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29 Jul.,2024

 

How Does a Filling Machine Work – Everything You Need to Know

How Does a Filling Machine Work &#; Everything You Need to Know

Filling machine plays a crucial role in the packaging industry, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in filling containers with various products. This article explores the definition and functionality of various types of machines used for filling and how they operate to achieve the desired outcomes.

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Considering that machinery is a sizable investment for any business, you need to know the ins and outs of how it works. Read on to ensure you make an informed decision.

What is an Automatic Filling Machine?

These machines do precisely what they say &#; they fill containers with products (accurately and efficiently). Depending on their design, they can handle different types of products, including liquids, solids, powders, granular items, and semi-solids.

Because of their versatility, they are commonly used in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetics industries. However, packagers can choose either manual or automatic versions, with the latter being faster and more precise. 

Types of Machines for Filling

Several machines are available, each catering to different product types and filling requirements. Some of the most common types of filling equipment include:

It is explicitly designed for containers with powdery substances, such as spices, flour, or pharmaceutical powders. An auger or impelling system is typically used to control the powder&#;s flow.

Solid Machines

Perfect for filling containers with solid items such as tablets, capsules, or candies. These machines usually employ a mix of vibration and mechanical sorting systems to ensure accurate product placement.

Liquid Filling Machines

They are crafted to fill containers with various liquid products, like beverages, sauces, and chemicals. These machines utilize diverse filling mechanisms to accommodate the liquid&#;s viscosity and flow properties. 

Pouch Machines

Designed for filling pre-made pouches or bags with various products, including liquids, powders, or solids, they often combine filling and sealing mechanisms to produce a finished product.

Bottle Machines

Created for filling bottles with various products, from liquids to powders to solids. These machines frequently incorporate capping and labeling functions as well.

Jar or Tin Machine

Ideal for jars or tins with products such as jams, preserves, or creams. A jar-filling machine typically employs a piston or pump filling system, guaranteeing precise and consistent filling.

How It Works

Filling machinery operates through a series of steps to ensure the accurate filling of containers. Here is a general outline of the process:

1. Container loading

Containers are loaded onto the machine, either manually or automatically, depending on the machine&#;s configuration.

2. Container positioning

The machine aligns the containers to ensure proper filling. This step often involves using guide rails, belts, or conveyor systems.

3. Filling process

The filling mechanism, such as a pump, piston, or gravity system, dispenses the product into the container. This process can be continuous or intermittent, depending on the machine&#;s design and the product being filled.

4. Filling verification

Sensors or other verification methods employed by the filling machine manufacturer ensure that the correct amount of product has been dispensed into each container.

5. Container sealing

If applicable, the machine will seal the container using capping, lidding, or heat sealing methods.

6. Container discharge

Once filled and sealed, the containers are discharged from the machine and moved on to the next phase of the packaging process, such as labeling or palletizing.

Different Filling Mechanisms

These machines employ a variety of mechanisms to transfer products into containers. Some widely-used filling mechanisms are:

Gravity fillers

These fillers rely on gravity to distribute the product, making them perfect for free-flowing liquids. The liquid filling machine fills containers to a predetermined level, ensuring precise filling, while any excess product seamlessly flows back into the supply tank.

Pump fillers 

Ideal for liquids with differing viscosities, pump filling systems utilize a pump, often controlled by a servo motor, to accurately dispense the product into the container.

Piston fillers

Piston fillers draw and release the product using a piston mechanism. This filling system is well-suited for products with a broad range of viscosities, including thick pastes and creams.

Overflow fillers

Designed to fill containers to a specific level regardless of container size variations, overflow filling systems are ideal for thin, free-flowing liquids and guarantee a consistent fill level across all containers.

Bottom-up pressure fillers

This filling technique positions the nozzle at the container&#;s base and raises it while filling. It&#;s suitable for foamy or viscous products, as it minimizes air introduction and agitation during filling.

Final Thoughts

Fillers are a critical aspect of the packaging process, ensuring efficient and accurate filling of containers with various products. 

Selecting the right filling machinery for your packaging needs depends on the type of product, its viscosity, and the specific packaging process requirements. It&#;s essential to understand the various types of filling systems and mechanisms to choose the best solution for your business.

 

How Does A Filling Machine Work? All You Need To Know.

Filling machines are designed to speed up the production line, especially for liquid bottling operations. Filling systems come in a variety of designs, ranging from semi-automatic table top versions to extremely efficient automatic multi-head filling machines. 

The size of your operations and the type of liquid you&#;re working with are among some of the factors that determine the best filling machine for the job. This guide will introduce you to different types of filling machines and help you decide which equipment is right for your business.

 

What is a Filling Machine?

Liquid filling machines play a vital part in the production of bottled products, including sports drinks and cleaning solutions. Some filling machines can also handle more viscous substances, like pastes, creams, and chunky products such as sauces or salsa. 

Bottle filling machines are often stainless steel, and range in design from single head manual filling machines, like a tabletop piston filler, to much more elaborate configurations, like a fully-automatic multi-head filling machine with many heads for greater throughput. 

Filling equipment must be selected based on key factors, like the desired speed of production, the type of liquid, and the size of the container being used.

 

How Does a Filling Machine Work?

The purpose of a filling machine is to efficiently deposit a precise amount of liquid into each container based on time, weight, volume, or a combination of these measurements. The exact way in which a filling machine functions depends on a few factors, like whether your production line is semi-automated or fully-automated. 

With a semi-automated bottle filler, a human typically places each bottle under the machine, but a conveyor belt may assist in this step. A human may also be responsible for deciding when the machine starts and stops releasing liquid into the container. 

Fully-automated filling machines control the entire process. Typically, a conveyor belt brings clean bottles into the filling area where a sensor identifies them. The machine then starts dispensing liquid before moving the containers to the capping and sealing station. More clean bottles are then moved into the filling area and the process repeats.

 

Why Should I Choose a Filling Machine?

Inline Filling Systems has been in business for over 25 years and has the widest selection of filling equipment with more than 700 types of machinery in our extensive catalog. Our team manufactures and services all of our equipment from our factory in Florida. 

Whether you&#;re a small operation seeking a semi-automatic solution or a large operation in need of a fully-automatic process, we have the knowledge and equipment necessary to fulfill your needs.

 

A Deep Dive into Liquid Filling Machine Working Principle

 

Liquid products can be found everywhere in our daily lives, but have you ever wondered how liquids are filled into various containers? Well, that&#;s when the liquid filling machine comes in handy. Liquid filling machines provide stability, safety, and hygiene to liquid products in an efficient manner. So, they are quite popular in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

 

After reading this blog, you'll get a more comprehensive idea about liquid bottle filling machines, including their working principle, standard operation procedure, and common faults that may occur.

Let's start by understanding what is a liquid filling machine before delving into its working mechanics.

What Is A Liquid Filling Machine?

As the name suggests, a liquid filling machine is a device used to package liquid products. These machines are used in a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetics.

 For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, a liquid filling machine can be used to package eye drops, oral liquids, oral syrups, and disinfectants. Therefore, it needs to be reliable when it comes to hygiene and quality. 

 

Liquid Filling Machine Working Principle

 

To meet the needs of different production scales, there are various types of liquid filling machines on the market, mainly automatic liquid filling machines, semi-automatic liquid filling machines, and manual liquid filling machines.

However, they all work on the same basic principle. The machine pumps the liquid product from a reservoir into the containers. The amount of liquid that is dispensed is controlled by a variety of factors, such as the size of the container, the viscosity of the liquid, and the desired filling volume.

Now let's take an insight into how the three different types of liquid filling machines work.

How Does A Manual Liquid Filling Machine Work?

 

A manual liquid filling machine is a multi-functional device for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Compared with other filling equipment, it does not need automation to run. So it is ideal for small business or laboratory use. Below is the working principle of a manual liquid filler:

Step 1: Pouring the liquid you want to fill

Once the filling capacity of the machine has been set, pour the liquid into the feed hopper.

Step2: Filling the bottle with the liquid

Put the bottle under the discharge nozzle with one hand and slowly press the handle with the other hand. Then the liquid will flow out of the discharge nozzle.

How Does A Semi-Automatic Liquid Filling Machine Work?

 

A semi-automatic liquid filling machine is a combination of manual and automatic operation. It is usually equipped with an automatic filling unit, but it also needs people to load containers and manipulate the filling procedure. Below is a breakdown of the liquid filling machine principle:

Step1: Connecting the air supply

Connect the air inlet tube to the air supply and turn on the air power switch. Pulling out the air switch means closing it. In addition, you can adjust the air pressure volume by pulling out the top part of the filter and rotating it.

Step2: Adjusting the filling speed

Turn the speed adjustment valve and the filling interval adjustment valve to set the appropriate pumping speed. To avoid liquid rushing out of the bottle during filling, you can slow down the speed a little bit.

Step3: Determining the filling volume

Adjust the magnetic switch position via the hand wheel on the right side of the machine, to determine the required filling volume. After that, lock the movable electromagnetic switch on the cylinder, and the filling process officially starts.

How Does An Automatic Liquid Filling MachineWork?

The automatic liquid filling machine features accuracy, efficiency, and consistency. It adopts the principle of volumetric filling, i.e. filling each container with a predefined volume of liquid. So, it can perfectly accommodate mass production in beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical,  and other industries. Here is a clear description of how the liquid filling machine works:

Step1: Setting the parameters

Firstly, you have to set all parameters of the liquid filler based on the nature and viscosity of the liquid, such as the speed, temperature, and pressure of the machine.

Step2: Loading bottles into the feed hopper

Put the bottles into the feed hopper, and as the rollers rotate, the bottles are carried one by one onto the conveyor belt, which in turn conveys the bottles to the other units for processing.

Step3: Conveying the bottles

The conveyor belt serves as an integral part of the entire operating procedure of the liquid filling machine. It can adjust the spacing of the bottle stopper according to different bottle diameters, which makes sure the whole transportation process runs smoothly.

Step4: Completing the filling process

Along the conveyor belt, the bottles are delivered to the filling unit. The filling mechanism is specially designed to precisely inject the required amount of liquid into bottles. This is achieved with the help of a plunger or a rotation valve.

Step5: Capping the bottles

Finally, after all those steps, it's time to cap the bottles. The filled bottles are transported to the capping area. Here the bottles are capped and screwed tightly, ready for the next step of packaging and labeling.

Standard Operating Procedure For Liquid Filling Machine

Compared to manual and semi-automatic ones, fully automatic liquid filling machines are more sophisticated. They have a more complex mechanism that requires expertise and training to maneuver.

Now, you probably understand how a liquid filling machine works. But with the following SOP, you will be able to use this machine more safely and correctly. In addition, under the guidance of the SOP, the efficiency and quality of your production will be greatly improved!

Objective: Use an automatic liquid filling machine to achieve efficient and accurate filling results.

Scope: This SOP summarizes the step-by-step procedure for operating an automatic liquid filling machine.

Device And Materials:

Automatic liquid filling machine

Liquid to be filled

Packaging containers

Necessary safety kit (gloves, safety goggles, etc.)

Procedure:

Preparation:

Check if the liquid filling machine is in good working condition and ready to use.

Make sure that the empty bottles are clean and meet the requirements of the liquid filling machine.

Prepare the liquid to be filled and measure the required filling volume.

Startup:

Turn on the power as directed.

Ensure that no required safety devices are missing.

Bottle Loading:

Load the bottles to be filled into the feed hopper. Observe your machine's loading capacity to avoid overloading.

Setting Parameters:

Set related parameters such as filling speed, temperature, and air pressure on the machine's operating panel.

Starting Filling Process:

Press the starter button to start the filling process. Adhere to the machine's operating program.

Monitoring:

Monitor whether the bottles move smoothly on the conveyor belt. Avoid bottles from tipping over and stopping moving.

Constantly watch over the filling process. Check for problems such as caps not aligning, cylinders not working, etc., and take timely action.

Quality Check:

Regularly check that the bottle filling volume is as required. Adjust settings as necessary to ensure accuracy.

Turn Off The Machine:

At the end of the filling process, safely turn off the machine according to the manual.

Clean up the liquid left in the machine and properly discard waste material.

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Cleaning And Maintenance:

Use proper detergents. Follow the user manual of the machine to keep all components and assemblies clean.

Maintain the machine regularly according to the schedule.

Logging:

Record the filling process in a file or log, including lot number, quantity filled, operator name, and any problems.

Note:

Follow operating instructions and safety precautions at all times. Seek advice from a certified technician if you have any technical questions.

 

Common Faults Of Automatic Liquid Filling Machine

Automatic liquid filling machines are complex machines that can be prone to faults. However, many of these faults can be easily troubleshooted and resolved. Here are some common liquid filling machine faults and troubleshooting tips:

Fault  

Troubleshooting

Cylinder does not work

Check for proper air pressure, air hose leakage, and cylinder elements

Poor bottle transport

Adjust the spacing and elasticity of conveyor belt

Filling head can't align with the bottle opening

Adjust the spacing and height of filling needle

Vibration during machine work

Check if the chain fasteners are loose

Incorrect filling volume

Check for worn silicone seals, leaking one-way valves, and loose tubing connections.

Inaccurate capping

Make sure the center of bottle is aligned with that of the gland opening and the air pressure is normal.

 

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Automatic Filling Machine: How It Works

How It Works

The operator places the bottles to be filled onto the conveyor and then the conveyor moves the bottles downstream and into the Auto-Fill&#;. The Auto-Fill&#; is an automated gate system that organizes the bottles on the conveyor. The Auto-Fill can be set up to release one or more bottles into the filling area, depending on how many nozzles your filling machine has.

As the bottles are released into the filling area, a sensor sees the bottles and will automatically begin the filling process by actuating the filling machine. The Auto-Fill&#; provides a variable fill time setting that can be adjusted to provide the amount of time required for your filling machine to fill your bottles. When the filling time has elapsed, the Auto-Fill&#; automatically releases the filled bottles to travel downstream on the conveyor and then releases a new batch of bottles into the filling area to be filled.

Everything You Need to Know About a Filling Machine

 

Different Types of Food Filling Machines Explained

 

People don&#;t realize that every food product in their favorite grocery store was packaged with a different type of filling machine. From the jam jar to the coffee beans to the coleslaw they bought for lunch. And then there is the burrito mix rice for later. But what are the different types of food filling machines?   


Powder filling machine. Powder filling machines are designed for drip-free, high-accuracy filling through spiral feeding and can be used for free-flowing and non-free-flowing powdered or granulated products.


Solid filling machine. Solid filling machines can be volumetric or gravimetric. In gravimetric filling, the machines dispense an accurately measured amount of a product according to weight. Volumetric filling machines, measure a specific product volume, and focus on loose solids. 


Liquid filling machine. As the name states, the liquid filling machine packages various liquids, and there are as many types of liquid filling machines as there are liquids. The different types include:

 

Gravity filling machines

Vacuum filling machines

Overflow filling machines.

Hot filling machines

Isobaric filling machines

Piston filling machines

Volumetric filling machine.


Jar/Tin Can filling machine. This filling machine uses either volumetric or quantitative filling and packages low to high viscosity liquids and solid or powder products into containers. Including bags, cans, buckets, sacks, tins, bottles, pots, jars and more. 


Bottle filling machine. Bottling filling machines fill powders or liquids into bottles, and some types include volumetric fillers with batching syringes, gravity fillers with mechanical or electronic weighing equipment, and negative pressure fillers. 


Pouch filling machine. The machines come in various sizes and can package solid, liquid or a combination of both products. It was specifically developed for the flexible packaging industry. 

 

How to Choose the Perfect Filling Machine 

 

There are three aspects that guide your choice of the perfect filling machine, and they are product, container type and level of automation. There are two levels of automation, semi-automatic filling, and automatic filling. Automatic filling machines are used by large manufacturers with high-production requirements. With semi-automatic fillers, an operator places containers under fill nozzles and then transfers them to the next part of the packaging phase. 


What product do each of the machines mentioned above fill? The list is, of course, not exhaustive but just an indication of what is possible. 


Powder filling machine: powdered sugar, salt, milk powder, coffee powder, flour.    

Solid filling machine (volumetric): cooked pasta; prepared salads; frozen, cooked, or raw cut vegetables; cut fruit; cooked, dry, or individually quick frozen (IQF) rice; cooked and raw whole grains; pet foods; cereals; gelatin cubes; oatmeal; mints; tofu.   


Liquid filling machine:

 

Gravity filling machines: vinegar, oil, wine, spirits, water

Vacuum filling machines: wine and spirits   

Overflow filling machines: sauces, syrup, water, ice teas, fruit juices

Hot filling machines: jams, juice concentrates, sauces 

Isobaric filling machines: cider, sparkling wine, carbonated soft drinks, beer

Piston filling machines: honey, pastes, sauces, jams, oil

Volumetric filling machine: milk, yogurt, oil, salad creams, mayonnaise.


Jar/Tin Can filling machine: Coconut milk, sauce, fruit and vegetable juice drinks, beer, energy drinks, mineral water.  

Bottle filling machine: Syrup, oil, milk, grape wine. 

Pouch filling machine: Snacks, fruits, nuts, cereals, coffee beans. 

 

Difference Between Volumetric and Liquid Filling Machine 

 

What is the difference between volumetric and liquid filling machines? Liquid filling machines are designed to fill containers up to a specified level and are ideal for clear containers where the product is visible to the consumer. It is not only a machine to fill bottles but can also be used with cups, cans, and cartons.   


Volumetric filling machines, such as those manufactured, fill containers with the same amount of product, no matter the size or shape of the container. There are three types of volumetric filling machines: 

 

Gravity fillers hold the product in a tank above the filling nozzles and use gravity to assist in the filling process.

Piston fillers use pistons instead of pumps to push the product into the waiting containers. 

Pump fillers use different kinds of pumps that match the liquid product, and if the liquids are thicker, the system gives a push to get them into the container. 

 

Filling Machines 101 - How Do Filling Machines Work? 

 

Filling machines deposit an exact amount of product into a container based on time, number, weight, volume, or a combination of these measurements. They speed up the production line, and the product type defines which filling machines are used. The product timeline determines whether the system is manual, semi-automated or fully automated, as hand-filled products take longer to get to the market and generate an income. How do the different machines work? 


Powder filling machine

Different apparatus are attached to the machine depending on the product. An auger filler, for example, uses a long screw-type mechanism to dispense specific quantities of powder.   


Solid filling machine (volumetric)

The product is placed in a hopper and fills containers placed on conveyors. The amount of product packaged is determined by setting the machine to a weight or count setting.

 

Liquid filling machine

There are various types of liquid filling machines, but as an example, ordinary liquid fillers work by gravity, pouring liquid into bottles based on weight. Interesting fact: for vacuum liquid filling machines to work with milk bottles and grape wines, the ambient pressure must always be greater than the pressure in the bottle.


Jar/Tin Can filling machine

The machine automatically fills the can or jar and then caps it, with quality pre-sealing and final sealing important features.


Bottle filling machine

Bottle filling machines are either volumetric or vacuum level filling. Manual-filling machines are generally volumetric, while semi-automatic and automatic fillers are vacuum level filling. With volumetric filling, the machine uses a piston within a cylinder to force liquid into a container. While with vacuum level filling, it uses the rim at the top of the container to form an airtight seal around the filling nozzle, and the container is filled to the same height each time. 


Pouch filling machine

There are two types of pouch filling machines, premade pouch packaging and form fill seal machines. Premade filling packages products in existing pouches, while the form fill seal machine is used to create pouches before they are filled.

 

The Only 4 Filling Machine Maintenance Tips You'll Ever Need

 

Filling machine maintenance is vital to every company&#;s standard operating procedure (SOP). After all, if your machines don&#;t work, it places your brand and financial future at risk. What are the four filling machine maintenance tips you need?


Tip 1: Keep a preventative maintenance schedule to stop small problems from becoming big. Condition monitoring is an important part of any maintenance program and includes checking the machine's oil levels, vibrations, and temperatures. Problems are picked up quickly, and downtime is limited. 


Tip 2: Combine the preventive maintenance schedule with autonomous maintenance tasks. Operators know their machines best and can perform specific maintenance tasks themselves. Some benefits include a reduction of scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns, increasing production time.   


Tip 3. Understanding your spare parts list means always having the correct spare parts available. In the packaging industry, machines always work hard, and experience teaches which parts need more regular changing than others. 

 

Tip 4. Regular training should be part of your company&#;s standard operating procedure. It allows operators to know how the machine works and understand the purpose of each element. They will notice parts or product filling glitches and failures early, limiting production line downtime. 

 

How to package food for a longer shelf life 

 

Throwing away spoilt food simply because it was not packaged correctly is an unnecessary waste. What kind of packaging is available to extend the shelf life of food? 

 

Vacuum packaging removes as much air as possible from the package before sealing it and is ideal for meat products. 

Barrier packaging uses a foil, metalized, or clear barrier to protect the product from moisture and oxidation.

Modified atmosphere packaging replaces the air in a package with a gas mixture to prevent oxidation.

 

Proper gas permeability is used for products that need air to remain fresh. The packaging contains tiny holes or is a material with optimal gas permeability. 

 

Barrier packaging is very general and used to physically protect food items.     

 

How do filling machines work?

Vacuum level semi-automatic filling machines use the rim at the top of the container to form an airtight seal around the filling nozzle.

This airtight seal creates a vacuum within the bottle which draws free-flowing liquids from a supply tank into the bottle, via specially designed nozzles. These nozzles have a small hole on the side which is connected to a small internal tube.

The height of this hole in relation to the top of the container during filling determines the level of liquid dispensed. The small hole in the nozzle scavenges excess liquid from the filling process and collects it in a receiver for reuse.

Vacuum level filling machines fill containers to the same height each time, rather than dispensing the same volume. This is particularly useful for glass bottles which will be side-by-side on display shelves in shops. Glass bottles vary in capacity quite a lot, yet vacuum-level filling ensures the level each bottle is filled to is the same, giving a consistent appearance from one bottle to the next. Vacuum level filling requires rigid containers which won&#;t collapse under a vacuum.

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