5 Things to Know Before Buying automatic packaging line supplier
Jun. 24, 2024
An introduction to automatic flexible packaging machines
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If you are new to the world of flexible packaging automation, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Don't worry, we're here to help.
This article will give you a high-level overview of different machine types, equipment specifications, and will define commonly used industry terms.
Let's get started with the basics.
Introduction to flexible packaging
According to the Flexible Packaging Association, flexible packaging is any package or any part of a package whose shape can be readily changed. Examples include pouches and bags. Its opposite is rigid packaging, which includes things like bottles, cans, and jars.
Many top companies are adding flexible packaging to their lineup, for reasons including the following:
- Low cost per package
- More surface area for graphics and messaging
- Less risk of breakage and injury if dropped
- Low storage and shipping costs
- Small carbon footprint
- Increased consumer demand for portable, lightweight, flexible packages
Flexible packaging materials
Flexible packaging equipment processes a layered (usually plastic) material called film to produce filled bags, pouches, sticks, and other flexible package types. This material usually contains a sealant layer that bonds together with heat to create a sealed package.
Some flexible packaging machines use a large roll of film wound around a hollow core, called rollstock (pictured at right), to form bag shapes.
Other packaging machines use already-formed bags, usually called premade pouches.
In either case, rollstock and premade bags are purchased from a film supplier, which is a company that creates or converts packaging materials. Sometimes these materials can be purchased directly from an equipment manufacturer, and other times the film supplier is a separate entity. Ask your packaging machine manufacturer for their recommendations for film suppliers.
Types of automatic flexible packaging machines
Form fill seal
Form fill seal machines are the most widely-used automatic flexible packaging machine type. This equipment does exactly what its name suggests: Forms bags, fills them with product, and seals the bags closed.
Some machines perform these processes vertically (vertical form fill seal or VFFS) and some do it horizontally (horizontal form fill seal or HFFS). VFFS machines have the advantage of occupying limited floor space and are more economical in cost, which makes them a top choice in many industries when square footage and budget are limited.
Multilane stick pack machines are very popular in industries that package small packets of powder or liquid products like condiments and drink mixes. These machines work similarly to form fill seal machines but create multiple packages at once.
Fill and seal
Premade pouch fill and seal machines are a quickly growing flexible packaging machine type. This equipment fills premade pouches with product and seals them shut. Some pouch packing machines perform their operations in a rotary fashion and others in a straight line. Rotary machines have the advantage of occupying less floor space and have more favorable ergonomics for operators.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VFFS AND PREMADE POUCH MACHINES >>
Filling equipment
Packaging machines themselves do not measure or dispense product. Instead, a separate piece of equipment can perform these operations.
Often, a flexible packaging machine will be integrated with a filler or doser to accurately measure the weight or volume of product before it is dropped into each bag. Depending on your product properties, different filling equipment will be recommended:
- An auger filler is often used for powder products. This equipment uses a long screw-like mechanism to measure discrete quantities of product into bags.
- A multi-head scale is often used for solid products. This equipment uses a number of buckets to accurately weigh products before dropping them into bags.
- For liquids, a liquid pump, usually with a piston mechanism, will measure specific volumes of product into bags.
Fillers are usually placed above or off to the side of the packaging machine.
Bag types
Flexible packaging machines can accommodate many different bag types. Examples of common bag styles are below:
- PILLOW BAGS are the most widely-used and economical packaging format, comprised of two flat panels sealed together on the top and bottom with a vertical seal down the back. This bag type is popular for value-brands, chips, single-serving snacks, and fractional packs of coffee.
- DOYPACKS are stand-up pouches with an oval-shaped base. This bag type is growing in popularity for premium products in many industries, including snacks, coffee, and powder supplements.
- QUAD SEAL BAGS have a rectangular bottom and can stand unassisted. This bag type has two side gussets and two panels joined together with four vertical seals, providing a more structured bag and modular look. This bag type is popular for premium coffee brands.
- FLAT BOTTOM BAGS are similar to quad seal bags, featuring two gussets, but only have a single vertical seal. This bag type is popular for coffee and pet food.
- GUSSETED BAGS are similar to pillow bags but have side gussets, offering more internal space.
- THREE SIDE SEAL BAGS are flat pouches sealed on three sides.
- SACHETS are small, flat 4-side sealed packets, often used for single-serving condiments and spices.
- STICK PACKS are very narrow pillow bags, used for single-serving powders and liquids.
Flexible packaging machine specifications
Speed
Packaging equipment is often rated by speed or throughput, which is how many finished bags can be completed by the machine in a certain timeframe. This is usually represented as bags per minute (bpm), which is how many finished bags can be produced by the machine per minute.
Often a machine will be rated for a maximum number of bags per minute, while actual production speeds will vary based on many factors including operator skill, product properties, bag styles, and plant environment.
Bag Parameters
Packaging equipment will also have bag size parameters, usually represented by width, length, and/or depth in millimeters (mm). This means a finished bag must fall within certain size constraints.
Some packaging machines can accommodate very large bags, and others work best creating much smaller packages. Your packaging machine manufacturer will use your bag parameters to decide which machine to recommend.
Packaging machines can also have bag weight parameters, meaning the machine can only support bags up to a certain weight. If a bag is very large and heavy, load-bearing support shelves can be added.
Bag types
Another parameter will be the bag types a packaging machine can produce. Certain models can only create simple flat bag types while others can create more complex bags, like stand-up pouches.
Electrical & air requirements
Packaging machines need adequate power and air supply to operate. Specifications for these components will also be listed on most spec sheets.
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The 5 Top Reasons You Should Choose Automatic Filling ...
https://ibottling.com/the-5-top-reasons-you-should-choose-automatic-filling-machines/
Machines used to fill powders or liquids in bottles are generally referred to as bottle filling machines. The automation process in packaging plays a significant role for a packaging company. The automatic filling machine is known for its benefits to bottle beverage companies. The unique design of this machine is the differentiating factor among its predecessors. It is considered more functional and productive compared to old machines available in the beverage market.
Automatic bottle filling machines are a great tool in various industries like chemicals, food, etc. However, more than 25% of the beverage market people dont know why to use an automatic filling machine. Therefore, you must purchase the automatic filling machine if you plan to arrange your bottle beverage plant. The automation process for filling and packaging will give you colourful benefits to your organization.
Do you know that the manual methods of bottle filling cannot be applied in modern industries right now? It is because the involved process may cause spilling or wastage of products. Also, this process with bulk requirements can consume significant time. And thats why most of the manufacturers avoid the manual methods of bottle filling.
There are many different issues present, like continuity in filling bottles. This issue is responsible for exiting manual bottle filling procedures. And primarily, thats the first reason to employ a piece of special equipment called bottle filling machines in the industrial packaging process.
01.
Types Of Bottle Filling Machines
When we look at various bottle filling machines, different formats and specifications are available. And therefore we have plenty of options available for selection. Better selections help you implement the desired filling and packaging requirements in various industries.
If we look through todays scenario, there are plenty of bottle filling machines available. The availability of these bottling machines justifies the meeting of various filling requirements in the industries. I imply from different types of devices that there are filling machines for round bottle filling. Also, there are machines for filling square type bottles for filling bottles of sizes and shapes.
You can always have the option to select from a semi or fully Automatic Bottle Filling Machine. Your selection primarily consists of many requirements like features, speed and specifications. Also, you can think about your choice by keeping in mind the type of bottles to be filled.
The automatic bottle filling machine works with automatic liquid fillers. The fundamental role of these liquid fillers in the device is to move from a holding tank to the waiting bottles. Or rest of these fillers can go to other containers without the need for operator interaction during each fill cycle.
Brainstorming on Automatic bottle filling machine
But you must be wondering how the automation process help in my business? Let me give you clarification. Under automation, a company can expect to improve the packaging operation in several ways in the filling process.
Filling bottles itself is a very challenging and time-consuming task. If you work in a mineral water plant setup, you might know why liquid production is challenging to maintain. Whether your business is newly situated or a high-consuming company, many investments and problems are involved. And to overcome this type of situation, you can automate the process with a bottle filling machine.
Today, there are various options available in the market, which helps you find out the perfect functioning machine with unique designs. The main objective is to take our company to the top and apart from others.
Automatic bottle filling machines are the best in terms of functionality and productivity. Automatic filling machines come out to be the perfect suit for your business compared to the traditional bottle filling machines.
However, moving towards an automated packaging system becomes a crucial step when you are moving towards an automated packaging system. It is also necessary to get advanced technology to produce minerals much easier and more productive.
And for all these procedures you need a machine that works well with all these things. So, for that, all you require to do is find a reliable machinery supplier to get the most reliable at an affordable price.
02.
5 Top Reasons To Use Automatic Filling Machines
Basing below 5 top reasons, you should consider a fully automatic filling machine:
Reliable fills and Consistent
Speed and Fast Nature
Versatility
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User Friendly
The ability for growth potential
Lets take a more in-depth look.
Reliable fills and Consistent for Your Production
Different types of automatic filling machines are available in the market right now. But other types of automatic filling machines dont change their reliability. So, in the end, it does not matter what kind of automatic filling you choose for filling. These machines will always ensure reliable and consistent packing.
To fill the bottles up smoothly, these automatic filling machines will help you maintain them. An automatic filler lets you remove the uncertainty from the filling process so that bottles fill up smoothly. You must be thinking that these automatic filling machines will only help in mineral water types of project.
Can it also help me with different liquids? This question is asked mainly by people working in the beverages industry. These automatic filling machines also help fill contrasting drinks in individual bottles simultaneously. It can perform the filling on any particular criteria. Irrespective of the liquid you are working with, every automatic filling machine completes every cycle efficiently and similarly.
Further, you have the freedom to fill the bottles on particular criteria. Whether looking for a highly accurate volumetric fill or level fill or using other specific criteria. Reliability and consistency that hand-filling bottles or containers cannot have are easily achievable with a suitable machine for each project.
Speed and Fast Nature For Beverage Industry
Speed is one of the most common reasons why the automatic filling machine is important among beverage industries. Automatic filling machine well known for its adjustable speed feature. The feature itself describes what it means. Depending on the production demand, whether on the rise or low, an automatic filling machine will work for you.
You must be thinking, give me one solid reason why should I use this machine for my business? Its simple answer is speed adjustability. It means that manual labour will struggle to keep up with the pace of an automatic filling machine, which is one of the reasons you should use one for your business. Once the filling line gets going, the speed can be increased and the production times. Not only that, but an automatic filling machine doesnt need to take breaks, meaning it can run constantly.
As we have discussed above, automation is a prerequisite due to the amount of product it produces. It would be best if you took a note on automatic bottle fillers. These fillers can manufacture a large number of filled products. These automatic fillers can even fill in a semi-automatic fashion or use manual labour to produce in a brief amount of time. It is undoubtedly the most apparent advantage of the machinery, also the most often cited motivation for adding automatic machinery.
It indirectly means you dont need to worry about hiring labours to boost the production level. This automatic filling machine will help you to achieve this scenario. It can fill each bottle rapidly and efficiently without dripping the liquid. Providing the functionality of varying speed, increase or decrease whenever you want.
Once production demand reaches a certain level, hiring manual labour to complete each bottle fill becomes unrealistic. The most apparent benefit of using automatic packaging machinery is the machinerys ability to increase speeds. Using power conveyors and multiple fill heads and the sound filling principle allows production to run faster and run constantly.
Versatility
Are your company is one of those companies which require multi-purpose machines to carry out the filling process. And if you are looking for such a machine, then this automatic filling bottle equipment is ideal for you. In a few cases, the single filler could be designed to manage all bottles and items offered by the company.
Some machines will utilize ordinary settings to alter from one item or bottle to another. However, the other devices will need more changeover technologies to switch from one bottle or product to another. In these cases, the automatic filling bottle machine will be helpful for you.
It is versatile, which means it is ideal for companies using different sized containers and bottles. It simply means you have now the capacity to handle multiple items together. You dont have to purchase other filling machines for different things. For instance, the water bottle filling machine will serve different drinks.
Indirectly helps you save your money, so you can put this money into adding extra functionality to the machine. Unfortunately, few manufacturers are available in the beverage industry market who even create a single filler to handle all bottles together. It is seen when some devices will use simple adjustments to change from one bottle or product to another. While with others, it might require a little more time on changeover where bottle sizes or product viscosity varies significantly from one to another.
User Friendly
If you are looking for a piece of filling machinery that provides you with an easy-to-use feature, then the automatic filling machine is the best suited. It carries easy operation compared to the other bottle filling machines. You must be surprised to know that some automated filling equipment also has a touchscreen feature. Hence you will not find any difficulty in managing the operations.
Most automatic filling machines come equipped with a PLC and an easy-to-use operator interface. Also, the interface of the touchscreen feature allows the operator to enter the various times and amounts necessary to complete each cycle. Once the numbers are entered, a recipe screen will retain the same. If it has been entered, it is a case of monitoring and making the necessary adjustments such as portion volume or fill height, etc.
Eventually, the operator will need to enter the recipe number on the interface, make any physical adjustments (conveyor rails, fill head height, etc.) and then monitor the machine as it goes to work.
The ability for growth potential
With modern engineering technology moving as fast as it is now, many companies are building equipment based on the expected growth of our customers. One of the most significant benefits of automatic filling machinery is the equipments capacity to enhance with the company when appropriately assembled. These machines are built by keeping the adaptability feature in mind.
By adaptability, feature means you can tailor designs as per your production requirements and budget costs. These automatic filling machines are manufactured by keeping the future in mind. In simple words, the device should not be manufactured to meet maximum capacity immediately.
These automatic machines expect the customers to experience growth. Simple additions to filling machines, such as extra fill heads, allow the equipment to grow with the business.
These automatic filling machines helps in saving a lot of time for users. This can be done by enabling faster processes. And also, these automatic filling machines are equipped with automated functionalities and have the capability to reduce the labour and production cost in manufacturing and packaging units. Furthermore, these machines can allow easy filling and efficient process by using the latest technology like PLC. Lastly, these machines are designed for consistent and accurate filling operations.
03.
Conclusion
Therefore with an automatic filling machine, one can ensure speed and easy filling processes to ensure efficient filling of liquids or powders into bottles without wastage. Although this is in no lengthy list of the perks that a packager may get from automating their filling process, you will be certainly able to relish these benefits that will almost always exist when such a move is made.
However, for other automatic bottle fillers, the various filling principles, or any other equipment manufactured. Since there are so many advantages of using an automatic bottle filling machine, you can now reach out to us.
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JL
Hi, Im John Lau, the funder of iBottling.com, Ive been working in a factory in China that makes beverage equipment for 16 years now, and the purpose of this article is to share with you the knowledge related to beverage equipment from a Chinese suppliers perspective.
For more information, please visit automatic packaging line supplier.
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