Running Trigger Sprayer Closures on a Spindle Capping Machine

Spindle capping machines are used to tighten a variety of continuous thread closures. Flat caps, like those seen on many popular soft drinks and bottled waters, are one of the most common threaded caps. However, threaded caps can take many different forms, including the trigger sprayer found on many cleaning products and other liquids that are sprayed for one purpose or another.

Spindle cappers, for those unfamiliar, use sets of spinning disks to tighten threaded caps. The disks contact the cap to spin it down onto the threads in a consistent and reliable manner as the bottle and cap combination run through the tightening area on a power conveyor. For flat caps and other similar closures, a cap elevator or bowl will typically be used to deliver the caps to a chute. Caps are then presented to each bottle as the bottle pass under the chute, just before the tightening stations of the capping machine. A stabilizer bar will normally apply downward pressure on the caps to prevent cross-threading and add stability to the process.

The design of the trigger sprayer presents a unique challenge in that the closures are made up of the threaded portion of the closure, but also include a stem, which pulls the liquid up, and the actual trigger and sprayer. For this reason, the trigger sprayer cannot be sorted and delivered to the chute, nor presented to the bottle, in the same manner as flat caps. Instead, an alternative method to place closures must be used, which in some cases may be simply placing the trigger sprayers into the containers by hand.

In addition, a modification to the stabilizer bar used for flat caps will be necessary to align the trigger sprayer and avoid issues with the twisting and turning of the trigger during tightening. Typically, the stabilizer will resemble a tunnel, which still helps stabilize the cap, but also keeps the trigger in position throughout the capping process.

For those packagers that use trigger sprayers along with other types of continuous thread caps, the changeover from one cap to another may require the removal of the chute for the trigger sprayer run, as well as the replacement of the stabilizer bar. These physical changes are often simply the removal of a few bolts and will not significantly add to changeover times, though the extent of the changes necessary will depend on the bottles, caps and other unique factors of the project.

To learn more about the spindle capper in general, or about tightening trigger sprayers, contact Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc. today.