Bottled Water Plants - Conveyor and Turntable Systems

Deciding on a conveyor and/or turntable system for your bottled water plant means laying out your packaging system in the space you have set aside for your packaging line. If you will begin bottling your water manually, your conveyor and turntable system may consist of only a couple of machines. A tabletop filling system may not require conveyors or turntables at all! The key is to decide which machines you will be using - rinsers, fillers, cappers, labelers, shrink wrap bundlers or other packaging machinery - and how you will set up those machines to form your packaging system.

Once you know which packaging machinery you will be using and the space that you have to set up those machines, you can begin to set up your conveyor and turntable system.

TURNTABLES

Turntables are most frequently found at the beginning and at the end of packaging systems. A loading turntable can be used just like its' name suggests, to load bottles onto your packaging line. Th empty containers can be placed on variable speed power turntables to be used for delivery of bottles to your packaging system. The variable speed of the turntable allows for quick and easy control of the flow of bottles to each phase of the packaging line.

Likewise, accumulating turntables can sit at the end of a packaging system and accumulate product that has been filled, capped, labeled and is ready for packaging. The accumulating turntable could, for example, sit near a packing table where finished product is placed into cases for bulk packaging.

Though most frequently found at the beginning and end of a packaging system, turntables can also be used within the packaging line to transfer bottles from one packaging station to the next. Transfer turntables can save time and space by allowing for 90 degree turns in a packaging system. For example, your packaging system may be set up in a horseshoe type design, with a filler leading to a transfer turntable, a capper leading to a transfer turntable, and a labeler, taking the finished product nearly back to where it began. This type of setup can save time and labor by having the loading and accumulating stations in the same general vicinity on the packaging line.

Though a few high production packaging systems may replace turntables with bottle unscramblers, automatic case packers and other similar packaging machines, turntables remain an efficient and cost effective tool when setting up a packaging system. Turntables can be manufactured using several different materials, such as aluminum, stainless steel and HDPE. The turntable disks can also be manufactured in different sizes to meet your production needs. 

Custom machines are also available!

CONVEYORS

Your conveyor system will carry your product from one packaging phase to the next on your packaging system. Variable speed, easily adjustable power conveyors can be viewed as the cornerstone of most packaging system. The power conveyors can be controlled independently, but the speed of the conveyor will determine the speed of your production! Many systems will include the conveyor controls in the controller for other packaging machinery, such as a filler or capper.

Your conveyor system will be determined mostly by the machinery you choose to include in your packaging system. Obviously, if you include an automatic filler, capper and labeler in your packaging line, you will want a conveyor for each of these machines. Again, simple, tabletop filling lines may require no conveyor system at all, while fully automated packaging systems may require extensive conveyor systems. Liquid Packaging Solutions offers aluminum, stainless steel, and HDPE power conveyors in various lengths and widths. Specialty conveyors are also manufactured, such as incline conveyors and curved conveyor sections, for custom packaging lines and special needs projects.

Liquid Packaging Solutions offers non-powered conveyors as well. These conveyors are ideal for the packing stage of the packaging system. Close roller conveyors can be used to send boxes or bundles from the packing stage to the shipping area. Serpentine conveyors may be used for the same purpose, but give you another option for saving space on a packaging system by allowing the conveyor to be stretched when used and collapsed when not in use!

As always, custom manufacturing is available for custom packaging lines! Please feel free to call us toll free at 1-888-393-3693 to discuss your packaging needs!