It has been a known fact that an arch with the proper curve is the strongest way to span a given space. The same principle was applied when corrugated fibreboard was first invented.
Arches were made to sit in-between each corrugated medium. These arches are what is known as Flutes, and when anchored to the linerboard with starch adhesive, they resist bending and pressure from all directions.
When a piece of combined board is placed on the ends of the arches, they form rigid columns that are capable of supporting a great deal of weight.
So when pressure is applied to the side of the board, space in-between the flutes acts as a cushion to protect the corrugated box content.
Flutes also perform the function of an insulator, providing some product protection from sudden temperature changes. The vertical linerboard gives more strength and protection to the flutes.
Types of Corrugated Flutes
Corrugated flutes are classified based on their sizes and thickness. They are classified as A-Flute, B-Flute, C-Flute, E-Flute, and F-Flute.
Each flute size provides a particularly useful function, from shipping strength to reducing storage space to improved printability.
A-Flute
This is usually known as the original flute, and is the highest flute size. The A-Flute makes the of corrugated cushioning and stacking properties for fragile and delicate products.
Its uses include a double wall application or thick corrugated pad.
B-Flute
The B-Flue is the second flute size adopted by the corrugated. It provides a stiff, flat surface for high-quality printing and die cutting with excellent crush resistant properties.
They are used for food packaging, retail packaging, POP (point of purchase) displays, die cut inserts, and customized print packaging.
C-Flute
The C-Flute is thinner than A-Flute and thicker than B-Flute. It provides good cushioning, stacking and printing properties. It is the most widely used flute size.
It is estimated that 80% of today’s corrugated containers are made of C-Flute board. Its uses include shipping cartons boxes, master shippers and corrugated box displays.
E-Flute
The E-Flute has the highest number of flutes per foot, which gives it the greatest crush resistance and the flat surface for high-quality printing applications.
They can be substituted for conventional folding cartons or solid fiber containers. Its uses include retail packaging, printed corrugated box packaging, POP packaging, and those looking for eco-friendly packaging.
F-Flute
The F-Flute is an extra thin flute. It is just less than half the thickness of E-Flute and is the newest growth segment in the corrugated industry.
With F-Flutes, converters can reduce the total amount of fibre in the packaging, thereby creating a more rigid box with less solid waste going into the landfill.
Its uses include custom printed boxes, printed corrugated boxes, retail packaging and POP displays.
In addition to these five most common profiles, new flute profiles, both larger and smaller than the ones mentioned in this article, are being produced for more specialized functions.
Larger flute profiles are made for better compression strength and cushioning, while smaller flute profiles are made for enhanced structural and graphics capability, especially for retail packaging.
In addition, different flute profiles can be combined in one piece of combined board. For example, in a triple wall board, one layer of medium might designed as A-flute, while the other two layers may designed as C-flute.
Types of Corrugated Flutes
When the flute profiles are combined in this way, it allows designers to create a corrugated custom box packaging in Malaysia with different compression strength, cushioning strength and total thickness of the combined board – that can be used for specific types of product.
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