Gathering of tubular film packaging used in sausage manufacture

摘要

A process for gathering tubular packaging materials, especially films, comprises pushing the film (1) onto a mandrel (2) and gathering to form circumferential folds (6) which when pushed together form an annular bulge. The mandrel (2) is split into elements (2a,2b) which move relative to each other to permit easy location of the tube on the mandrel and which can be subsequently adjusted to suit the tube diameter. Also claimed is a split mandrel (2) comprising several elements (2a,2b) which move towards and away from each other.