The distance a packaging web advances in one indexing step, measured along its direction of travel.
Also called: index pitch; indexing pitch; web advance length; blister index length.
Is index length the same as web width?
No. Index length is the distance advanced along the web in one step; width is measured across it. Index distance, material width and cycle rate are separate quantities, even when controlled by one coordinated motion system.
Specifications commonly report advance and width in millimetres, and cycle rate in cycles per minute. Their relationship depends on the format and machine sequence.
Not always. One index can cover a repeat containing several cards, rows or lanes. The format drawing defines how each advance relates to completed cards.
The advance may cover a repeat containing more than one card or another layout allowance. Keep index distance, format yield and accepted output as separate fields. A maximum cycling figure is not the same as the number of conforming cards delivered to a cartoner.