Your choice of liquid filling machine makes or breaks the efficiency of your production. If you’re looking for a model that can endure long, continuous hours of production or streamline the production process of your cottage business, there are various qualities to look into to find the equipment worth investing in.

Besides basic and practical considerations like budget, physical dimensions, tech integration and compatibility, scalability, and longevity, these factors will let you determine the most suitable machine for your needs:

Product viscosity

How fluid or viscous is your product? This is the first thing to think about when acquiring in-line filling systems of any scale. Runny liquid needs a different set of nozzles than thick, viscous liquid. There’s also the matter of product content: is it entirely fluid or are there particulates like beads in facial cleansers or bits of food in soup and batter?

The product dictates what kind of machine you need. A high-viscosity liquid filling machine with a piston filler, for example, is ideal for viscous products that need a bit of force to push them out of the dispensing nozzle.

Watery products don’t need a piston machine because the liquid can exit the nozzle merely by gravity. What they do need are leak-proof valves that ensure the correct volume of liquid is dispensed every time.

Container or Receptacle

The container, specifically the shape of the opening, also matters when choosing a small liquid filling machine. Bottles have narrow mouths and can have narrow necks as well. These will need precision-controlled nozzles that fit perfectly into the opening.

In baking, the dispensing machine could deposit fluids into semi-finished food products like pie crusts or doughnuts. Each needs a different kind of filling machine.

For pies, a traditional piston filler with a wide-nozzled dispenser that pumps filling from above is a common choice. For doughnuts, a funnel dispenser with one or more thin, needle-like nozzles positioned vertically or horizontally is commonly used.

Degree of Automation

If your production line is mostly manual, a semi-automatic liquid filling machine will suffice. Take our example above for liquid filling machines for doughnuts. Bakeries that sell a hundred or so a day don’t need a fully-automatic system complete with conveyor belts.

The manual component might even be necessary, such as when you need the flexibility to switch from one product to another as quickly as possible.

Regulation Considerations

Liquid filling machines for the food industry must meet the FDA’s health and consumer protection guidelines. For example, the paths for the filling, soups, batter, syrups, drink, etc. should be non-corrosive, sealed, and designed to prevent moisture buildup. Machine fillers that dispense toxic or potentially explosive products should also adhere to the safety standards of the industry.

Take your time in choosing a liquid filling machine and consider all these factors carefully. (You might even have a few more to add to this list). Every piece of equipment you buy is an investment, and we’d be happy to help you make the most of it.

Fill out our request form to discuss your requirements or explore our filling machines here.

Here’s some food for thought: every stage of the manufacturing process, from production to packaging, has the potential to generate manufacturing waste. It is customary to buy raw materials in excess. It is done as a precaution, in case some batches become unusable for any number of reasons.

Waste can also accumulate during the packaging stage if some of the inventory sustains minor damage due to inefficient packaging equipment. The wrong choice of dispensing nozzles for liquid products, for example, can lead to spills, splashes, and unequal amounts dispensed in the bottles.

It is nearly impossible to completely eliminate manufacturing waste, but you can reduce it with the following practices:

1. Improve inventory management. As previously mentioned, acquiring extra stock of materials that are crucial to production is a necessary contingency. You can retain this practice but keep a close watch on your inventory and its movement through your production process. For example, apply the “first in, first out” rule when taking materials out of the warehouses and into the production lines. This is a more efficient use of resources instead of keeping the same contingency stock for weeks, even months, and risking that their quality will deteriorate while in storage.
2. Invest in high-precision equipment for automation. Automation can do so much for manufacturing, but its maximum benefits can only be achieved when there is precision and accuracy. Machines for food assembly and liquid dispensing, for example, must be robust and can execute at high speed with impeccable precision. This way, you can increase the quantity you produce and keep the manufacturing waste, i.e., spills and QA rejects, to a minimum.
3. Explore a closed-loop version of your production process. Manufacturers whose concern about manufacturing waste goes beyond reducing costs and extends to environment preservation should consider adopting a closed-loop production and supply chain. In a closed-loop system, manufacturers reuse the same materials into producing new batches of the product. Aluminum cans and plastic bottles are perfect examples of this. They can be recycled and reused for bottling the products they used to hold. Beer brewers can even adopt a closed-loop production process. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. or SNBC is an example. The company uses their manufacturing waste for organic composting, which then goes into their gardens for growing the barley and herbs. The produce goes back to the brewery to make beer.
4. Conduct regular equipment checks and maintenance. Pre-empting damage may not save a machine from eventual retirement, but it will give you time to put contingencies in place so that there will be no interruptions to production. Sudden machine breakdowns might force your production to stall for days or weeks, during which your raw perishable materials will have started to deteriorate. Equipment maintenance is a precaution that can reduce not just waste but also unnecessary costs.

Takeaways

Manufacturers always look for opportunities to reduce costs and maximize resources. The need to keep expenditures within a specific threshold, however, sometimes leads decision-makers into focusing on how to shrink spending. Reducing the volume of raw materials or buying lower-quality products, however, can compromise the quantity and quality of the goods you produce. If there’s still a need to reduce costs, manufacturing waste is the one area you should definitely look into.

Improve the efficiency of automated manufacturing processes to avoid waste. Volumetric Technologies can help you achieve these goals. We manufacture quality filling and packaging equipment for a wide range of industries such as food, beverage, household products, and cosmetics production.

Contact us and inquire today.

Food wastage is a massive problem in the U.S., with the country discarding roughly 40 percent of its food. Edible food is wasted throughout every stage of the food production and retail chain: during manufacturing, processing, and distribution, and in restaurants and homes.

Food and beverage manufacturing facilities play a crucial role in solving the country’s food wastage problem. Most waste in food processing plants is generated when paring and scrapping edible portions, such as crusts, peels, and skins from food.

Overproduction, spillage, product losses, product rejects, and defective machinery also contribute to large amounts of food waste. These production inefficiencies not only lead to food wastage, but they also affect the productivity and bottom line of food processing facilities.

Food & Beverage manufacturing facilities need to look at their processing and packaging operations and find opportunities to reduce their waste. Here’s how plant managers can increase food production efficiency and minimize product losses.

During Processing

Inefficient product flows often cause product losses in large-scale Food & Beverage processing facilities. Plant managers can look into their plant design to create a more effective production line.

Some product loss occurs when machines are cleaned. Usable product residue is left in the machines and is washed away during cleaning. One solution is to choose equipment pieces designed to run much longer between cleanings.

Product diversity also contributes to wastage in food processing plants. The larger the product range is, the more opportunities there are for food wastage. Producing various products means using different ingredients and processes, which requires multiple line changes and production cycles. The need for equipment cleaning also doubles.

Production lines should be designed in the most efficient way possible. The production floor should be compact enough to shorten the distance when transferring products from one line to another but wide enough to allow comfortable movement among the workers.

During Packaging

You can significantly reduce product losses during the packaging stage by choosing the right equipment. Piston fillers, custom fluid dispensing nozzles, and other automated packaging machines improve filling accuracy, minimizing or eliminating accidental spillage and product losses.

Plant managers may also consider packaging equipment that fulfills more than one function to reduce the need for transfers between machines. These equipment types reduce the number of machines you have to clean, lowering your water consumption.

Apart from streamlining the packaging process and machinery, food manufacturing plants must design packages that prolong the product’s shelf life. Spoilage contributes to food wastage among consumers. Food containers that preserve the product reduce food wastage further along the food distribution chain.

Food manufacturing plants must consider their processing and packaging methods from a holistic perspective. How does their production process affect the rest of food distribution and consumption? Enacting changes and improvements benefit not only their bottom line and business but the environment as well.

Enabling Agile, Efficient Food Production

At Volumetric Technologies, we understand the need for high-performing equipment in food production. We specialize in accurate, custom filling and packaging machines for the food and beverage industry, among others. These products and solutions help improve your production efficiency, increasing your overall operational performance.

Contact us today for inquiries about our products.

One of the lessons the global pandemic has taught the world is that automation is becoming crucial in production processes. It offers a cost-effective and time-saving solution for increasing production demands that are becoming higher than what workers can accomplish without the help of machines. The need to produce goods by bulk while maintaining a high level of quality is another excellent reason for investing in automation systems.

Automation Is Proving its Value in this Pandemic

Today, health concerns and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures join production targets and business goals as motivations for adopting automation systems. COVID-19 has a high transmission rate: it easily spreads when people who have the virus cough or sneeze without any form of face covering. The virus can also latch onto surfaces and survive from two hours to five days, depending on the material it contaminated. While the world waits for viable solutions to be developed and distributed, it is safer for everyone to practice social distancing outside their homes.

Automation helps prevent the spread of the virus inside factories and industrial facilities because it enables companies to execute production processes without having people do the hands-on work. The most that workers in a fully-automated production facility have to do is monitor the machines and make sure these are producing at the quality and rate that the company needs.

The importance of automation is particularly relevant in food production. As an example, using well-maintained piston filling machines to pump cream filling in pastries or puree in glass bottles instead of having workers do them manually. This achieves the following:

• Compliance with on-site social distancing rules
• Reduces human-to-human contact as well as human-to-product contact
• Lowers the risks of transmission, especially from asymptomatic carriers of the virus

Other examples of industries that stand to benefit from automation systems are cosmetics, hair and skin care, fragrance, and packaging manufacturing.

Automation Promotes Upskilling

Much of the resistance against automation in factories is rooted in the fear that machines will replace people, and many will lose their jobs. These worries are legitimate but sticking to manual processes can be a hindrance to growth. For one thing, humans tire and need breaks and days off while machines do not. For another, resistance to automation boxes workers into roles that don’t challenge them to improve their skills or expand their knowledge.

By automating tasks that don’t require a lot of critical thinking, companies can focus on hiring employees with higher-level skills and competencies. Doing so would elevate their employee profiles and encourage creativity and innovation in-house. Alternatively, companies can provide training and certification programs for their current employees. A company that invests in its people, specifically by providing opportunities to upskill, is often rewarded with employee loyalty and commitment to help the organization reach its business goals.

The pandemic has shown that industries are moving towards automation — it’s inevitable. The progress of automation has accelerated in light of the ongoing situation. Industries that can adapt to the changes and automate their production lines early will have a better chance of achieving success.

Of all industries, the food industry calls for the most caution. Because of the direct impact on health, food products ;are highly scrutinized by shoppers, and when a major inconsistency or problem occurs, they will not hesitate to leave for another brand. To make matters worse, consumers are more likely to remember the negative publicity given to food companies compared to other products. Their well-being, after all, is at stake.

This is why product consistency is crucial in sustaining a customer base. McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, says product consistency (grouped under customer journey consistency) is one of the three factors of customer satisfaction. All it takes is one blunder to totally ruin any customer loyalty your company has worked so hard to build.

Even if you are using accurate liquid filling machines, there may still be small inaccuracies that lead to visible inconsistencies. Don’t wait for your customers or distributors to notice them — prevent inconsistencies and issues before your product heads out for shipping.

Valve and Piston Wear Causes Volume Inaccuracies

The advantage of a piston filling machine is that it fills packages to an accurate volume. It is highly accurate for high and low-viscosity liquids. However, even if they are built to last, liquid filling and depositing machines are not immune to wear and tear.

After thousands to millions of cycles, the valving and piston deteriorates, leading to leakage and less accuracy. Small volume differences may not be noticed by the average shopper, but it is best not to take chances. There are meticulous consumers and even more meticulous distributors who are wary of discrepancies. This is even more crucial if you have an expensive product where less accuracy leads to more product giveaway and therefore less profit.

Regular maintenance checks ensure that a piston filling machine is in good shape. If your equipment’s volume accuracy is reduced, your team can review the valving and pistons for wear and tear.

Broken Seals Cause Leaking, Dripping, and Inaccuracies

Leaking and dripping are signs that the seals in a liquid filling machine may be worn out. Even if dripping and leaking do not hurt product integrity, it will compromise the accuracy of product volume; something customers could notice. Moreover, it leads to product wastage, which over time amounts to profit loss.

In some cases, the inconsistency needs a simple solution — new seals. All Volumetric Technologies pistons fillers have easily replaceable seals. These are the most common, least expensive, and most overlooked wear component on piston filling equipment.

Product inconsistencies, even if they seem imperceptible, can drive a wedge between you and loyal customers and distributors. Maintenance should be performed with care and caution in order to keep producing consistently excellent products.

When you need to replace your liquid filling machines with more accurate models, browse our selection today.