Building Custom Packaging Equipment

As many of you already know, Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures a number of different packaging machines while also utilizing OEM machinery to offer our customers turnkey packaging solutions.  Most of the packaging equipment you find on our website, however, is manufactured right in our plant.  Challenges can arise when new projects involve unique products, containers, caps or some combination of each.  These are the challenges that we, as packaging machinery manufacturers, love to accept.

 

First and foremost, it is out of the challenging projects that new and innovative packaging techniques are often discovered.  While what we call standard equipment will work for a majority of projects, each tweaked slightly to meet the individual needs of the customer, the rare projects that take a manufacturer out of the realm of standard machinery will often yield advancements.  Sometimes these advancements can be put to work on some or all of the standard machines to achieve greater production, efficiency or reliability.

 

Different projects will not necessarily require special equipment at every stage of the packaging process either.  For example, a unique product - maybe extremely viscous or a changing viscosity with temperature - may require a custom filling machine, but work find with standard rinsing machines, capping machines and labelers.  On the other hand, a unique container may require an innovative look at container cleaning equipment and capping machines while a simple overflow filler will move the product into the bottles.

 

Regardless of the packaging machine or machines that will need to be custom built, in most cases, the R&D will start with a standard machine.  From here, changes can be made to adapt to the needs of the custom project.  As a simple example, a piston filler may be the starting point for a product that is extremely thick, but must be heated to obtain the proper fill.  From there, different ways can be analyzed to heat the product and keep it at a steady temperature throughout the product pathway, ensuring that the viscosity remains constant until the product is in the container.  Once the pathway is properly heated, the nozzles on the filling machine may need to be custom manufactured to make sure product does not drip, or cool in the tips to clog the flow.  From there, cooling may become an issue.  A system of power conveyors may be set up with a cooling system to ensure the product is settled before it moves to the capping phase of the production system.  As long as the containers themselves are not unique, standard capping and labeling equipment will likely follow the custom build liquid filler.

 

Again, while each project will be unique in its own way, the projects that require truly custom built machinery often bring the most benefit, to both the customer and the manufacturer.  If you have a custom packaging project, we urge you to contact our offices today and challenge us!