Spin-welding technology helps redesign bottle cap

Produced by Karma Culture LLC, Karma Wellness Water features a patented cap that protects dry probiotic cultures to maintain the highest efficacy without the need for refrigeration. This product is just one of the latest examples in increasing package complexity fueled by demand for more convenient, on-the-go products. For Karma, that meant finding a way to successfully execute production of its complex cap design.

To create a bottle cap that dispenses the probiotics with the push of a button, Karma Culture called on Emerson and its Branson spin-welding technology.

“The KarmaCap design, sealed with Branson spin-welding technology, has been vital to our ability to deliver the only shelf-stable probiotic water available,” says C.J. Rapp, CEO of Karma Culture LLC.

Probiotic cultures, known as “good bacteria,” are typically premixed with water before bottling as the probiotic ingredients are prone to deteriorate due to moisture, UV rays, oxygen, or heat. Premixed products like this require refrigeration or special handling to slow deterioration, but cannot stop it.

The KarmaCap overcomes these obstacles by using a screw-on base with a sealed upper capsule that contains the probiotics until the consumer chooses to mix with the push of a button. The sealed upper capsule works because spin-welding technology joins circular thermoplastic parts by applying pressure and a spinning motion that generates heat to melt and fuse them together without impacting the probiotics inside. The result is an airtight seal between the upper capsule and the screw-on cap base that prevents premature mixing or leaking.

Today, the KarmaCap manufacturing process uses Emerson’s Branson SW300 servo-driven spin welders to produce caps that are free from the issues associated with snap-fit seals – dramatically improving production efficiency and eliminating nearly all rejects.

Emerson
www.emerson.com/packaging