Sleeve sealers
Sleeve sealers are used for multipacks, bottle bundles, trayless wrapping and transit-ready shrink packs. They are commonly specified with an integrated heat tunnel and infeed/discharge conveyors.
Available machines
Compare the relevant machines and send your pack details for a practical recommendation.
Automatic bottle sleeve wrapping and shrink tunnel system for bottled water, soft drinks and similar multipack formats.
Confirm pack dimensions, desired finish, film type, target throughput, upstream equipment, changeover expectations and available site utilities. This avoids selecting a machine that looks suitable on paper but struggles with the real product.
Lancing can consider conveyors, infeed timing, pack spacing, tunnel discharge, coding and downstream accumulation so the shrink wrapping machine works as part of the wider line.
Technical selection guidance
A sleeve sealer is selected around the complete multipack rather than the individual container. Group formation, film width, seal position, tunnel process and cooling all contribute to whether the pack remains square and strong through downstream handling.
The LU-SPL4 reference below provides verified starting data for a bottle-wrapping route. Final performance must be checked with the exact bottles, pack patterns, PE film and acceptance test.
Define the exact arrangement, including rows, columns, tray or pad, and whether the container is full, empty or partly filled. A group that appears stable by hand may spread or rotate when accelerated through a collator, film curtain and tunnel.
Test the lightest and tallest formats as well as the heaviest pack. Guide rails and transfers should control the group without scuffing labels or trapping containers against the film.
Sleeve-wrapped multipacks often use PE film because the route can create a robust transport bundle with open sides. Film gauge, layflat width, reel weight, shrink direction, print repeat and perforation must be agreed with the machine and tunnel process.
The seal must be placed where it is protected from direct mechanical damage and where the film can contract evenly. Excess film wastes material and can produce heavy fins; too little film can overstress the seal or pull the group out of alignment.
Automatic output depends on the sequence of group formation, product stop, film feed, seal cycle and transfer into the tunnel. State whether the infeed supplies a continuous stream or pre-arranged groups and whether missing-container detection is required.
The tunnel recipe must shrink the sleeve without causing container lean, label marking or tray distortion. Cooling and discharge support should hold the group until the film has set.
Agree a visual standard for film tension, side openings and seal position, then add handling tests that reflect the real supply chain. These may include conveyor transfer, manual lift, stacking or a defined journey through downstream equipment.
Record the pack weight, product temperature, film batch, conveyor speed and tunnel settings used for the approved sample. A photograph alone is insufficient if the bundle must also meet a handling requirement.
| LU-SPL4 published item | Reference value | Selection implication |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 0–6 packs/min | Confirm the pack pattern, grouping time and accepted finish at the required sustained duty |
| Bottle range | 60–120 mm diameter × 100–330 mm high | Check the complete production range, including cap and label profile |
| Pack envelope | Maximum 400 × 120 × 330 mm; minimum 240 × 120 × 100 mm | Confirm orientation, loose-film envelope and conveyor transfers |
| Film | PE; maximum film width 560 mm; film thickness 0.03–0.25 mm | Supply the intended production reel and data sheet for trial |
| Payload | Up to 20 kg | Confirm pack weight, conveyor support and downstream handling |
| Tunnel reference | 1800 × 600 × 400 mm; 0–15 m/min | Develop a stable heat and cooling recipe for the real bundle |
Grouped bottles, cans, cartons, trays and other stable multipacks can be assessed. The actual pack pattern, weight, product stability, film and handling requirement determine suitability.
A typical sleeve route wraps film around the group and leaves openings at the sides. Where full enclosure and a retail overwrap are required, an L-sealer or another full-wrap system may be more appropriate.
The film and seal remain warm as the bundle exits the tunnel. Supporting and cooling the pack before lifting, gripping, stacking or changing conveyor direction helps the film set without distortion.
Supply filled production bottles, caps and labels, every pack pattern, trays or pads, the intended PE reel, required output and the handling test the finished bundle must pass.
Printed film can be considered, but repeat length, print orientation, registration requirement, film construction and reel presentation must be confirmed. The trial should use production-equivalent print and film.
The related sleeve sealers website covers the specialist bundling category. This page retains the broader relationship between sleeve sealing, heat tunnels and complete shrink-wrapping lines.
Application review
Include filled product samples, every group arrangement, pack weight, target packs per minute, production film and the handling standard expected after cooling.
Sleeve-sealer engineering
Sleeve sealers form an open-sided film sleeve around a product group before tunnel shrinking. The finished bundle depends on collation, seal quality, production film, thermal load and the support provided while the film cools.
Define count, rows, orientation, tray or pad and the least stable product. Film should secure a controlled group rather than pull scattered products into position. Guides and transfers must preserve the pattern through sealing and tunnel entry.
Provide the exact sleeve film, gauge, width and reel details. Seal strength and appearance depend on the supplied construction, clean film path and appropriate process settings. Trial the heaviest group and normal production loading.
Open-sided bundles can continue to tighten after leaving the heated zone. Support the pack through discharge and cooling without forcing warm film against narrow guides or allowing bottles, cans or cartons to shift.
Application review
Provide loaded samples, pack pattern, film reel data, required side opening, output duty and downstream handling so the sleeve-sealer line can be tested as a complete bundle process.
Sleeve-pack questions
Sleeve wrapping normally depends on stable product collation, a controlled film web, a reliable transverse seal and enough cooling before the bundle is closely guided or stacked.
A sleeve sealer commonly applies film around selected faces of a product group and creates a transverse seal, leaving the ends open. The tunnel then shrinks the sleeve around the group. This route can suit transit bundles and multipacks where full enclosure is not the requirement.
The open-end size, film strength and bundle stability must still be accepted. An open-sided sleeve should not be described as a sealed moisture barrier without a relevant test.
The group must remain in the intended pattern while it is collated, transferred into film, sealed, heated and discharged. Container base geometry, fill level, surface friction, pack pattern, guides and conveyor transfers can all affect stability.
Representative filled containers are normally more informative than empty samples when weight and centre of gravity change the way the group behaves.
The film and bundle should be supported until they have cooled to the agreed handling condition. Close guides, accumulation pressure, sharp transfers or early stacking can distort warm film and allow the group to move before the pack stabilises.
Cooling distance and outfeed support should therefore be part of the line layout and acceptance test, not treated as an optional detail after the tunnel is selected.
Send filled product samples, the required collation pattern, production film, pack weight, sustained output and the discharge/stacking method. Send the application details to Lancing.
Bundle support
Sleeve-sealer duty changes when a tray, pad or trayless group carries the load.
Record product count, row pattern, filled weight, least stable container and whether the group uses a tray, pad or no secondary support. Guides and transfers must preserve that group before the film can contribute stability.
Use the exact production film and define the accepted side opening, seam, print and handling result. Film construction cannot be selected independently from the pack-support strategy.
Assess the pack after full cooling, then repeat the intended lift, turn, accumulation and pallet handling. A warm bundle can appear stable before the film and products settle.
Single-wound film
A sleeve-sealer reel must create the required open sides and bundle stability without excessive overlap or unstable product movement.
Record group width and height, pack pattern, tray or pad, complete weight, side opening, overlap and the smallest and largest bundle. Include how the group is supported before the film tightens.
Yes. Incorrect width or overlap can pull products out of alignment, leave insufficient containment or create excess film that shrinks unevenly. Prove the complete cooled pack through lifting, transfer and pallet handling.
Use the shrink-film width and layflat guide to organise reel, pack and machine measurements.