Founded in 2000, Logoplaste Innovation Lab (ILAB) is an independent business unit of the Logoplaste Group dedicated to R&D of high-performance plastic packaging solutions.
ILAB is able to offer integrated and complete packaging development solutions by supporting partners in all phases of packaging development, from research, design and engineering to full industrial implementation, merging groundbreaking Design & Biomimicry Thinking with top class packaging engineering.
Design & Biomimicry Thinking
Using a holistic, human-centered methodology for innovation and being pioneer in applying Nature’s teachings to packaging development, ILAB is able to encompass user needs, brand equity, technical requirements, business and environmental sustainability, as well as offer a complete range of Biomimicry services, from scoping and research of natural models to creation of bio-inspired designs, and evaluation of their sustainability based on Nature life’s principles.
Packaging Engineering
ILAB specialized teams offer a wide range of standard and custom tests that assess the capabilities of plastic-based packaging and processes, define product specifications, access process capability and innovate on new systematic approaches and scoring methods.
ILAB is able to create, modify, analyse, and optimise packaging designs with precision-engineered 2D drawings and 3D models, enhancing data communication, creating a database for manufacturing, and establishing a record that can help protect packaging in design and patent applications. Its virtual physical simulation analysis capabilities can examine any packaging shape methodically and in detail, accelerating development and therefore reducing costs by identifying conceptual flaws at an early development stage, thus eliminating unnecessary over-design and engineering.
Being a Recyclass accredited body, ILAB’s Raw Materials, Sustainability & Legislation team can offer full technical support regarding raw materials, including their performance, recyclability, and legislative compliance.
Finally, ILAB has complete in-house resources for designing, engineering, coding, machining and manufacturing custom injection, extrusion blow, and stretch blow moulding tooling for trials and industrial production. In conclusion, having also all the necessary resources to produce and test samples, and define manufacturing processes for plastic packaging, ensuring faster time to market and optimised costs.
Role and contributions in H2020 BioSupPack project
ILAB will participate in BioSupPack mainly leading WP2 and taking up a special role in tasks 2.2 and 2.3, applying its extensive experience in packaging development to aid on characterising the raw material formulations and adapt them to the production of commercially viable bottles.
The various formulations produced will be tested in ILAB pilot lines, providing feedback about what characteristics and properties to improve. When properly characterised and improved, the raw material will, in fact, be used to produce 4 different bottles:
• 2 for personal care applications;
• 1 for food/sauce applications;
• 1 for home care applications.
All the packages will undergo the normal process of development, starting from designing thinking process, either as concept and as a technical product, undergoing several technical validations (volume, thickness, demolding, continuity, dimensions, etc) and tested under FEA conditions to improve geometry, structures, and weight.
After the bottles final design and specifications are approved, the moulds will be designed and produced, process settings will then be adjusted for each product and the bottles prototypes produced. Finally, the prototypes will undergo packaging engineering support activities, namely dimensional control, product weight control, top and side load resistance, wall thickness distribution evaluation, drop test, environmental stress crack, and other that seem fit to the product’s final application.
This process will be iterative until desired specs for each bottle, as well as project goals, are attained.
More information is available at: https://www.logoplaste.com/innovation-lab
