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Reusable PVC clamshells short-circuit waste for Lucent

Telecommunications component supplier slashes materials and labor costs by shifting to vinyl clamshell packs for printed circuit boards. Now Lucent asks some customers to return them for reuse.

At Lucent1s Columbus, OH, plant, a worker loads a printed circuit board into a clamshell at a work station
At Lucent1s Columbus, OH, plant, a worker loads a printed circuit board into a clamshell at a work station

Transparent clamshell packs are old hat for the packaging of many products. Everything from hardware products to fruits and vegetables to toys have long been packed in a variety of plastic clamshell designs. That's why it seems unusual that another application-the packaging of printed circuit boards-could result in so many benefits.

Earlier this year, though, Lucent Technologies, Columbus, OH, converted to transparent clamshell packs from Universal Protective Packaging (Mechanicsburg, PA) and from Crystal Thermoplastics (Cumberland, RI). Both thermoformers use Pentastat SC660/05C clear polyvinyl chloride sheet from Klockner Pentaplast of America (Gordonsville, VA). The custom-designed static-dissipative clamshells provide Lucent with the following benefits:

* Reduces material costs by an estimated 60%,

* Cuts labor costs by 70%,

* Cuts the amount of solid waste, even without reuse,

* Minimizes the need for product handling that can cause damage, and

* "Date-coding" of each container for static efficiency is evident throughout the packaging and distribution process (see sidebar, p. 21).

Not all created equal

If only those advantages were so easy to achieve. As Lucent learned, the results they enjoyed in '97 are the culmination of the best materials, designs, quality control and vendor service.

The clamshells have replaced Lucent's former multi-material packaging. That required circuit boards to first be placed into an anti-static bag that's cushioned by custom-cut anti-static pieces of foam inside a corrugated box, says Lucent packaging engineer Ken McCrina.

McCrina's original task was to replace the three-stage packaging that had to be done in an area separate from the board production lines. At the time, the circuit boards were transferred from the production lines in anti-static tote boxes to a separate packaging area. Management wanted to streamline the packaging of the circuit boards by packaging at the end of each production line.

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