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A secure packaging solution for this high-tech customer

In this customer case you will read about a special project we worked on for one of our customers - a semi-conductor manufacturer in the high-tech industry. This case demonstrates perfectly how packaging demand and solution always come together at Faes, no matter how complex an issue.

The packaging question

We regularly receive challenging questions from this OEM in the area of packaging, but this one had a bit more to it than it initially seemed.

The question was: can you design packaging that properly protects a copper machine part? Sounds simple, but by protect they meant: create a completely contamination-free environment ín the packaging, filled with nitrogen. Copper oxidizes when it comes into contact with atmospheric air (oxygen and moisture), so a completely sealed cocoon had to be created, and the packaging had to be suitable for airfreight.

Roestvrijstalen dome geïnstalleerd op een stevige basis in een industriële werkplaats. De dome is uitgerust met diverse aansluitingen en meetinstrumenten, waaronder een manometer. De omgeving toont een georganiseerde werkruimte met gereedschappen, gasflessen en andere assemblage-uitrustingen, wat wijst op een technisch complexe setting voor het bewerken en assembleren van hightech componenten.
Een roestvrijstalen hoogdruk systeem in een werkplaatsomgeving, uitgerust met slangen, manometers en kleppen. Dit apparaat is ontworpen voor geavanceerde toepassingen in de hightech industrie, met precisiecomponenten voor drukregeling en veiligheid. Het systeem is nog in de montagefase, omringd door gereedschap en werkbankaccessoires.
Een roestvrijstalen component in een werkplaats, met geavanceerde lasnaden en een stevig ontwerp. Dit onderdeel, verpakt in bubbeltjesplastic, is bedoeld voor gebruik in een hightech druk- of transportsysteem. Het symmetrische ontwerp en de zorgvuldige afwerking benadrukken de precisie en kwaliteit die nodig zijn voor industriële toepassingen.
Technicus werkt aan de montage van een roestvrijstalen dome in een industriële werkplaats. De RVS dome is verbonden met slangen en wordt nauwkeurig afgesteld met behulp van meetapparatuur. Het beeld toont een georganiseerde werkomgeving met gereedschappen, gasflessen en andere apparatuur die de complexe assemblage van hightech systemen ondersteunen.
Een robuuste roestvrijstalen dome, gevuld met stikstof, ontworpen voor hightech toepassingen. De dome is voorzien van diverse aansluitingen en kleppen voor gecontroleerde drukregeling, en is bevestigd aan stevige hijsbanden voor veilig transport. Ideaal voor gebruik in veeleisende omgevingen waar precisie en veiligheid essentieel zijn.

Our packaging solution

With a four-person team, we developed two packaging variants, both consisting of an interface – a pallet of stainless steel – topped with a ‘dome‘ which is filled with nitrogen under 1.5 bar. There is some overpressure so that – should an unexpected leak occur – the gas goes out so that the interior space not is polluted by atmospheric air. This is the basic principle of the them packaging solution; complex, but not a new technology. The biggest challenge was him into something else…

The parameters - the starting point

We logically always start from the specifications that the customer provides us with, but we know from experience that we always have to keep asking questions. Because although some customers have already thought about many aspects, their expertise is simply not in designing packaging. That’s what we’re here for!

That was also the case in this case. There were some requirements on the table, but we completed them ourselves by immersing ourselves in our client’s logistics handling process and in different materials and techniques.

The challenges we had to consider

Packaging challenge 1: safety

Of course we had to deal with safety requirements, especially since the packaging filled with nitrogen will be transported on the plane. Due to the air pressure difference, the pressure in the packaging increases even more. We therefore made calculations – with a considerable safety margin – to calculate how strong the material of the dome had to be.

We also performed digital tests as well as physical tests. For example, a helium test; we filled the dome with helium and used a so-called ‘helium sniffer’ to measure whether there are any hairline cracks in the material of the dome. Helium molecules are the smallest of all, so if the dome does not leak helium, nitrogen will certainly not find its way out.

Something else that we have investigated is how the flow of nitrogen is. When is the dome filled with gas and when is it drained? And how is that done safely? For example, the machine part is packed in the clean room, where there is good control and supply of fresh air.

Packaging challenge 2: weight

You can’t keep adding volume endlessly to a package to make it stronger; it must be able to be handled at the customer and the rest of the supply chain.

In this case, we knew exactly where we stood, because this client always works according to an ergonomic manual that we had to take into account. Among other things, this stipulates the maximum weight that employees are allowed to lift. So the packaging (including the part) was not allowed to become too heavy. This immediately presented a contradiction, because the wall of the dome had to be thick enough to resist the internal pressure of the nitrogen.

Our solution? We simulated the thickness, using a kind of double lid with compartments created by inserting ribs between the two layers. This does make the dome resistant to the pressure, but much less heavy!

Packaging challenge 3: handling

After inquiring further, we found out that the packaging would be handled manually in the customer’s logistics process. Therefore, it was important to make the packaging manageable, so we fitted it with handles and a notch was made on the tool, allowing the dome to be guided, attached and screwed almost blind.

We also considered in the design how to make handling easier and more efficient for the customer. For example, we used fewer bolts, which saves time in their process.

Corné van de Voort on this project

“We didn’t expect in the first phase that this project would be so complex, but at the same time that makes it interesting and our experience even richer. None of us had this knowledge ready on the shelf, so we really had to be creative, combine our knowledge and try out different design directions. The great thing is that we on the next complex project can draw on thethem experience. So that’s valuable for us as well as for our customers.”

Meanwhile, the packaging has been developed and is ready for the first “fit test”; the first full, physical test of the prototype.

Do you have one of those complex issues right now that you could use the help of a packaging expert? Let us know about it! Ask your question in the form below and we’ll get back to you soon!