COF (Coefficient of Friction) is a value that represents the relationship between the force of friction and the normal force between two objects. While this might sound confusing, it is an important value for companies that manufacture lawn and garden bags and plastic bags for mulch. COF is important for both mailers and all lawn and garden bags that are palletized for transport and display.
Throughout daily life, friction occurs. This unseen force either allows or hinders the movement of two surfaces that come into contact. By controlling COF, companies that manufacture and sell plastic bags for mulch, mailers, lawn, and garden purposes can optimize performance and prevent problems specific to storage and transportation.
When excessive friction on the sealant’s side of the film occurs using horizontal form fill and seal systems, problems with jamming or dragging while passing over metal plates are common. This damages goods and causes slower production, which affects the company’s bottom line.
For vertical form fill and seal systems, this same scenario leads to poor film feeding as the bags go over metal forming collars. This creates an unpleasant squealing noise and produces inconsistently sized packages. Regardless of the system used, too much friction causes poor seals. In comparison, inadequate friction causes packages to fall or slide off the conveyor belt, stacks, and pallets.
The bottom line is that excessive friction on the outside slows the progress of packages as they go down delivery chutes, whereas inadequate friction causes packages to fall off or slide. Both scenarios are bad when manufacturing plastic bags for mulch.
Polypak Packaging knows the exact amount of force required to move plastic bags for mulch across one surface to another. The company’s heavy-duty bags have a new skid surface V-Zuh™ film for maximum impact strength and sealability even under unfavorable conditions. The bags are also made with a fade-resistant ink and special ingredients to block out harsh UV rays. For customers, these are all reasons to choose Polypak Packaging products.
