Shrink Tunnel Suppliers & Manufacturers
Find shrink tunnel manufacturers and suppliers on Towobo. Compare hot-air shrink tunnels and steam shrink tunnels for use with shrink-wrapping machines (pallet and product bundle shrink), shrink sleeve labelling lines, and shrink cap tamper-evident applications on bottles, cans, and containers.
Hot-air vs steam shrink tunnels and applications
A shrink tunnel heats a shrink film or shrink sleeve that has been loosely applied around a product or pallet, causing the film to shrink tightly around the product. The tunnel is a heated enclosure through which the product travels on a conveyor — the product enters the tunnel, is heated by hot air or steam, the film shrinks, and the product exits with a tight, finished shrink pack. Hot-air shrink tunnels: heated air is circulated by fans inside the tunnel chamber; the hot air temperature is controlled by electric heaters or steam-heated air; hot-air tunnels are the standard for shrink-wrapping applications (bundle wrapping, multipack wrapping, tray+shrink) and for POF and PE shrink film; temperature range typically 120–220°C depending on film type; hot-air tunnels are available in a very wide range of sizes from small bench-top units to large inline tunnels for pallet wrapping; key parameter is the air velocity and temperature uniformity around the product. Steam shrink tunnels: steam at atmospheric or slight positive pressure is used as the shrink medium rather than hot air; steam provides much more uniform heating around the product, especially for irregular shapes (bottles, jars, complex contours); the standard tunnel type for shrink sleeve label application (PVC or PET-G sleeves on bottles and cans); steam tunnels produce consistently wrinkle-free, 360° shrink sleeve labels; hot-air tunnels can also be used for sleeve application but with less consistent results on curved container profiles. Shrink wrap applications using shrink tunnels: product bundle shrink wrapping — consumer multipacks (beverage 6-packs, yoghurt multipacks, sauce bottle multipacks) wrapped in POF or PE shrink film; tray + shrink multipacks — a shallow tray plus shrink film around a product group; shrink sleeve labelling — full-body or partial sleeves on bottles, cans, and jars for 360° graphics; shrink cap tamper evidence — a small shrink cap applied over the bottle cap and neck for tamper indication.
Tunnel sizing, film compatibility, and sourcing
Shrink tunnel selection depends on the product dimensions, film type, required output speed, and the specific shrink quality required for the application. Tunnel aperture: the tunnel opening must be large enough to accommodate the widest and tallest product format on the line; for multipack beverage bundles, apertures of 600–800mm wide and 400–500mm tall are common; for pallet wrapping, tunnels are not used (pallet stretch wrap does not require a tunnel). Conveyor speed and dwell time: the time a product spends in the tunnel determines how fully the film shrinks; the required dwell time depends on the film type, film gauge, and product thermal mass; conveyor speed and tunnel length must be balanced to achieve the correct dwell time at the required output speed. Film-tunnel compatibility: POF (polyolefin) shrink film — hot-air tunnel, 120–160°C; PE shrink film — hot-air tunnel, 140–190°C; PVC shrink film — hot-air tunnel (PVC shrinks at lower temperatures, 80–120°C); PET-G shrink sleeve film — steam tunnel for best results; PVC shrink sleeve — steam or hot-air tunnel; integrated shrink system: the shrink tunnel is always paired with a sealing machine — for bundle shrink, the L-bar sealer or sleeve sealer applies the film tube, and the shrink tunnel completes the process. Key shrink tunnel suppliers: Smipack, SMI Group, Kallfass, Axon (sleeve labelling), PDC International (sleeve), and a wide range of Chinese manufacturers for standard hot-air tunnels. When sourcing, specify: application (bundle shrink, sleeve, cap shrink), film type and gauge, product dimensions, required output speed, and whether steam or hot-air is preferred.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a steam tunnel preferred over a hot-air tunnel for shrink sleeve labels?
Shrink sleeve labels (PVC or PET-G) wrap a 360° printed label around a bottle or container, and must shrink evenly and conform to the contours of the container without wrinkling, whitening, or lifting. Steam provides a very uniform, gentle heat distribution that envelops the entire container simultaneously, giving controlled and even shrinkage. Hot air can create turbulence and uneven temperature distribution, leading to localised over-shrinkage, wrinkling, and visual defects on complex container profiles. For standard cylindrical bottles with simple sleeve geometry, a high-quality hot-air tunnel can achieve good results, but steam is preferred for shaped bottles, oval containers, and full-body sleeves requiring precise, wrinkle-free conformance.
Can the same shrink tunnel handle both bundle shrink and sleeve labelling?
A single shrink tunnel can be used for different applications provided the tunnel is set up appropriately and the film types are compatible with the tunnel's heating method. For a production line running both bundle multipacks (POF shrink film) and sleeve labels (PET-G), a steam tunnel would typically be specified — steam works for both applications. A hot-air tunnel is less suited to high-quality PET-G sleeve shrinkage. In practice, sleeve labelling is usually an upstream process (on the bottle labelling line) and bundle shrinking is a downstream process (on the multipack line), so the two operations are typically on separate conveyors and separate tunnels.
What conveyor speed should I run a shrink tunnel at?
Conveyor speed must be set to achieve adequate dwell time in the tunnel for complete film shrinkage. Typical dwell times: POF film for bundle shrink — 3–6 seconds; PE film for heavy-gauge pallet-level bundle shrink — 5–10 seconds; PVC or PET-G sleeve labels — 2–5 seconds in a steam tunnel. Conveyor speed = tunnel length ÷ required dwell time. For a 1.5m long tunnel requiring 4 seconds dwell time: conveyor speed = 1.5m ÷ 4s = 0.375 m/s = 22.5 m/min. The machine manufacturer provides recommended speed settings for the specific film type and gauge, which should be validated with a run trial before production.
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