Liquid Filling Machines for Ounces to Gallons

Liquid fillers come in many different varieties, from tabletop machines to uniframe systems to fully automatic filling equipment.  These different versions of the packaging equipment are made to handle low to high production demands.  Tabletop systems allow an operator to fill a low to medium number of containers with a single fill head or by using up to as many as six fill heads.  Portable, automatic filling machines allow higher production demands to be met without the constant handling of bottles by manual labor.  However, the process of manufacturing liquid fillers will also differ based on the containers being filled, from a few drops to multiple gallons.

 

Smaller containers create unique challenges for packaging machine manufacturers in, among other things, trying to move the containers down a conveyor and through each packaging machine.  Many projects with smaller containers will use vials or tubes, usually with rounded bottoms, creating stability issues in the transfer of the containers.  There are several ways to solve the movement issue with smaller containers.  An inline packaging system with power conveyors may use pucks to move these containers through the filling machine.  In general, a puck is a square or rectangular base that will hold one or multiple tubes, vials or other containers.  The flat bottom of the puck provides the stability on the conveyor that is absent when simply trying to transfer the container or bottle itself.  

 

In the alternative, a project with smaller containers may forego the inline system completely and use a star wheel based rotary system instead.  Such a system can be set up to complete different functions at each location on the wheel.  Some rotary systems for small containers might use a sorter or unscrambler to present containers to the star wheel, one container into each groove on the system.  As the container rotates around the star wheel, it would not only pass under the filling machine at one stop on the circular journey, but might also be capped, labeled and otherwise prepared for the consumer.  These rotary systems save space while also providing a solution to the transfer issue. 

 

Larger containers can usually be stabilized using additional guide rails on the conveyor system, but such products may require larger motors or wider conveyors to handle the extra weight and material.  Of course, a number of facilities run a range of bottles and containers.  Where an inline system exists to handle small and large packages, adjustable rails on the power conveyors and pucks for small or unstable containers can provide one solution.  

 

In the end, a variety of solutions normally exist for each and every packaging project.  As each is analyzed on a case-by-case basis, the most efficient and consistent solution can be put into action after considering the product, package, production demands, space available and other factors unique to the packaging job to be completed.