Package Maker

A computer-controlled apparatus for forming a bag that is made of a substrate strip that is angularly wrapped,

• said bag to be formed having a length along a translation axis and a rectangular cross section that lies in a plane that is orthogonal to said translation axis, wherein said cross section having a width and a thickness of twice that of the substrate strip,
• said bag to be formed comprising a proximal section, a distal section, and a middle section between said proximal and distal sections, said proximal and distal sections being end flaps that fold over onto the middle section sides to close bag ends,
• wherein said proximal and distal sections' free edges are each not parallel to said plane orthogonal to said translation axis,
• said apparatus comprising a feeder, a winder, a linear-motion mechanism, and a substrate cutter,
• wherein said winder comprises a mandrel and two posts that extend from said mandrel in a direction parallel to said translation axis, said posts being separated from each other by a computer-controlled distance,
• wherein said mandrel and said posts rotate together as a unit around said translation axis,
• wherein said feeder comprises material-roll handlers, a gathering head, and a yaw-angle-control motor,
• wherein said material-roll handlers receive rolls of precursors for layers of said substrate strip,
• wherein said gathering head participates in forming said precursors into a substrate strip and feeding said strip to said winder, wherein said yaw-angle-control motor is configured to adjust an angle of said feeder relative to said winder and the linear-motion mechanism provides relative linear motion between the bag being formed and the feeder in response to instructions from a computer so as to cause a controlled overlap between adjacent windings of said strip on said posts as the bag is formed, and
• wherein the substrate cutter cuts the substrate to separate the bag from the substrate.