Viscosity and Packaging Machinery - Choosing Correctly
While any number of factors must be considered when choosing and designing packaging machinery, one recurring factor that affects almost every packaging project is product viscosity. While defined as a liquid's resistance to flow, viscosity is often thought of as product thickness. Water and alcohol are free-flowing, or low viscosity liquids, while products like creams, pastes, and honey are thicker and more slow moving. For a business, understanding the viscosity of the products being packaged is essential to choosing the right equipment to do the job.
Why Does Viscosity Matter?
The viscosity of a liquid will affect how that liquid behaves as it is placed into a container, meaning viscosity affects filling machines more than any other packaging equipment, including bottle cappers or labelers. If a liquid is thin, there is the danger that it will splash or foam, which can lead to inconsistent fills, among other problems. Thick products, on the other hand, can make filling inefficient as they do not flow as freely through the product pathway, including the tubing and nozzles. Choosing the right machine for your packaging project helps to alleviate these and any other issues that may arise.
As you might imagine, different filling principles are better suited for thin or thick viscosities. Both gravity fillers and overflow filling machines can efficiently fill free-flowing products, by volume or level, respectively. Special nozzles can help to control splashing and foaming during the filling process. Piston and pump fillers, on the other hand, are well-suited for thicker products as both the piston and the pump give thick liquids a little extra push to reach the waiting containers.
Beyond Filling: Viscosity Affects the Entire Line
While viscosity directly affects the best filling machine for any product or project, it also impacts other aspects of packaging as well. For example, products may require slower conveyor speeds to avoid splashing and spilling. Molten products may also require additional cooling conveyors as the viscosity will change between the filling and capping processes. At LPS, our engineers and design team consider every step of the packaging process to ensure not just the filling equipment, but the entire line, will provide an efficient packaging experience for products of all viscosities.
The LPS Advantage
Regardless of viscosity, every liquid product and packaging line is unique. Though gravity and overflow are often used for thin products and piston and pump fillers for thick products, there are always exceptions to the general rule. Viscosity is one of many factors considered during packaging equipment design. At Liquid Packaging Solutions, we are able to combine industry experience with custom engineering to produce packaging solutions that balance speed, accuracy, and reliability while considering the characteristics of all of the products being packaged. Contact LPS to discuss your own unique packaging project with an LPS representative today.