Filament tape or strapping tape is a

pressure-sensitive tape Pressure-sensitive tape or pressure-sensitive adhesive tape (PSA tape) is an adhesive tape that sticks when pressure is applied without the need for a solvent (such as water) or heat for activation. It is also known in various countries as self ...

consisting of a

pressure-sensitive adhesive Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA, self-adhesive, self-stick adhesive) is a type of nonreactive adhesive which forms a bond when pressure is applied to bond the adhesive with a surface. No solvent, water, or heat is needed to activate the adhesive ...

coated onto a backing material which is usually a

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

film and

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

filaments embedded to add high

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate ...

. It is used for several packaging functions such as closing

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for maki ...

boxes, reinforcing packages, bundling items,

pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a Loader (equipment), front loader, a Jack (mechanical), jacking device, or an erect cra ...

unitizing, etc. The first filament tape was invented in 1956 by Cyrus W. Bemmels, a scientist working for

Johnson and Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and Medical device, medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publi ...

. Several other varieties have since been developed. A variety of grades of filament tape are available. Some have as much as 600 pounds of tensile strength per inch of width (100 N/mm). Different types and grades of adhesive are also available. Most often, the tape is 12 mm (approx. 1/2 inch) to 24 mm (approx. 1 inch) wide, but it is also used in other widths. A variety of strengths, calipers, and adhesive formulations are available.

Uses

The tape is most often used as a closure for corrugated boxes such as a full overlap box, five-panel folder, full telescope box. L-shaped clips or strips are applied over the overlapping flap, extending onto the box panels. Heavy loads or weak box construction may also be aided by the application of strips or bands of filament tape to the box.

Application

The tape can be applied manually with a stationary dispenser but is more often applied with a hand held

tape dispenser A tape dispenser is an object that holds a roll of tape and has a mechanism at one end to shear the tape. Dispensers vary widely based on the tape they dispense. Abundant and most common, clear tape dispensers (like those used in an office or a ...

: this allows the user to more efficiently place the tape on the box, cut it off, and rub it down. Automated machinery for application of tape to high speed lines is also common.

Related products

Some PSA tapes are available which have a highly oriented

backing with high strength in the long (machine) direction. Some of these have shaped filaments which help resist tearing across the tape. These tapes are sometimes used in a similar manner as filament reinforced tapes. Some filament tapes (or strapping tapes) are sometimes used similarly to

strapping Strapping, also known as bundling and banding, is the process of applying a strap to an item to combine, stabilize, hold, reinforce, or fasten it. A strap may also be referred to as ''strapping''. Strapping is most commonly used in the packagi ...

References

ASTM ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...

D5330 Standard Specification for Pressure Sensitive Tape for Packaging, Filament Reinforced *

D1974 Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes. *

D5168 Standard Practice for Fabrication and Closure of Tripplewall Corrugated Containers * Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, {{packaging Packaging materials Adhesive tape

Uses

Application

Related products

See also

References