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Design & Qualification
| | | | | | | DESIGN
| | | The majority of True Pack’s orders are our standard patented insulated shipping containers with only the size of the box and the size and thickness of the insulation changing. If there is a request for an item that is not our standard product we proceed with design and development to meet the customer’s specific requirements.
Design and development is begun using an established plan format to bring a new product from concept to design. This is accomplished thru research and development. Our design and development process includes review, verification and validation activities appropriate for each project.
Application relating to product requirements:
- Functional and performance requirements
- Statutory and regulatory requirements, if applicable
- Styling and aesthetic requirements
- Information derived from similar products
Verification and qualification are performed to ensure that design and development requirements are met. Verification and qualification may take the form of testing for some products.
| | | | | THERMAL QUALIFICATION
| | | All testing specifications can be qualified and/or validated using our in house testing facilities partnered with Package Research Laboratory which is one of the best equipped package testing and design facilities in the country, staffed by experienced and highly skilled, certified technicians. They are an independent certified ISTA and UN/DOT-HAZMAT testing laboratory.
The thermal performance of insulated shipping containers is verified by first attaching thermocouple probes or transducers to critical elements of the product after all components are preconditioned at the required temperatures. Monitoring the refrigerant packs is also a good idea in order to determine when they dissipate or no longer provide thermal cooling.
The container should then be closed, sealed, and placed in an environmental test chamber and subjected to a temperature profile that duplicates the anticipated range of temperatures during shipment. It is generally a good idea to test more than one container and to have containers arranged in different orientations other than just down. The lab generally recommends testing containers in the base-down and top-down orientations in order to determine the effect of orientation on the thermal performance.
The temperature profiles used during the chamber test should reflect both summer and winter extreme conditions. For example, summer extreme conditions are normally tested by utilizing a 24-hour cycle of 40° C at the high end and 20° C at the low end. Perhaps four hours at each temperature extreme with an 8-hour ramp between the extremes provides for a good range and cycle of tests. For a winter test profile, the high temperature of 23° C and low of 0° C provides a reasonable range. Similar temperature dwells and transitions rates would occur.
Also vibration and drop impact testing can be performed. This package testing reveals whether your packaging will stand up to the roughest treatment likely in transit shipment of your package.
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True Pack Ltd. (800) 825-7890 info@truepack.com
Copyright 2008 © Truepack. All rights reserved.
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