Patent ID: 10988279

Abstract:
An apparatus for forming a box or bag that is made of a substrate strip which includes a winder having a mandrel and posts that extend from the mandrel in a direction parallel to a winding and translation axis that rotate together as a unit around the translation axis. The apparatus also has a feeder that includes precursors and a gathering head used for forming the precursors into the strip and feeding the strip to the winder. A motor adjusts the feeder's angle relative to the winder in response to instructions from the controller based on the dimensions of the box or bag. This causes controlled overlap between adjacent windings of the strip on the posts. As the mandrel rotates, the posts draw the strip and wind the strip along a spiral having a length in excess of the depth. Zero waste of precursors is made possible by cutting the substrate perpendicular to its length and folding over the box or bag ends to form an angled seam with respect to the sides of the box.