Packaging Design for Fragile Goods

Effective protective packaging starts with understanding both the vulnerability of the product and the hazards it will experience during distribution. Smithers combines product fragility assessment, packaging design, materials expertise and distribution testing to develop packaging systems appropriate to the product and its supply chain.

Projects can support the design of packaging for instruments, electronics, machinery, medical devices and other damage-sensitive products, using solutions including corrugated packaging, expanded foam cushioning, moulded pulp, thermoformed trays and rigid plastic packs.

Protective packaging design and optimisation

Our specialists can support:

• Product fragility and damage vulnerability assessment
• Cushioning material selection and cushion design
• Corrugated packaging design and specification
• Packaging material and format selection
• Reduction of packaging material and shipping volume
• Evaluation of climatic, stacking and handling conditions
• Prototype development and evaluation
• Laboratory testing and field trials
• Final packaging specification

Our approach considers the complete distribution environment, helping avoid changes that reduce packaging cost or material use at the expense of increased product damage, returns or other supply chain costs.

Designing packaging around product fragility

For vulnerable products, protective packaging needs to reduce the shocks experienced during handling and distribution to levels the product can withstand.

Smithers can characterise product fragility and vibration response and use this information alongside expected distribution hazards to inform cushioning and packaging design. 

For corrugated packaging, design and specification can take account of factors including board performance, climatic conditions such as high humidity, stacking duration and configuration, pallet or container shipment, mixed loading and extended supply chain handling. This helps ensure that packaging is designed around the conditions it will experience rather than assessed in isolation.

Where cushioning is required, our specialists can evaluate solutions including corrugated structures, moulded pulp and expanded packaging foams such as EPE, EPU, EPP and EPS, using appropriate material performance and cushion curve data to inform the design.

This evidence-led approach can also help avoid unnecessary over-packaging. Adding more material does not necessarily improve protection and can increase cost, shipping volume and material use - and, in some circumstances, inappropriate cushioning can introduce additional performance problems

Where appropriate, packaging designs can be evaluated through laboratory distribution simulation, including Shock and Fragility Testing, before final specification.

Talk to an expert about your protective packaging requirements

Talk to our packaging specialists about your product, its fragility, distribution environment and packaging design or optimisation requirements.