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A Packaging Machine A Day - Spindle Capper

While different bottle closures will require different types of filling machines, the spindle capper handles a wide range of caps that screw on to bottles. Continuous thread caps can range from simple flat and sports caps found on beverages and bottle water to flip tops, pumps, trigger sprayers and other variations. While tabletop and semi-automatic spindle cappers can be manufactured at LPS, the most popular version of this packaging machine is the Automatic Spindle Capper.

The automatic spindle capper allows bottles to be continuously capped while traveling on a power conveyor. Once the machine is set up and running, operator interaction during the process will remain at a minimum. The continuous capping is made possible by using an automatic cap delivery system, which will typically include an elevator, a bowl or a combination of both. The elevator or bowl sorts the caps to ensure proper orientation before delivering the caps to a chute. The chute carries caps to a set of fingers that hold the cap in place, allowing each bottle that passes by on the conveyor to strip a cap for sealing.

Once the cap is presented to the bottle, and as both enter the capping area, a stabilizer bar helps keep the cap steady and gripper belts support the bottle. To tighten the cap, sets of spinning disks will contact the cap as it moves down the conveyor, in essence consistently twisting the caps to create a reliable seal on each bottle that passes through on the power conveyor. The operator will simply replenish bulk caps to the delivery system and monitor the automatic machine to ensure proper performance.

Spindle cappers can also be built on the automatic frame to work in a semi-automatic manner. For facilities with smaller output, the semi-automatic spindle capper works without the cap delivery system, meaning manual labor would be necessary to place the caps. However, this machine allows for a fairly easy upgrade to automatic production should demand become higher.

Tabletop spindle cappers are typically used for low production facilities that have an unusual or oddly shaped cap. While the tabletop machine consistently and reliably tightens caps, most standard caps can be tightened more efficiently using a tabletop or manual chuck capper, leaving the tabletop spindle capper to deal only with those unusual continuous thread caps.

Learn more about the different versions of this machine by visiting the Spindle Capper page on the Liquid Packaging Solutions website.