Filling machines (or fillers) are used for packaging, mainly for food/beverage but for other products as well. These are used to fill either a bottle or a pouch, depending on the product. A filling machine is necessary if your business involves filling pouches or bottles with food, drinks, or other products. This is a type of packing equipment that can fill thousands of containers with specified products to a predetermined level regularly.
While there are various filling machine technologies on the market, you should invest in equipment of high quality and one that is most suited to your company’s demands. The correct filling machine will help your manufacturing line run more smoothly. This article will take you through the different types of product filling machines.
Here are the five types of filling machines and their different applications to guide you on which one to invest in.
A powder filling machine is designed with an auger dosing filler and light control technology that ensures high-filling accuracy and zero-drip operation. This filling machine is suitable for filling both free-flowing and non-free-flowing powdered or granulated products.
Free-flowing refers to powdered products that cannot maintain their shape even when added extra pressure. Examples include granulated sugar or table salt. In contrast, non-free-flowing products, such as powdered milk and brown sugar, can be compressed and keep their shape.
Applications: Powder filling machines are usually used in pouring additives, starch, feed, condiments, and pesticides into different types of packaging. They are commonly seen in the food and beverage, cosmetics, and chemical industries.
A vibratory weigh filling machine is designed with multiple vibrating trays to carefully dispense products into one or multiple weighing hoppers. Once the required weight is achieved, the weighting hopper will release the product into a container.
Applications: Vibratory weigh filling machines are commonly used in the controlled distribution of unsuitable products for traditional granular filling machines. They can fill dry granular substances that require precise weighing, making them essential in industrial and chemical industries.
A Liquid filling machine is a commonly used in the beverage industry, also known as flow filling machines. It dispenses the exact amount of liquid-based products needed for containers such as bottles, cartons, cans, or cups.
Applications: This filling machine can handle various liquids, including water, alcoholic beverages, and carbonated drinks. It can even be utilized to fill packaging food items such as sauces, cooking oil, soup, and salad dressing.
A capsule filling machine is a dosing filling machine used to fill capsules with powders, granules or liquids containing pharmaceutical ingredients. The capsules are usually made from a soft or hard gelatine shell or HPMC (Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, a vegetarian alternative) designed to dissolve once digested.
A capsule filling machine can be fully automated, semi-automated or manual, depending on the specifications needed. A fully automated capsule filling machine has hoppers for both the empty capsules and the powder, granules and liquids. The machine carefully separates each capsule before filling and closing the two halves together.
Applications: capsule filling machines are commonly used for pharmaceutical purposes as medicines are crucial to people’s health. They can accurately count soft and hard gelatin capsules, coated tablets, and pills.
Aside from the pharmaceutical and food industry, this filling machine is also used in agriculture, health care, and chemical engineering applications.
A pump filling machine is designed with a positive displacement pump head that can easily handle a wide range of substances. Whether tabletop, semi-automatic, or fully automatic, use one pump for each fill head on the machine. The pump assists in moving liquid through the product pathway and into a waiting container, making the machine a good solution for thicker or less free-flowing liquids.
Applications: It is mainly used in filling high-viscosity liquids such as gels, creams, and lotions. However, it is also capable of pouring water-thin and heavy-paste products. This includes shampoo, hair conditioners, hair gels, cosmetic creams, honey, heavy sauces, paste cleaners, car wax, etc.
Filling machines are commonly used for packaging food and beverage products, but they can also be applicable in other industries. Remember these five filling machines to have a rough idea of which machine to invest in.
Before finalizing any equipment purchases, though, it’s best to consult industrial experts.
VTOPS, one of the leading packaging equipment suppliers from China, will guide you through the process. Aside from giving you professional advice, we can also provide the best packaging solutions for your company.