Filler (packaging)

Fillers (or filling machines) are used for packaging, mainly for food/beverage but for other products as well. These are used to fill either a bottle or a pouch, depending on the product.

There are several types of fillers used by the packaging industry. The following are the most common:

Auger/agitator fillers: designed to fill dry mixes, such as flour and sugar.^[1] The fillers have a hopper shaped like a cone that holds the mix and puts it in a pouch using an auger conveyor that is controlled by the agitator. The mix is filled in a pouch that is made of paper or poly that is formed in a collar and the pouch gets sealed by a series of heaters and dies. The interface with the process supplying the powder is of prime importance to ensure an efficient filling.^[2]

Vibratory weigh fillers: provide a blend of accuracy, speed, and versatility for linear feeders. Every weighing-hopper is designed to handle the needs for precise weights.^[3]
Flow fillers: designed for liquids, oils, and thin food products. These fillers are designed when they fill a bottle or tub that enters the machine, the ejects the open bottle back onto another conveyor for sealing.
Tablet fillers: These are designed for products that are counted by pieces instead of weight. These are designed for small bottles (similar to some of the flow fillers), but the hopper of the filler is set up to permit scan counting of tablets or candy pieces.^[4]
Positive displacement pump fillers: positive displacement, pump filling machines easily handle a wide range of container sizes, fill volumes and product types. While originally designed for filling creams, gels and lotions these fillers also handle water thin and heavy paste products. Some of the products this machine easily fills are cosmetic creams, heavy sauces, thick shampoo and hair conditioners, honey, hair gels, paste cleaners, and car wax.
Tube filling machinery: Tubes usually have viscous products and require special filling equipment.^[5]
Vertical form fill sealing machines form packages such as pouches. fill them and heat seal the tops.

References

[edit]

^ "Auger Fillers Dry Powder Filling Machine". Retrieved 2022-11-24.
^ Hewitt, C D (2019). "The build-up of detergent agglomerates in an auger filler" (PDF). Powder Technology. 344: 628–635. doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2018.12.046. S2CID 104348459. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
^ US 5767455, Mosher, Oren A., "Apparatus and method for controlling a vibratory feeder in a weighing machine", published 1998-06-16, assigned to Upper Limits Engineering Co.
^ US application 2004011806, Luciano, Robert & Luciano, Lawrence, "Tablet filler device with star wheel", published 2004-01-22, assigned to Luciano Packaging Technologies Inc. , now abandoned.
^ Miller, TJ (22 September 2009), "Tube Filling", in Yam, K L (ed.), Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology, Wiley (published 2010), pp. 1251–1258, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

v t e Packaging
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Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bail handle Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Coextrusion Container glass Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Flip-top Foam peanut Gel pack Hot-melt adhesive Humidity indicator card Kraft paper Label Lid Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Living hinge Low-density polyethylene Meat absorbent pad Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Package handle Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic-coated paper Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Pump dispenser Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security tape Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tamper-evident band Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat
Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Converting Corona treatment Curtain coating Die cutting Die forming (plastics) Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Flame treatment Glass production Graphic design Hazard analysis and critical control points Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection moulding Lamination Laser cutting Molding Package tracking Papermaking Plastic extrusion Plastic welding Printing Product development Production control Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Thermoforming Track and trace Ultrasonic welding Vacuum forming Vacuum packaging Verification and validation
Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cap torque tester Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Drum pump Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material-handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapper Packaging machinery Pallet inverter Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Seed-counting machine Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine
Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Can collecting Closed-loop box reuse Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Packaging waste Paper recycling PET bottle recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management
Category: Packaging

See also

References