Hot Tack Tester

LabStone SRH-401 hot tack tester complies with updated ASTM F1921/F2029 standards. It tests hot tack & cold seal peel strength for food, pharmaceutical & daily chemical flexible packaging films, widely used in QC labs, third-party testing institutes and packaging factories for domestic & US/EU export compliance inspection.

Function：

LabStone Hot Tack Tester (Hot Tack Testing Machine) integrates three core testing functions: instant hot tack strength test, cold heat seal peel test and T-type peel test. It simulates real high-speed bag-making heat sealing working condition, executes millisecond-level clamping & tension test on specimens right after hot sealing before cooling down. The equipment precisely detects anti-crack performance of uncooled sealing seam, effectively solves common packaging defects like seal splitting, liquid leakage and incomplete sealing during mass production. Fully compliant with China and international mainstream testing standards, this tester is standard configuration for pharmaceutical factories, food packaging manufacturers and third-party certification laboratories.It  mainly measures the tensile or peel properties of just heat-sealed or thermally bonded plastic materials.

Principle:

Control the hot head to the pre-set temperature；Automatically heat seal or heat adhere to the sample under this temperature, and last for the pre-set time. After this, stop for a pre-set time, and perform tensile or peel tests immediately.

This is a combination of a hot seal test and a tensile tester. It can perform a single test of heat sealing, thermal adhering, tensile, tearing, and stripping. Also, it can automatically perform the integration test of heat sealing and tension.

Compliant Standards:

ASTM F1921/F1921M-12(2023): Standard Test Method for Hot Tack Strength of Thermoplastic Seal Layers of Flexible Webs
ASTM F2029-16(2021): Standard Practice for Producing Laboratory Heat-Sealed Specimens from Flexible Barrier Materials
QB/T 2358-1998: Test Method for Heat Seal Strength of Plastic Film Packaging Bags
GB/T 34445-2017: Determination of Hot Tack Property for Thermoplastics and Their Laminates
YBB0012-2015: Test Method for Heat Seal Strength of Pharmaceutical Packaging Materials

Characteristics:

• Test type: four functional combinations of thermal adhering, heat sealing, stripping and stretching；
• High precision temperature control: Temperature is controlled by P.I.D. 
• Two tensile tests start mode: manual and automatic.
• Anti-scald safety design to ensure the safety of users；
• Digital step-less speed regulation.
• Multi-function: automatic reset, overload protection, travel protection, etc；
• Embedded computer control, large LCD graphic display, full digital operation.
• Provide RS-232, which can be connected to a computer. 

Parameters:

• Precision:      first degree.
• Max force:  300 N.
• Force resolution：0.01 N.
• Test speed: 0 ~350 mm/min.
• Speed error:     within 1% of indication value.
• Control range of temperature: indoor temperature~250 ℃.
• Temperature control error: ±1 ℃.
• Size of heat seal head:  top head 100x5mm，bottom head 100x25mm.
• Stretching distance: 600 mm.
• Test distance:        40~499 mm.
• Work pressure:  0.2~1 MPa.
• Net weight:      65 kg.
• Size:      1200mm(L)×450mm(W)×470mm(H) .
• Power supply: AC220/110V±10%，50/60 HZ.

Configuration: principal machine, Footswitch, heat adhesive fixture, high-temperature welding cloth.

Optional：Personal computer, professional software, communication cable， specimen sampler.

Testable Sample Range

1. Single-layer Flexible Plastic Films

PE film, PP cast film, PET film, CPP retort film, EVA heat-sealable film, HDPE pharmaceutical monofilm

2. Multi-layer Laminated Packaging Films

Aluminum plastic composite film, metallized PET film, paper-plastic lamination, nylon co-extruded film, high-barrier multi-coextrusion film, BOPP heat-seal base film

3. Special Pharmaceutical Packaging Materials

Medicinal low-density PE film, pharmaceutical composite rigid sheet, sterile dialysis paper/PE compound pouch, IV infusion bag film, supple aluminum blister packaging film

4. Daily Chemical & Adhesive Base Materials

Self-adhesive substrate, coated paper, hot-melt adhesive composite film, laundry detergent stand-up pouch raw film, facial mask packing film

Industry Application Scope

1. Pharmaceutical Packaging Industry

Manufacturers of infusion bags, granule medicine composite pouches and sterile medical device packaging; provincial drug inspection institutes & third-party pharmaceutical packaging testing labs. Products shall pass YBB0012-2015 testing for NMPA registration approval and sterile packaging quality control.

2. Food Flexible Packaging Industry

Producers of snack pouches, milk powder vacuum bags, instant noodle metallized bags, frozen food packaging and high-temperature retort pouches. Factories optimize heat seal temperature/pressure/time parameters to reduce bag breakage rate on production line.

3. Cosmetic & Daily Chemical Industry

Manufacturers of laundry detergent sachets, facial mask bags, shampoo sample pouches and cosmetic hose sealing substrates to verify hot seal stability under high-temperature filling process.

4. Raw Material & Masterbatch Manufacturers

Film base material, modified plastic particle and hot melt adhesive factories implement incoming QC inspection and new heat-sealable film formulation R&D verification.

5. Third-Party Testing & Inspection Organizations

National quality supervision institute, packaging testing lab and import & export commodity inspection center, providing ASTM-compliant testing reports for packaging products exported to USA and European markets.

Application Scenarios

In-line Production QC Inspection: Random batch sampling on packaging production line, fast adjustment of heat sealer parameters to avoid mass defective sealing.
R&D Laboratory Formulation Development: Gradient hot tack curve test under varied sealing temperature to confirm optimal processing parameters for new packaging materials.
China Pharmaceutical Registration Test: Generate CNAS-recognized test data complying with YBB0012-2015 for pharmaceutical package registration submission to NMPA.
Export Compliance Test for Overseas Market: Complete ASTM F1921/F2029 certification test for packages exported to US & EU, satisfying overseas customer factory audit and customs product compliance requirement.
Incoming Raw Material Acceptance Test: Packaging factory inspect purchased film batches before warehousing to avoid finished product scrap loss caused by unqualified hot tack performance.

Available Test Items

Instant Hot Tack Strength (per ASTM F1921): Uncooled sealing seam tension test immediately after hot sealing
Cold Heat Seal Strength (per QB/T2358 & YBB0012-2015): 180° peel test after full cooling of sealed specimens
T-type Peel Strength: Interlayer peeling test for composite films & adhesive tapes
Auxiliary Tensile Test: Base film tensile break force inspection

FAQ regarding Hot Tack Tester
Q1: What is the difference between hot tack and cold heat seal strength?
A: Hot tack (ASTM F1921) refers to instant sealing strength before the seal cools down, which is the main cause of bag splitting during high-speed bag making; cold heat seal strength (QB/T2358/YBB0012) is peel resistance after complete cooling of sealed seam.
Q2: Which standards are required for packaging exported to USA?
A: Export packages to US need hot tack & seal test following ASTM F1921 and ASTM F2029, our tester can generate standard test report meeting American market access requirement.