Piston Fillers Provide Accurate Volume for a Multitude of Products

Piston filling machines often arise in conversations about filling highly viscous products, such as honey, jams or putty. This is simply because the method of filling products using a piston filler is ideal for thicker products. The cylinder of the machine is large and open, allowing for product to easily enter. The piston then pushes the product from that cylinder, giving it an extra boost that allow thicker products to move much faster than it would simply flow. However, piston filling machines can fill products both thick and thin to accurate volumes, making the machine a versatile solution for many different projects.

The accuracy of the volumetric fill comes from the fact that the volume of the cylinder will never change from cycle to cycle. The same amount of product, whether viscous or free-flowing, will enter the cylinder when the piston is retracted each cycle. Whether using a full stroke of the piston to complete the fill, or a partial stroke for each bottle, the same amount of product will also be pushed out of the cylinder when it returns to the cylinder.

So given that the piston filling machine can fill both thick and thin products, why would they not be used for each and every filling project? Each filling project will have unique characteristics including products filled, bottles used, speeds necessary and more. While a piston filler could work for almost any project, other types of machines may simply be better suited for a specific packager. For instance, overflow fillers are used to fill bottles to a specific level, rather than by volume. Net weight filling equipment will fill by, as the name suggests, weight rather than volume. By analyzing all of the factors in any filling project, the best filling machine can be chosen for that specific system.

Piston fillers, as noted, are often used to fill thick products as the piston provides a little extra for product flow. These filling machines are also ideal for products that contain particulates such as salad dressings, tomato sauces or fruit jams, as the open space in the cylinder lets the particulates pass through the product pathway without jamming the pathway or restricting the flow of product. Piston filling machines can also save money for packagers running a variety of different products, or even co-packagers, by allowing products both thick and thin to be packaged on the same line.

Piston fillers can be manufactured as automatic machines that allow continuous filling. These machines can be integrated with just about any existing line, combined with rinsing equipment, capping machines, labelers and more as part of a complete packaging line. These machines are also available in semi-automatic modes, including tabletop machinery, for those packagers with smaller demands.

To learn more about piston filling machines, or any of the filling equipment manufactured by Liquid Packaging Solutions, browse the Filling Machine section of the LPS website or call to speak with a Filling Specialist today.