Tabletop Filling Equipment
Tabletop Filling Machinery
As anyone in the packaging industry will tell you, not all products are mass produced. For smaller volume production facilities, a tabletop filling machine may be the best solution. In addition, some products that are mass produced will be filled using a number of different bottle sizes. For example, shampoos may be mass produced in normal and family size bottles with a lower number of sample sized containers being filled. A tabletop filler may be utilized to run production of the sample sized bottles while automatic filling equipment handles the larger, mass-produced shampoo bottles. In this case, using a tabletop filling machine removes the need for pauses in production for frequent container changeover. Thus, tabletop filling equipment can be utilized for those with a smaller output, a smaller market or even for special projects or bottles of mass produced products.
FILLING PRINCIPLE
Just like automatic filling machines, different types of tabletop fillers will be used to handle different types of products. In general, overflow filling machines and gravity fillers will be used to fill bottles with thin to medium viscosity products. Pump fillers and piston filling equipment are more likely to be used on thick products and products with large particulates. Special filling machinery, such as corrsion resistant HDPE fillers, are also available in tabletop models. For more information on the different types of tabletop fillers, simply follow the links below:
UPGRADEABLE
Also similar to automatic filling equipment, tabletop filling machines normally allow room for growth. For example, a small company may begin packaging their product with one or two fill heads to meet the regional demand for the product. As demand increases, additional fill heads, up to the maximum number of fill heads, can be added to the filling machine to increase output. Normally, tabletop fillers will have a maximum of four to six fill heads, depending on the filling principle used by the machine. Usually, the goal is to allow the tabletop filler to be utilized until the company and the product have a high enough demand to warrant fully automatic packaging equipment, though this is not always the case (consider the special projects mentioned above or even limited edition packaging). The ability of the tabletop filler to grow with the company removes the need for constantly purchasing new packaging equipment every time the company expands their market.
SPACE
Many times a start-up company or smaller company with a new product will not immediately have a large production floor available. Tabletop filling systems remove the necessity for large floor space while adding efficiency to the filling process. Combining the filler with other semi-automatic and/or manual packaging machines may allow an entire packaging system to be set up in a rather small space. For example, the tabletop filler can be combined with a handheld chuck capping machine and semi-automatic labeler to create a fill, cap and label system on the same table. One or more operators may be utilized on such a system depending on the production speed necessary.
To learn more about tabletop filling machines and other space saving packaging equipment offered by Liquid Packaging Solutions, browse our website or contact a Packaging Specialist at 1-888-393-3693.