is based on obvious visual observations only.
In a first phase preliminary tests have been performed in order
to find
• The “worst case” creasing orientation
• The “worst case” creasing position
• A strategy for choosing the creasing depth.
For these tests 10 randomly selected cardboard types have been
used in combination with a creasing wheel (WD=50mm) that is
commercially available and frequently used for creasing solid
cardboard and plastics. The tests are performed at a creasing
speed of 800mm/s, corresponding to the speed that might be
required in industrial box making machines.
The orientation of the creasing relative to the flute direction, has
been varied in steps of 30°. All orientations except parallel to
the flutes, gave almost identical results. It is therefore decided
to test creasing in two orientations only: perpendicular and
parallel to the flutes.
In case of creasing parallel to the flutes, the position of the
wheel relative to the flute, is important. Deeper creasing
without tearing the paper is achievable if the creasing wheel is
aligned with the top of the flute (Fig. 3b). Creasing in the
middle between two flutes (Fig. 3a) is more risky for tearing.
By varying the position of the creasing wheel relative to the
flute, it is concluded that the worst position of the creasing
wheel is at about 20% of the distance between two flutes (Fig.
3c). It is decided to do the creasing tests in the parallel direction
at this position (20%-80%) between two flutes.
Finally it is observed that the maximum achievable creasing
depth (avoiding the top paper to tear) in the perpendicular
orientation is significantly more compared to the parallel
orientation. Applying the maximum creasing depth in the
perpendicular direction improves the straightness of the fold.
Taking into account that a box designer is aware of the flute
direction when applying crease lines and taking into account
that state-of-the-art machinery can adopt the creasing depth
according to the creasing orientation, it is decided to use a
specific creasing depth for each orientation in the next phase of
creasing tests. Both creasing depths will be determined
experimentally for each combination of creasing wheel and
cardboard type, by increasing the depth while creasing in steps
of 0.2mm until tearing occurs. The depth of the previous step
will be retained.
Fig. 3. Different creasing locations parallel to the flutes
503
3
In the second test phase all board types have been creased in
both orientations using two different creasing wheels (WD=50
and WD=90mm) at the maximum creasing depth. For all
combinations, 5 identical samples are cut. Since the maximum
creasing depth has been determined as described above, all
samples comply with the first criterion for effective creasing.
All samples are folded (initial folding and final folding). A
combination of wheel, board type and creasing orientation is
considered to generate effective creasing if all samples of this
combination pass the four criteria.
Both wheels were effective for creasing perpendicular to the
flute direction. No tearing was observed during final folding
according to the third criterion and the folding line was very
straight in all cases.
Parallel to the flute direction both wheels were effective for
some single flute cardboards with thick high quality top liner
but both wheels failed for the cheaper and for double flute
thicker cardboard types. Some samples failed on the second
criterion and folded (partly) at a distance from the crease line.
Some samples failed on the third criterion and most double flute
boards failed on the fourth criterion. It is concluded to focus on
the parallel direction for finding a universal creasing wheel.
In a third test phase 12 additional wheel types are sequentially
built and tested. The lip diameter (LD) and lip overhang (LH)
are considered to influence tearing during creasing and thus
limit the creasing depth. Increasing the wheel width (WW) and
varying the free angle (H) are supposed to be more effective
especially for double flute boards. In two wide wheels, a double
free angle (H and MH) is applied in an attempt to weaken more
flutes without tearing the top liner paper during creasing. These
12 wheels are tested in combination with the “difficult to
crease” cardboard types of phase 2. In case the creasing turned
out to be effective, samples of the other cardboard types have
been cut and tested as well.
One small wheel (WD=50) turns out to be effective for 96% of
the available types of board. It just fails for some double flute
boards with very thin or very low quality paper layers. One
larger wheel (WD=90) is effective for all types of cardboard.
4. Further observations and conclusions
This research clarifies the need for research on top side creasing
of corrugated cardboard. It suggests four verifiable criteria for
creasing effectiveness, introduces a test method for initial
folding and further focusses on the influence of creasing wheel
parameters.
Within this focus it is concluded that:
1. Creasing parallel to the flutes is the most challenging
creasing orientation.
2. Creasing depth should be adopted to the creasing
orientation: the creasing depth parallel to the flutes is
limited by tearing of the top liner paper while this
creasing depth does not result in straight folds after
creasing in the perpendicular orientation.
504 W.Nica, R. et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 51 (2020) 501–504
4 R. Chalmet / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

3. A universal top side creasing wheel is a large wheel as Appendix A. Folding test setup
introduced in Fig. 1b having an indicative diameter of
90mm or more.
4. In an inline box making machine, the crease spout
should be outside the part of the board that is effectively
used for the box. The spout length increases with the
creasing wheel diameter and therefore a smaller wheel
(WD=50mm) might be preferable since it reduces board
waste. The use of some lower quality corrugated board
types must then be avoided. Fig. 4. Folding test: symbolic representation.

Further research is required to allow practical implementation Table 1. Legend of Fig. 4.

of these conclusions in an industrial setting: Symbol Test Parameter Value
• Top side creasing must be evaluated for all α Bending plate angle 30°
environmental conditions occurring in industry. Bending plate speed 5 mm/s
v
• Higher creasing speeds tend to reduce creasing
W Sample width 110mm
efficiency. Influence of speed should be studied.
• Cutting or perforating the top liner paper should be L Sample length 100mm
considered as an alternative for creasing or could be a Bent edge length 40mm
used in combination with creasing. b Crease line overhang from clamp 15mm
• The creasing wheel may partly slip in case of slippery
corrugated board. The use of a driven creasing wheel
should be studied.
References

Acknowledgement
This research was partially supported by VPK packaging
group providing all cardboard requested and by Summa NV
providing a high tech flatbed cutting machine to prepare all
samples. Summa NV is willing to advise on proper creasing
wheel and cardboard type combinations.
[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=W0ofWE1uPcE&feat
ure=emb_logo
[2] The Wiley Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology, edited by Aaron L.
Brody and Kenneth S. Marsh, New York, 1997, John Wiley & Sons.
[3] FEFCO, World standards – comparison testing standards
FEFCO/EN/ISO/TAPPI, revision October 2018,
http://www.fefco.org/technical-information/standards-guidelines.