Hot Weather Pop-Opens with Hot Melt Adhesives

Every summer, packaging lines across the country report the same frustrating problem: cartons and cases popping open just after they leave the compression bars.

The story is always familiar:

• The adhesive has been running perfectly for months – sometimes years

• The board material hasn’t changed

• Machine settings are exactly as they’ve always been — tank, hose, and gun temperatures, line speeds, all steady

• There’s clearly enough glue on both flaps… yet it’s not holding

Cue the usual theories:
“It must be operator error.”
“The latest batch of glue’s off.”
“Someone’s tweaked the settings.”

But more often than not, it’s none of these things. The real cause is 150 million kilometres away — the sun.

When temperatures rise, the adhesive’s setting speed can change dramatically. That subtle shift can make the difference between perfect seals and costly pop-opens.

At Alphabond, we’ve helped hundreds of manufacturers tackle this exact issue. To share what we’ve learned, we’ve put together a technical whitepaper explaining:

• Why hot weather affects bond formation

• How adhesive chemistry reacts to environmental temperature changes

• Practical adjustments you can make to stop pop-opens before they start

• The simple checks that can save hours of downtime and wasted product

👉 Fill in the short form below to get your copy of the “Hot Weather Pop-Opens” Whitepaper emailed directly to you — and keep your lines running smoothly all summer long.