How to Write a Steel Coil Packaging Specification | FHOPE

How to Write a Steel Coil Packaging Specification

A packaging specification is the document a machine supplier designs from. If it is vague, every supplier will quote a different automatic coil packing line. Below are the sections we ask our customers to fill in, with the options our lines support.

1. Coil Dimensions and Weight Parameters

2. Package Build, Layer by Layer

Write the layers in the order they are applied. For example:

1. Inner edge protectors (manual or robot)
2. VCI paper or paper (optional contact layer)
3. Stretch film (or woven belt as an outer wrap option), eye-through wrapping, target overlap, e.g. 50% (our range is 20–90%)
4. Outer edge protectors (manual, or automatic with the optional applicator)
5. Strapping: type, number and position

The image shows a steel coil export packaging structure cross section. The specification should describe this build-up layer by layer so every station and supplier works toward the same end result.

3. Strapping Rules

The image shows a steel coil export packaging structure cross section detail. Each layer in the stack — wrapping, edge protectors, strapping — should be named in the specification with its material, position and rule.

4. Materials

State the film, paper and strap, with their sizes. Reference sizes from our lines: PET strap 0.8 mm × 16 mm; woven-belt rolls 90–100 mm wide, roll OD 100–450 mm, core ID 55 mm. On our wrappers, stretch film is standard because film rolls run longer; paper rolls are shorter, so they need changing more often on large coils.

The image shows a VCI stretch film wrapped coil. When moisture or corrosion protection is required, the specification should state which material, layer sequence, and release conditions apply to each product family.

5. Contact Surfaces

State what may touch the coil. We choose nylon, PU or rubber according to the contact position: rollers are PU-covered, and coil car saddles are lined with nylon or rubber.

6. Labeling and Data

Specify the label content and positions (ID, OD), the printer type and the systems the line must exchange data with (slitting line, barcode, MES/ERP).

7. Output and Site

State the required coils per hour, the power supply (for example 380 V/50 Hz), the compressed air (0.6–0.8 MPa), and the layout with available floor space, crane access and line flow direction.

The image shows fully packaged steel coils ready for ocean freight. The specification must state the handling and shipping assumptions this final package was designed for, so the package result matches the real route.

Watch a steel slitting coil packaging line system:

FAQ

What is the minimum a supplier needs? Coil dimensions (weight, OD, ID, width), required output in coils per hour, the packaging materials you want (film, paper, strap) and your site layout.

Should the specification name machines? It is better to specify the package and the output, and let the supplier propose the stations.

How detailed should the strapping section be? Give the strap type, the number of straps and their positions, and say whether pads are needed.

Send us your draft specification for your automatic coil packing line, or contact us and we will mark what is missing.