22 - Food Packaging Machinery

Abstract

The filling machine is usually the most important machine in a food packaging line. The filler measures out a specific quantity of a food product and it places that metered quantity of the food product into a package. The machine may also perform other functions such as making the package and closing the package. Volumetric fillers deliver a measured volume of product into each container. Volumetric systems are flexible and can be adapted to a wide variety of products, ranging from water to thick pastes or powders and other dry products. Piston fillers are the most common type of volumetric filler, which measure and deliver the product by the action of a single piston. Weight filling is used for products that do not have uniform density and for products that require more accurate metering. Rotary fillers remove the empty containers from the infeed conveyor and place them on the rotating turret of the filler. As the containers travel around the periphery of the filler, they are filled and then placed on to the outfeed conveyor. Vertical form-fill-seal machines are widely used to package a vast array of food products, including dry cereals, granular sugar, cake mixes, and flour..