Upgradeable Packaging Machinery Design Offers Benefits to Packagers

At Liquid Packaging Solutions, we build liquid filling machines, bottle capping equipment, and other packaging machines that work both automatically and semi-automatically with the help of operators. Regardless of the automation level of the equipment, most machines are designed to allow for growth and increased output if a business requires the same. Each type of machine, as well as each level of automation, will allow for such expansion in different ways.

Semi-automatic fillers, cappers, and other equipment require an operator to interact with the machinery with every cycle run. For example, an operator of a semi-automatic liquid filling machine will place bottles under the fill heads, step on a foot switch to start the filling process, and remove the bottles once the fill is complete. These steps would be repeated to provide an accurate and consistent fill for each set of bottles prepared during the production day.

For certain machines, like the liquid filler described above, the equipment can be upgraded by simply adding more heads as production demand increases. A two head semi-automatic filler may be upgraded to four, six, or even sixteen heads depending on the design of the machine. These types of upgrades allow for greater output without sacrificing the accuracy or reliability of the process.

Semi-automatic packaging machinery can also be upgraded to run automatically if engineered and designed with such updates in mind. As an example, a semi-automatic spindle capper may require an operator to place caps before the conveyor takes the cap and bottle through the tightening area. As production increases, a cap delivery system can be added to the machine to allow for continuous capping without the operator interacting with each bottle. Depending on the type of packaging machine being upgraded, the addition of conveyors, PLC's, and other components may be necessary to achieve automatic production.

Some automatic machines can be upgraded in much the same way as semi-automatic equipment. Using the filling machine example mentioned above, automatic fillers may start with four or six heads but allow additional nozzles to be added to boost speed and efficiency, usually up to sixteen fill heads. Packaging lines as a whole can be upgraded as well. Some companies may use semi-automatic machinery at start-up but automate different processes as the need arises. Almost all automatic equipment can be rolled up to an existing conveyor system and easily integrated with any other machinery on the line.

While LPS designs most packaging machinery to allow for certain upgrades, a business purchasing packaging equipment should always consider both current and future needs. Planning for the future allows equipment to be designed specifically for the application at hand, benefiting a packager by ensuring not only efficiency and reliability, but potential savings on future equipment purchases, allowing upgrades rather than replacing machinery and extending the useful life of equipment. For more information on the capabilities of any LPS machinery, contact a Packaging Specialist today to discuss your own project.