Bottle Fillers For Projects With Varying Viscosity

If you are familiar with Liquid Packaging Solutions' filling machines, then you probably also know that as a general rule, overflow and gravity fillers are our go-to machines for thin liquids, while pump and piston fillers are used to handle higher viscosities. But there are always exceptions to the general rule, and some packaging projects require equipment that can handle both thick and thin products. When this scenario arises, more times than not the piston filler will be the machine of choice.

This type of bottle filler uses the stroke, or the partial stroke, of a piston in a cylinder to provide a volumetric fill. Piston fillers are ideal for thick products and particularly products with particulates. The cylinder allows product to be pulled in and pushed out at nearly the same volume with each stroke, with the openness and the force of the cylinder both assisting in the movement of pastes, gels and other viscous items. The large product pathway provided by the cylinder allows fruits, vegetables and other chunks or particulates to pass through to waiting containers as well. For these reasons, piston fillers often come up in conversations about packaging thick products.

But for contract packagers and larger corporations with a number of products, not all of the items will be of a higher viscosity. In these cases, the piston filler can be used to fill bottles with free-flowing liquids as well, using the same principle for filling. So while the piston filler is often discussed for thick products, there is usually no reason the machine cannot handle lower viscosities as well. Though some projects may require different nozzles for different products, using one bottle filler for all products will not only reduce cost, but will increase efficiency as well.

Piston fillers can also handle containers both large and small, though when the bottles fluctuate between the very large and the very small, multiple pistons may be necessary. These liquid fillers can also be manufactured for nearly any production demand, ranging from simple tabletop models for low output to completely automated, multiple-head, inline filling machines for high production demands. Versatile and simple to use, the piston filler will often be an ideal filling machine in situations with an array of products and bottles.

Each packaging project will have unique characteristics and concerns that will help guide the project toward the ideal solution for the job. To learn more about piston filling machines or any of the other bottle fillers produced by LPS, browse the Filling Machinery section of our website, or contact our offices today to speak with a Packaging Specialist.