Filling machines are the workhorse of the bottling and packaging industry. These machines are used in every sector that involves packaging or bottling. Most fast paced consumer goods (cosmetics, softdrinks etc.) and industrial chemicals, lubricants etc. are all packaged using filling machines. These machines are capable of delivering accurate volumes of liquid or powder and they do it quick. Coffee and soft drink vending machines closely resemble industrial filling machines and employ similar technologies.
Filling machine manufacturers make machines of numerous capacities in automatic and semi-automatic variants. Large scale installations are often designed and created to customer specification. Volumetric measurement technology is at the heart of any filling machine. The machines include sensors to measure flow rate; the volume of fluid delivered is computed from the data extracted from the flow rate sensor. Fully automatic machines have built in microcontrollers to coordinate the entire process.
Filling machines are speedy but they’re also built to prevent any spillage or wastage. Big bottling and packaging plants employ numerous filling machines, the machines are generally fully automated and controlled from the central location. Process control computers manage the entire packaging or bottling process; it requires coordinating container or bottle positioning, filling, checking, and sealing. The entire process must be precisely timed thus computers are widely-used to control all the equipment.
Fully automatic machines have synchronized conveyor systems to position containers while semiautomatic machines have automatic measurement and delivery system but containers need to be positioned manually and checked one at a time. Another primary functional aspect of filling machines is the nozzle design. Nozzle design and construction is primarily dictated by the application they’re put to. Even the materials employed differ with application. For example, in chemical filling machines the nozzle is made from a material which is inert to the chemical being packaged.
For small scale applications semi-automatic filling machines tend to be more than sufficient but massive operations can’t be carried out without fully automated machines. If you’re interested in purchasing filling machines check out the various models as well as their specifications from the manufacturer’s website, a few manufactures will even personalize machines to your specifications.