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ISTA 1A Procedure
The Carton Drop Test is a quality check that is commonly done in the factory by when performing a QC inspection. Below is the ISTA 1A Procedure for Carton Drop Test released in 2001 and updated in 2009 by ISTA (International Safe Transit Association).
Overview
ISTA 1 Series are the most basic category of performance tests.
- They challenge the capability of the package and product to withstand transport hazards, but
- They are not simulations of actual transport hazards, and
- Do not necessarily comply with carrier packaging regulations.
Procedure 1A is an integrity test for individual packaged-products.
- It can be used to evaluate the performance of a packaged-product.
- It can be used to compare relative performance of package and product design alternatives.
- The package and product are considered together and not separately.
- Some conditions of transit, such as moisture, pressure or unusual handling, may not be covered.
Drop Type
Free drop to area with cement ground
{Manual / For carton in normal shape}
Result Judgment
The result is considered a PASS as long as the actual finished goods encased is not damaged after the "10 drops". If there is serious damage to the retail packaging or other important packaging inside, you may also consider this a quality issue. It depends on how important you feel the inner box or retail packaging is to your product and how you feel it should stand up to abuse during shipment.
For example if you sre shipping a high-end mp3 player and feel the color box packaging is absolutely integral to the product, damage to the color box as a result of the carton drop test may be considered a test failure.
The 10 Drops
Drop 1 Corner, 3 Edges and 6 Faces
- 1: Most fragile Corner
- 2: Shortest Edge at that corner
- 3: Medium Edge at that corner
- 4: Longest Edge at that corner
- 5: Smallest Face
- 6: The other smallest Face
- 7: Medium Face
- 8: The other edium Face
- 9: Largest Face
- 10: The other largest Face
Drop Height
Drop Height depends on Gross Weigh
Quality control and standardization are extremely closely linked.
NOTE: The intent of the Carton Drop Test is not only to determine if poor treatment of the carton during shipping will result in damaged product, but also to determine if the supplier/factory has modified the packaging method in any way or if the shipment perhaps contains sub-standard packaging materials. For example if you have performed the carton drop test on 3 previous shipments and experienced relatively no damage to the item or packaging, and then find during the current shipment there is major damage to the interior packaging (retail box), this may indicate that the some aspect of the packaging has changed.
