Plastic Strapping

Learn About Plastic Strapping

• What Is a Plastic Strapping?

  Plastic strapping is a banding material made from certain type of plastic. It comes in variety of widths, thicknesses, colours, and finishes, depending on the application and the desired appearance.
  There are two main types of plastic strapping: polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET). Both types are sustainable, recyclable and environmentally friendly material, but they have different properties and advantages.

• What Is a PP Strapping?

  Polypropylene strapping is the most common and inexpensive type of plastic strapping. It is suitable for light to medium-duty applications, such as corrugated cardboard, bundling of small item. It is materially stable, it is resistant to moisture, and changes in temperature. However, it is susceptible to abrasion, as the strap can cut easily from small damage. It is resistant to UV for short amount of time, after long exposure to UV, it will degrade quickly.
  PP strap generally came in many colours, though white and black are the most popular choices. White usually blends well with the product aesthetics due to the slight transparency, while black colour is better at absorbing UV rays allowing it to last slightly longer outdoor.
  There are mainly two grades, hand grade and machine grade. Hand grade is made from lower grade resin, often produce from recycled materials. It can be applied using hand operated tool like sealer, tensioner or powered tool. Machine grade strap is usually made for the semi / automatic tabletop strapping machine, these machines require higher quality strap to function reliably without jamming.
  PP straps width rarely exceeds 16mm, as application using wider straps are usually those with heavy duty requirement. It also does not last for long after application, the tension can come loose overtime, potentially destabilise your load. Hence, it is important to not use them as a long-term storage or transport solution.

• What Is a PET Strapping?

  Polyester strapping is the strongest and most rigid type of plastic strapping. It is suitable for heavy-duty applications, such as palletising, securing large or bulky load. At the right condition, it can even be used to replace the costlier steel strapping. It has high tensile strength and lower elongation, which means it can hold the load securely and maintain tension over time. It also has excellent resistance to weathering, UV rays, chemicals, and abrasion. One notable advantage of PET strapping is its impact resistant, where the strap remains secured after the load is dropped from a reasonable height.
  Its elastic property is a good match for load that changes shape overtime due to expansion, shrinkage, or settlement. Making it a good sensible choice to secure your load for long amount of time.
  It mostly came in green colour, however other colours like black can be seen as well. The width of strap is generally between 15-32mm.

• How Plastic Strapping is Applied?

  Plastic strapping can be joined with a clip, buckle, heat weld, or friction weld.
  In manual application, a hand tools such as tensioners, and sealer are used. This method is simple and economical for low-volume or occasional use. The amount of tension applied is also limited to the strength of the user. A clip or rarely a buckle is used to join the straps together.
  In powered tool application, usually powered using pneumatic air system or a battery, friction weld is used where no clip or buckle is required. These tools are generally a combination tools where tensioning, sealing and cutting is combined into a single tool. Though there exist tool that are made only for friction weld to remove the cost of clip usage. This method is simple, fast, low-cost and can be scaled easily to higher volume production.
  For strapping machine application, semi or automatic, heat welding is usually the sealing method. Because the load is usually small, it is commonly known as a bundler or bander machine. In fully automatic palletisation application where a strapping head is used, friction weld is usually the preferred solution.