Shrink Tunnels

Do you need a high speed labeling solution? If you manufacture a liquid product competing against similar products on a retail shelf, the visual appeal of your label is critical. A full sleeve shrink label is an attractive solution. Shrink labels are arguably the fastest way to label a filled container. Accutek has a complete line of labeling machines including sleevers that drop shrinkable labels over bottles zooming by on a conveyor belt. The label sleeves must pass through a heat tunnel to shrink the label material to fit tightly around the container.

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G1 Tunnel

G1 Recirculating Shrink Tunnels feature energy efficient infrared quartz and/or convection heat emitters and built-in fully insulated recirculating systems with six stage temperature control zone.

G1 Tunnel

G1 Recirculating Shrink Tunnels feature energy efficient infrared quartz and/or convection heat emitters and built-in fully insulated recirculating systems with six stage temperature control zone.

G3 Tunnel

The G3 Recirculating Shrink Tunnels use the same energy efficient infrared quartz convection heat emitters and insulated recirculating system as the G1 Systems.

G3 Tunnel

The G3 Recirculating Shrink Tunnels use the same energy efficient infrared quartz convection heat emitters and insulated recirculating system as the G1 Systems.

G7 Shrink Tunnel

Phase Fire G7 is the perfect tunnel for tamper evident banding. It implements a tapered heating process that shrinks plastic safety seals evenly, giving your bottle a professional look.

G7 Shrink Tunnel

Phase Fire G7 is the perfect tunnel for tamper evident banding. It implements a tapered heating process that shrinks plastic safety seals evenly, giving your bottle a professional look.

G9 Tunnel

The G9 high temperature recirculating shrink tunnel oven is primarily used for tamper evident bands, neck-bands and capsule sealing applications.

G9 Tunnel

The G9 high temperature recirculating shrink tunnel oven is primarily used for tamper evident bands, neck-bands and capsule sealing applications.

AccuSteam

The Accutek Steam Shrink Tunnel is all Stainless Steel, simple to understand, easy to operate, and doesn’t need much maintenance.

AccuSteam

The Accutek Steam Shrink Tunnel is all Stainless Steel, simple to understand, easy to operate, and doesn’t need much maintenance.

What Is a Shrink Tunnel?

Shrink labeling is a two-step process. First, a shrinkable plastic sleeve is dropped over the bottle as it moves by on a conveyor. Second, the sleeved bottle is conveyed through a shrink (heat) tunnel that shrinks the label to a snug wrinkle free fit. A shrink tunnel must subject the bottle to the correct amount of heat for the right length of time. Shrink labelers can achieve speeds in the range of 200 bottles per minute.

Types of Shrink Tunnels

Phase Fire, an Accutek company, offers a series of electric heat tunnels. The G series heat tunnels, except for the G7, are digitally controlled with a touch screen. This permits precise temperature management from the bottom up with up to six temperature zones. The G7 shrink tunnel has two legacy analog heat controls.
Accutek also offers a steam shrink tunnel with that has six pairs of nozzles that can be individually directed to achieve the correct temperature profile for a good tight shrink fit.
Shrink sleeving is also used to capture a container cap to form a tamper evident seal. The G9 heat tunnel is designed to shrink tamper evident seals over container caps.
All shrink tunnels have energy efficient infrared quartz heat emitters and a built-in fully insulated recirculating system. These features result in a safer, heat-free working environment, minimal temperature fluctuations and prolonged tunnel life.
A target temperature range between 300 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit works for most heat shrink sleeve material. The Accutek heat tunnel digital zone controls are arranged with zone 1 at the top and the largest zone number at the bottom. The zone controls set the percentage of on time. The best shrink results are achieved by heating the sleeving from the bottom to the top. So, the highest percentage on time should be in the bottom zone and the lowest percentage on time in zone one.

Things to Consider

Getting a tight, wrinkle free shrink requires the right temperature over time. Two tunnels in series may be needed for very high speed operations.
The conveyor belts moving sleeved containers through a heat tunnel get hot. Accutek always specifies stainless steel conveyor belts for shrink tunnel applications.
Shrink tunnels do subject your product to heat for a brief time. Your Accutek sales engineer will have information about how a heat tunnel affects various types of products or can arrange a test of your product.

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