Stretch Hood vs. Stretch Wrap
When securing pallets in a warehouse, there are two methods of securing and protecting goods that are comparatively similar yet each offers its own advantages and disadvantages. Stretch film is a material with high stretchability and toughness which is used to secure packages either through a stretch hood film or a stretch wrap. Both methods involve specialized machines which use moving parts to surround or wrap the pallets with stretch film. The following is some information on the two different processes used to protect the pallet.
Pallet Stretch Wrapper
The pallet stretch wrapper system uses a turntable below for the pallet to rotate, and wraps or bundles the load using stretch film, surrounding the entire pallet. Thus, the lateral sides of the goods are protected, while the top is left open. Usually, a plastic cover on top of the load is necessary to protect it.
Stretch Hood Machine
The stretch hood machine uses four arms which place a tubular stretch hood film that covers the load until the base of the pallet. The top and sides of the load are completely covered by the stretch hood, which is stretchable to conform to the shape of the goods.
Advantages of the Stretch Hood
The advantages of the stretch hood include faster wrapping, saving on materials, and good protection. A stretch hood machine can usually pack up to 150 pallets per hour. On the other hand, a conventional stretch wrap machine can usually do 60-80 pallets per hour. Furthermore, stretch hood machine also has the advantage of using the exact amount of film that is necessary to cover the palletized load. On the other hand, stretch wrap can use more film than necessary. Finally, hooding the load completely provides full five-sided protection compared to stretch wrap which will only cover the lateral sides of the load.
Advantages of the Stretch Wrap
The advantages of the stretch wrap include a greater hold, adaptability to different shaped loads, and optimization of the film usage. The stretch wrap method provides a greater hold since the load is wrapped around tightly by a machine-controlled arm. This method of repeatedly wrapping around the load allows greater stability if the load is uneven or if it experiences some tipping. Because the stretch wrap wraps the film around the load as opposed to a pre-shaped hood, there is also an adaptability to different shaped loads as the machine can simply spin the load
and apply the wrap around the load. Finally using machine settings, the stretch film can be optimized in terms of pre-stretching and torque control.
Overall both methods provide their own advantages and disadvantages and it is important to choose optimally which method of protecting and securing pallets is good for your warehouse. While the stretch hood provides faster wrapping, saving on materials, and good protection, stretch wrapping offers a greater hold, adaptability, and optimization of film usage.
