The history of every innovation is fascinating. Many inventions have become such a significant part of everyday life that surviving a day without it could be challenging, especially for the commercial sector.
Although there are countless inventions such as paper, converter cores, yarn carriers, construction tubes, and many more that we can talk about. For this article, we will talk about a basic invention used in everyday life, and one that we take for granted: Cardboard.
Where does cardboard come from?
Cardboard is a heavy-duty paper-based product that is known for its durability and thickness. Due to its mechanical properties, it is heavily used in commercial industries, especially for packaging and transportation. It was first produced in the 15th century, but in 1817 it was produced commercially.
And now, almost every country in the world produces cardboard for a variety of uses.
How is a cardboard box made?
1. Kraft Process
Just like any other paper-based product, cardboard is also made with a kraft process. When manufacturing a box, two types of liners are used, i.e., flute and kraft. Generally, a box has kraft paper as an outer and test paper as an inner liner.
Kraft is of higher quality than test paper (usually made of recycled paper), provides a smoother finish, and is also more water-resistant. All these properties increase the quality of the overall cardboard.
After cardboard is made, it can be used for high-quality industrial paper tube or paper cores. Besides that, in the form of a boxboard, it could be used for numerous things such as to make cereal boxes, paper towels, and paper rolls, and more.
Not to forget, kraft and test paper are also used for creating the fluted paper that goes between the liners. This makes the board much stronger and durable.
2. Pulping
The pulping process aims to break down the structure of the fiber source to the finest fibers.
To begin with, the trees are cut to create logs. These logs then go through a machine to be chipped and debarked.
These chips are further routed through two processes- mechanical pulping and chemical pulping. From these two processes, kraft is created, which is either used then and there or used in the future.
3. Fluting
Fluting is basically the wavy piece of the board between the liners. This increases the strength of the board and also keeps it protected from knocks or damage.
To create flutes, rolls of paper are put into a corrugated roller machine. This is similar to adding ruffles in hats and shirts.
Different types of flutes are used in different boards:
- F Flute
- E Flute
- B Flute
- C Flute
- Double-wall
- Triple wall
4. Production
Finally, all these elements go into creating a corrugated carton. After the corrugated box is prepared, the only thing left to do is to stick everything together.
Nonetheless, most states and countries have a guide for creating corrugated boxes that the manufacturers need to follow.
Wrapping It Up!
This simple invention is now used by almost every industry as well in households. Fortunately, this invention helps in reducing waste and promoting recycling, thus contributing toward a safe environment.