Blister Packaging Production Process I. Customer Issues Inquiry Request: Customers can make inquiries through the following channels: 1. Telephone inquiry; 2. Fax inquiry; 3. Email inquiry; 4. Inquiry via online messaging tools. When inquiring, customers must provide the length, width, height of the blister product, as well as the thickness (or grammage), color, and type (PVC, PET, PS, PP) of the material to be used, along with the product quantity and production cycle. II. Quotation by the Business Department: The unit price of blister products is related to the following factors: the length, width, height of the blister product and the complexity of blister forming; the type, thickness, and color of the material used; the post-processing procedures of the blister product (flanging, punching, edge bonding, etc.); the order quantity and order cycle. The quotation clerk will provide an initial quotation based on the customer’s sample and description, while the final quotation will be given after the sample is made. III. Computer Design: After the customer basically approves the quotation, they will submit their requirements, physical samples, or blister samples to the business department. The production scheduler will request the computer design department to scan the customer’s physical samples, integrate them with the product design, and create a 2D design drawing of the blister product. IV. Blister Sampling: Once the customer approves the computer design draft, the production scheduler will determine the mold development method (gypsum mold, copper mold, aluminum mold) based on the complexity of the product. The development cycle is 3-5 days. Gypsum molds are most commonly used for blister sampling, and their operation steps are as follows: 1. First, use power tools for rough processing of the gypsum blank; 2. Then perform fine processing; 3. Conduct manual polishing and manual addition of components; 4. Pour the prepared special gypsum for blister into the blister sample, and a gypsum female mold will be formed after drying; 5. Use a utility knife to trim and process the gypsum male mold and female mold; 6. Manually deburr and trim the edges to complete the entire sampling process. If required, the printing and sampling department will simultaneously produce the stickers, adhesive labels, or boxes used for the blister samples. They can reflect the actual printing results using a full-size digital printing sampler. V. Production Mold Manufacturing: After the customer approves the sample, they usually place a production order with a certain quantity. The production scheduler will determine the mold type for mass production based on the output volume and complexity of blister forming: - Gypsum Mold Production: The mold manufacturing process is similar to blister sampling. Its advantages are short production cycle and lowest cost—it only takes 1-2 days to make a full-size (60×110cm) mold. Its disadvantages are that the surface of blister finished products is rough, the molds are easy to crack during production, and they cannot form products with large depth, high complexity, or thick sheets due to limited service life. - Electroplated Copper Mold Production: Its process involves spraying a layer of conductive agent on the surface of the sampled blister, then putting it into an electrolytic cell to plate a thick copper layer (the electroplating process takes 72 hours). After that, the copper mold needs to undergo gypsum backing (to increase hardness), polishing, and air hole drilling. The advantages of using electroplated copper molds for production are good gloss of replicated patterns, moderate cost, and moderate wear resistance. The disadvantages are long mold manufacturing cycle and inability to accurately process the structure of products. - Aluminum Mold Production: For mold manufacturing, computer design drawings are first used, then processing is carried out with CNC (Computer Numerical Control) technology. Its advantages are high dimensional accuracy of blister products and strong mold durability. The disadvantages are long mold manufacturing cycle, need for rework for later modifications (if the drawing is completed during CNC processing), and high cost. Since the forming range of a fully automatic high-speed blister forming machine is approximately 66×110cm, whether it is a gypsum mold, copper mold, or aluminum mold, individual molds need to be assembled together to reach the forming size. This process is called mold assembly, and the molds need to be assembled on an aluminum plate or wooden plate with pre-drilled air holes. The fully assembled mold is called a base mold. For products with a large blister forming depth, a top mold also needs to be made. When the base mold suctions and forms the sheet, pressure is applied from above the sheet to stretch the sheet evenly to every part; otherwise, local excessive thinness of the sheet may occur. The total manufacturing cycle of the production mold is 5 to 7 days. VI. Blister Forming Production: Production is carried out using a fully automatic high-speed blister forming machine, and its basic principle is as follows: 1. Pull the rolled sheet into an electric heating oven and heat it to a softened state; 2. Thermally pull the softened sheet above the blister mold; 3. The mold moves upward and vacuum is applied to suck the softened sheet onto the mold surface; 4. At the same time, spray cold water onto the surface of the formed sheet in a mist form to harden it; 5. The formed sheet is then automatically pulled to the unloading rack; 6. A pneumatic cutter separates the formed sheet from the unformed sheet, thus completing the entire process. Most of the main quality problems of blister products occur during this process: 1. Incomplete blister forming: It refers to the situation where the product shape does not match the mold shape; 2. Excessively thin blister: It means the product is too thin; 3. Pull lines: It refers to the appearance of unwanted lines on the formed product; 4. Uneven thickness. These problems need to be addressed by adjusting factors such as the placement position of the mold and whether accessories are added between molds. VII. Die-Cutting Processing: Large-format blister-formed products must go through a punching machine, where a cutting die is used to divide them into individual products. Its principle is as follows: a large plastic cutting board is placed on the table of the punching machine; place the large-format formed product on the cutting board, and clamp the pre-made cutting die onto the individual product; through the up-and-down movement of the punching machine, cut out individual finished products. However, the disadvantage of this cutting method is that the cutting board and cutting die are easily damaged, resulting in unsmooth cuts and burrs. For blisters with high quality requirements, a cold stamping die (one male die and one female die) and a cold stamping machine are required for processing.