Corrugated cardboard doesn’t just show up one day in the shipping department of your favorite store, nor does it come out of the manufacturer ready to be delivered to your doorstep. It’s actually quite an interesting process and quite complex too! In this article, you’ll learn all about how corrugated cardboard is made and shipped to warehouses where it will be used to ship items directly to you. Let’s get started!
What is Corrugated Cardboard?
Corrugated cardboard is a material that provides strength and rigidity while remaining lightweight. It's used in products such as boxes, cartons, and containers. The manufacturing process of corrugated board can be broken down into four major steps: raw material preparation, forming, pressing/creasing, and finishing. Raw materials like flax, hemp or sisal are first soaked in water for a period of time to make them flexible. Next, the long sheets of wetted raw materials are fed onto large rotating drums with heated metal surfaces which press the sheets together to create an embossed pattern on the surface. The material is then cut to size and edges are folded inward to form the desired shape. Finally, the finished product is coated with wax or resin to provide protection from moisture and insects
Where is it used in everyday life?
Many people are aware that corrugated cardboard is used as a packing material. But, what many don't know is that there are actually two types of corrugated-cardboard, which differ in the way they're produced and the thickness of their walls. One type has all four sides with flutes (vertical ridges). The other type only has two or three surfaces with flutes. In most cases, this distinction is not relevant because both types can be used for most purposes.
Production Process
To start, the paper web is unwound from a roll and then fed into a machine called a slasher. The slasher cuts the paper into long strips that are then cut into individual pieces of corrugated board. Next, the individual pieces are sent to a press where they're heated and pressed together in order to glue them together. Finally, the glued boards are stacked on top of one another so that they can be cut down to size for shipment. Along with being inexpensive and recyclable, corrugated cardboard also provides great cushioning for products during transit and storage.
Cascading Effect of Using Corrugated Cardboard
Corrugated Cardboard is a material that has been used for over 100 years and its fabrication process has changed very little in the last 50. It's low cost, easy to produce and recyclable which makes it a popular choice for packaging. However, the production of Corrugated Cardboard also creates many environmental problems such as pollution and resource depletion. This cascading effect not only affects the environment but also has adverse effects on our society by increasing costs of living and creating social inequality. For example, trees are cut down to create paper and this results in deforestation which increases the rates of natural disasters like floods, hurricanes and landslides.
Additionally, it takes two pounds of fossil fuels to produce one pound of corrugated cardboard.