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On the one hand, the so-called peelable packaging should be easy to open, but on the other, it should also guarantee a high degree of air-tightness. Usually other tools are then used to open the product, which then renders the basic idea of this type of packaging – easy-opening – completely useless. To prevent this from happening, PITSID Polygraphische innovative Technik Leipzig GmbH, together with the Sächsisches Institut für die Druckindustrie, has developed the PEEL CONTROL measuring device with which the opening forces of such seal-seamed peelable packaging can be determined quickly and easily.

But the device can not only be used for this purpose, measurements of the separating forces of glued, heat-sealed or laminated materials can also be carried out easily and effortlessly. Research has shown that the applied opening forces depend strongly on the age and sex of the consumer and by the way the package is gripped. With the help of PEEL CONTROL, adherence to these specifications can be monitored during production, in addition to or instead of costly measurements with tensile strength testing machines. With the measuring head held in the hand, the usual sequence of movements when opening can also be reproduced. The forces that occur in practice can then conceivably be simulated better than with a tensile strength testing machine. Also, when testing filled packages, leakage during the test is not to be expected. The application of the PEEL CONTROL should be particularly interesting for the areas of quality assurance and production monitoring. As a practical hand-held device, the system is ideal for quick and convenient testing on packaging lines to avoid exactly these problems. It is used in companies where goods such as food are packed in sealable packaging.

After fixing the test object with the clamping device, the opening or separation process is performed manually. To evaluate the adhesive strength, the measuring device is used to determine the force required to peel off a layer of material, thus eliminating the subjective influence. All essential tensile force parameters are determined and the force progression as a function of the measuring time and the opening path is displayed graphically.

For easily using and processing the acquired data, a software program is available which can be linked to the measuring device via Bluetooth or USB. The graph plotting the tensile force curve is done during the protocol creation when exporting data to the PC, but, independently of this, also in the graphic display of the handheld device. Thus, special characteristics of the tensile force curve are immediately recognizable after every measurement.

All in all, this is a separation force gauge that presents itself as a specially designed, small, easy-to-handle system that is predestined for mobile and extremely versatile use which has some features that are hard to find even in conventional tensile strength testing machines.