Tooling Overview

Precision machined tooling is available from Atlas Vac for most brands and models of tray sealers in short lead times. Whether it is a single piece CNC machined plate or a lightweight deep tray tool, Atlas Vac understands the tooling design requirements of pharmaceutical, orthopedic and medical device packaging engineers.

Atlas Vac sealer designs are based on the good engineering practice where a precision machined surface plate is the foundation on which to position the CNC machined tooling nest to seal a tray package. At no time during the sealing process should the product or tooling move up and down (unlike some other competitor's sealers).

Our tooling does not flex under load and is made to be flat and perpendicular to very tight tolerances. Molded silicone press in place "T" gaskets or the traditional die cut sheet gaskets are available as well as a wide variety of spring pins.

• Design and CNC machining; tools and service
• RFID Tool Recognition for tooling communication to sealer
• Atlas Vac tools, for Alloyd sealers, with new patented features

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness"  -Oscar Wilde

Plastic spring pins have been a hallmark of Atlas Vac tooling since 2001 as a means of providing excellent tyvek alignment performance while greatly reducing wear on tray sealer sealing platens. When compared with "traditional" metal spring pins our part Atlas Vac number 81-02-99-2 is a great value. You may not care that your platen coating or base material is worn with a divot caused by a metal spring pin until you run a different tray shape that happens to have a flange surface landing right on one of these damaged spots. All Atlas Vac tooling nests are provided with our standard plastic spring pins and are available only to purchasers of Atlas Vac tray sealers.

Sixteen years after Atlas Vac began using gentle plastic spring pins, competitors in our industry have started to offer their own plastic spring pins. What took them so long?

Innovation is an attribute inherent with Atlas Vac equipment.

Auto Eject Tooling Video (click here).

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The Atlas Vac Machine line of tray sealers represent the top of the line in the industry. Most packaging engineers know the quality and forethought put into tooling installed on each sealer is equally as important.

Atlas Vac tool designers understand the tolerances and clearances for superior performance when aligning thermoformed trays and lid stocks made of Tyvek or other materials.  These dimensions are critical for successful validation.

Whether it is a single piece CNC machined plate or a lightweight deep tray tool, Atlas Vac understands the tooling design requirements of pharmaceutical, orthopedic and medical device packaging engineers.

Rigidity, component fit, coatings and dimensional accuracy are critical to long-term production of flawless package seals. Using a less expensive die-cut flat gasket adhered to the tool was standard practice for many sealer manufacturers. Atlas Vac led the industry in providing the molded profile FDA silicone gasket system that confirms the old adage---"you get what you pay for". The molded gasket profile locks into the mating tooling plate groove without adhesives or fasteners. Changing a worn or damaged gasket on the Atlas Vac machine takes minutes instead of the typical hours for the cheaper flat design that requires removing the tool and scraping off the adhesives and gasket. The dimensional stability of the molded gasket is unsurpassed.

Atlas Vac has produced simple tooling nests as well as complicated designs requiring "island" supports in the midst of the cavity. Using our customer's tray drawing and/or sample tray, we produce a 3D CAD file for accurate CNC machining where we hold precise tolerances of flatness and parallelism.

Atlas Vac spring pins are know throughout the medical device packaging industry for not damaging sealing platens in years of use.  These pins are only made available to Atlas Vac tooling customers.

Yes, Atlas Vac will modify tooling or create retrofit tooling systems for non-Atlas Vac sealers too (ex Alloyd, Belco). We require your old tool or tool drawing, a package drawing and/or sample materials typically required to design and precision machine your tool.

Typically a relieved platen is used when product inside the tray is pressing up against the lid causing unintentional product adhesion to the lid.  Otherwise, the only contact the platen has is with the supported flange gasket landing zone.  Relieving the other sections of the platen does absolutely nothing for seal quality or down force because there is no contact in those areas either way.  Another consideration is where temperature calibration is disturbed each time you change a platen and therefore the surface temp should be confirmed.  Additionally, a flat platen is the most even thermodynamic surface when compared with platens that are cut up into profiles that enhance cooling.  Thermal imaging can be utilized to confirm that issue.

See more under technical documents section.

Check out the above video of our Sample Tools!

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