What Wall Thickness?
Take the Stell cardboard tube crush test challenge to select the best wall thickness for your application
Most cardboard tube or cores are ‘over-engineered’ to ensure they have sufficient crush strength to ‘never’ fail. This is because the cost of an over engineered core is far less than the potential wastage caused by core failure.
When assessing wall thickness, however, we consider two possibilities:
1) If there is an existing core then, from experience we have found that often, due to superior materials and manufacturing, we make a stronger core than the equivalent existing one.
2) The existing core might be much more over-engineered than it needs to be.
Our in house-crush testing facility allows us to objectively test and compare cores to give our customers the best possible advice on the most appropriate wall thickness according to their application. This ensures that the strength of the core, which equates to the core’s wall thickness, how much cardboard is used and therefore its cost – is right for the customer’s application.
Stell has undertaken a crush test challenge for a number of its customers with considerable success. Recently, for example, Stell used its in-house core strength testing facility to develop and test a range of options for a 5mm thick core to replace a client’s 6mm core.
“We demonstrated unequivocally to the client that we could produce a 5mm core with the equivalent crush strength of a 6mm core. We know how to combine all the different manufacturing elements together including: top grade paper selection and use; careful choice and use of adhesives; process knowledge; and the extensive skills and knowledge of our people – including careful training of our tube winders – to deliver tubes that carry a zero failure risk for crush strength,” said Stell MD, Lee Skelton. “As sustainability grows in importance across every aspect of our lives – and cost pressures mount in the UK – we always encourage our customers to consider the wall thickness of their cores – is it right for the job? We’re confident we can help them save money and still have a cardboard core that meets or exceeds all their operational demands,” concluded Lee.
