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Bulk packing is not the absence of a plan; it is a plan expressed in layers. Two plants can use the same crate, the same liner material and the same part, and still record very different damage rates, because one of them decided where each layer sits and the other simply filled the box.
The layer pad is the working element of that plan. A pad placed between layers converts the point loads of the layer above into a distributed load on the layer below, so a casting that would otherwise press its full weight onto two contact edges spreads it across the whole pad area instead.
Material follows the load. Rigid pads in PP hollow sheet or honeycomb board suit heavy layers that must not deflect; foam pads in EPE or EPP suit layers that need cushioning as well as separation, and where both are needed we combine them into a bonded pad with a rigid skin and a foam face.
Layer count is calculated rather than chosen by habit. Each layer adds weight to the one beneath it, and the crate carries a rated static load for its footprint. A four-layer load of fifteen-kilogram parts is a different specification from a three-layer load of the same parts, and the difference shows up in pad grade and in the stacking limit, not just in packing time.
Arrangement matters as much as separation. Layers are staggered so that vertical seams between parts do not line up from the bottom of the crate to the top, since a continuous seam becomes a hinge line and the stack leans under braking. A brick-bond pattern costs nothing and removes the failure mode.
Side impact is handled around the perimeter. Corner protectors and U-channel liners sit between the parts and the crate wall, absorbing the force of a fork tine or a neighbouring pallet, and they are the parts of the system most likely to be damaged first, which is exactly why they are designed to be replaced on their own.
Centre of gravity belongs in the plan too. Loads are kept low and centred, because a crate that is heavy at one end sits unevenly on the forks and moves in transit. Where a part is unavoidably asymmetric, the load plan pairs it with a mirrored part on the opposite side of the layer.
Documentation is what turns the plan into a repeatable process. Each crate specification is issued with a loading drawing showing layer count, orientation, pad position and pieces per layer, printed large enough to be posted at the packing station, so a new operator packs to the same standard as an experienced one.
First-article checks close the loop: one crate is packed to the drawing, weighed, and inspected before the routine starts. A load that weighs outside the expected window is the first sign that a layer has been filled differently.
Send the part list, the crate footprint and the stack height you run, and the reply includes a loading drawing with pad specification for each layer.
