— APPLICATION
PP for thin-wall packaging and food containers
Picking a PP grade for thin-wall packaging starts with the longest flow path in your mould. Margarine tubs, yoghurt cups, deli containers and their lids are moulded with walls often under a millimetre thick, in cycles counted in seconds. The melt has to reach the far edge of the rim before it freezes. Here we explain how flow, nucleation and copolymer type trade against each other, and show the grades we can supply.
— REQUIREMENTS
What a thin-wall pack has to do
A tub that short-shots at the rim is scrap. A lid that warps will not snap on, and cups that stick together in the stack stop the filling line. The part also has to come out of the mould stiff enough for a robot to pick it straight away.
Then comes the supply chain. Ice cream and frozen meals are filled, frozen and handled in a cold store, where a brittle wall cracks. Desserts and salads are sold through the wall, so clarity counts. Anything holding butter, dairy or water must not pick up a taste or smell from the pack.
— SELECTION
Choosing PP for thin-wall injection moulding
Start with the ratio of flow length to wall thickness, not the wall alone. The higher that ratio, the higher the melt flow rate you need. Thin-wall grades run far above general injection grades, and the highest-flow grades fill long paths and multi-cavity tools at lower pressure.
Then pick the polymer type by what the pack goes through:
Impact copolymer for frozen food, ice cream and packs that get dropped cold. It is opaque or milky.
Random copolymer for clear cups and tubs. A clarifier raises transparency, but cold impact is lower than an impact copolymer's, so read the test temperature on the data sheet.
Homopolymer for stiff, thin lids and cups kept at room temperature. Metallocene homopolymers add low warpage and low taste and odour.
Antistatic additives keep dust off stored cups and lids. For food packs, ask for a grade with a documented taste and odour profile.
— GRADES
Grades we can supply
Compare melt flow at 230 °C/2.16 kg against your flow length first.
PP homopolymer
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm M1640
PP homopolymer
Nucleated metallocene-catalysed polypropylene homopolymer with antistatic agent for thin-wall injection moulding, with stiffness and transparency.
Injection moulding
Industries
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm P1340
PP homopolymer
KeyForm P1340 is a nucleated homopolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines good stiffness with good flowability.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm P1640
PP homopolymer
KeyForm P1640 is a nucleated homopolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines high flow with medium stiffness.
Injection moulding
Industries
Rigid packaging
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1541
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1541 is a random copolymer with a clarifier and antistatic additives, for injection moulding. It has very good flowability and transparency and is typically used for thin-wall packaging.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1340
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1340 is a clarified random copolymer with an antistatic additive and good fluidity, for injection moulding. It combines very high transparency with very good impact strength, including at 0 °C.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1640
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1640 is a clarified random copolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines very good flowability with transparency and impact strength.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm E1340
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm E1340 is a nucleated heterophasic copolymer with an antistatic agent, for injection moulding. It combines a good stiffness and impact balance with medium fluidity.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm E1230
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm E1230 is a nucleated heterophasic copolymer for injection moulding. It combines high stiffness with a good impact balance.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm E1341
PP impact copolymer
AdvyForm E1341 is a nucleated heterophasic copolymer with medium flow, for injection moulding.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
— NEED HELP CHOOSING?
Not sure which grade fits?
Send us the part drawing, the wall thickness, the cavity count and the cycle time you are aiming for.
— PROCESSING
Mould, cycle and labels
Most thin-wall packs are injection moulded in multi-cavity or stack moulds, where a second of cycle time matters. Some clarified random copolymers are made to run at lower melt temperatures, which cuts cooling time. If you in-mould label, the label goes in with every shot, so tell us the label material along with cavity count and cycle target. Formed cups and trays are covered on sheet and thermoforming.
Injection moulding
Sheet extrusion/thermoforming
— DOCUMENTATION
Food contact and recycled content
Under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, a plastic food container may not release more than 10 mg of its constituents per dm² of food-contact surface into food simulants. The converter shows this for the finished pack and issues the declaration of compliance. The producer's declaration for the grade, which we pass on, supports it. From 2030 at the earliest, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 requires at least 10% post-consumer recycled content in contact-sensitive plastic packaging made from plastics other than PET.
— PRODUCERS
Producers for this application
Brands for this application
— FAQ
Common questions
Which melt flow rate do I need for thin-wall moulding?
Why choose nucleated PP for food containers?
Is PP for yoghurt cups moulded or formed?
— RELATED
