Futureproofing Your Filling Line Investment

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Futureproofing Your Filling Line Investment

When investing in a new filling line—or upgrading components of an existing one—futureproofing should be a key consideration.

The packaging landscape evolves, with shifts in consumer demand, regulatory changes, and emerging packaging formats.

While it’s impossible to predict the future with certainty, there are smart ways to prepare for change by choosing flexible, adaptable equipment from the outset.

Below, we explore the types of filling and capping machinery commonly used in the industry and the levels of adjustment or tooling required to accommodate different packaging formats.

We’ll also discuss broader considerations that can help ensure your filling line investment remains viable for years to come.

 

1. In-Line Bottle Filling Machine

Offers Flexibility across multiple bottle sizes with minimal tooling changes.

These machines are designed with adjustability in mind and are well-suited for operations handling a wide variety of container sizes. Key features include:

  • Positionable side guides, stops, and filling nozzles, adjustable without tools, using clamp levers.
  • Touchscreen controls for adjusting dose volume, filling speed, and nozzle travel.
  • Holding pucks can be introduced for tall or unstable containers.

Minimal tooling changes make in-line fillers a great choice for businesses handling (or that may need to handle) various bottle formats.

 

2. In-Line Capping Machine

Can handle various cap types with a blend of adjustability and specific tooling.

Cappers can typically handle ranges of similar caps with elements of adjustability but often require some cap-specific tooling:

  • Cap sorting and orientation units configured for individual or similar cap types.
  • Custom chute and pick-and-place mechanisms for each cap style.
  • Capping head adjustments as required.

This setup allows moderate flexibility, particularly for handling a variety of broadly similar closures.

 

3. Monoblock Filling & Capping Machine

Can handle various bottle/cap types with a blend of adjustability and specific tooling.

These integrated systems offer compact efficiency but tend to be less adaptable without specific change parts:

  • Change tooling for each bottle and cap variant is typically required.
  • Common tooling includes the Starwheels, Cap sorters, Pick-and-place, and Cap chuck.

While efficient, this configuration tends to be best suited for long production runs of uniform products.

 

4. Tube Filling Machine

Offers versatility across tube sizes and materials (plastic, laminate, and aluminium).

Tube fillers typically require a blend of adjustment and change tooling:

  • Adjustment to the bulk tube hopper and dose volume set-up.
  • And interchangeable filling nozzles and pucks for different tube sizes.
  • Depending on the tube material (plastic and laminate, or aluminium) the Sealing Station is either adjusted, or swapped out.

 

5. Cartridge Filling Machine

Configurations vary depending on the range of cartridges that need to be filled, and therefore so too does the blend of adjustment and change tooling.

  • The Cartridge sorting/infeed would often require some form of adjustment or change tooling to handle different cartridge sizes.
  • Filling nozzles, Pick-and-place tooling, and Piston insertion stations typically all require change tooling.
  • With dose volumes, filling speeds and parameters for any quality check, normally set via the touchscreen.

The ease and simplicity of changeovers and set-up is heavily dependent on the specific machine configuration, which in turn is determined by the mix of cartridge types that need to be filled.

 

General Considerations

Other non machine configuration specific considerations include:

  • Can the system scale with demand? Is it possible to add to, or replicate the line in future?
  • What’s the availability of spare parts and ease of maintenance?
  • Are component materials compatible with all potential future products?
  • What’s the maximum bottle or container size you may need to fill?
  • What’s the thickest viscosity product you might produce?
  • Could you one day fill flammable, corrosive, or moisture-sensitive products? Consider the compatibility of pumps, seals, componentry and enclosures with such materials.

 

Conclusion

Futureproofing your filling line is all about building flexibility into your capital investment. Whether you’re launching new products, responding to customer preferences, or preparing for market shifts, the right machinery can save time, reduce cost, and simplify transitions.

Carefully evaluating the adjustability, tooling needs, and versatility of your filling equipment today can save you significant headaches tomorrow.

Need help planning a future-ready line? Our engineering team can walk you through the options that best suit your long-term production goals.