LPS Machinery and Package Choices

With equipment to rinse, fill, cap and otherwise prepare products for the shelf, packagers will sometimes need assistance finding the correct machine for their products. However, it is not just the product that may require unique or modified packaging equipment, but the packaging as well. Unique bottles, labels, caps and other components may require modifications to machinery to make them work efficiently and reliably. Some unique packages may even require completely custom packaging machinery starting at the engineering stage.

For example, most packaging lines that include a rinsing machine will use an inverting rinser. These machines clamp bottles and turn them upside down to rinse with air or liquid prior to the fill. However, oddly shaped bottles, or even extremely heavy bottles, may prove difficult to invert safely. In these situations, a different choice, such as a bottle vacuum may be necessary to complete the process.

Automatic bottle fillers are manufactured to include a power height adjustment. This adjustment allows operators to raise and lower fill heads to accommodate different bottle heights. This range, however, is not unlimited. A packager that uses unusually tall bottles may need a modification to the standard bottle filler to allow the upper range of the height to be raised, in order to fill the taller bottles. Other non-standard bottles may require modification to the fill bar, height adjustment, indexing or other components of the filling machine.

Bottle cappers are built to handle a specific type of closure, from screw-on type caps to corks, ROPP caps and more. When bottles or closures are unusual in shape, size or even opening location, certain modifications may be necessary for seals to remain consistent and reliable. F-style bottles, for example, will require an added sensor on some capping machines to ensure bottles are read properly and the cap delivery system releases one cap for each bottle. While this is a simple modification, the more unusual the cap or bottle, the more difficult modification can become.

While unique components can make a product stand out from competitors, packagers should always consider the added difficulty, if any, in using unusual parts for their product. Understanding the process and the packaging components can save production time and ultimately money once production begins. At Liquid Packaging Solutions, product, bottles, caps and other components are always requested prior to the manufacture of any packaging equipment. This procedure ensures that the equipment will be built to successfully run all combinations of components without issue once on the production floor. To speak with a packaging specialist about your own packaging project, contact LPS today.