Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Packing and Shipping Supplies and other Material Handling topics.

Why should I use plastic straps instead of steel straps on my automatic strapping machine?

Straps for Strapping Machines

Whether you use an automatic strapping machine or semi-automatic strapping machine, you have a choice of two kinds of straps: steel or plastic. Here are examples of the two so you can better decide which fits your needs, courtesy of signnode.com:

Plastic straps:

Polypropylene -- best suited to light and medium duty applications. Polypropylene resists splitting and has a smooth, uniform surface with an elastic memory to absorb shock and keep straps tight
Polyester -- best suited to medium and heavy duty applications. Polyester provides superior retained tension under hot, humid conditions. Provides greater load stability and is more tear and snag resistant than other plastic strapping materials
High-strength polyester -- best suited to heavy duty applications

Steel straps:

Magnus -- a cold-rolled, medium carbon steel with high strength and excellent shock resistance
Apex plus -- a cold-rolled, low carbon steel with superior edge conditioning and coating

Companies such as beacontechnology and capspackaging.com offer strapping machines with plastic straps. Here is why plastic wraps are better than steel straps, according to capspackaging.com:

Less expensive than steel
Low volume cost (shipping)
Less coil change during production
High strap tension
Good impact resistance
Good retained tension even loads move or shrink
No corner damage of the load (low friction)
No rust marks on product
Equal corner tension distribution
Non-metallic material and therefore non corrosive
Resists to high degree environmental influences
Easy handling for disposal or recycling process
Much safer than steel (less safety hazards)
Does not snap back when cut

Comments

Nobody has commented on this tip yet. Be the first.

Ask a Question

Not finding the advice and tips you need on this Material Handling Tip Site? Request a Tip Now!

Guru Spotlight

George Sayour

Ever wonder how you could make your life better and more fun? So have tens of millions of fans who have turned to LifeTips for answers over the past decade. We keep the tips, advice, books, podcasts and writing services flowing, so you can keep your life and business growing in the right direction. Upward!