Rotary Fillers and Rotary Filling Equipment
Once production requirements exceed the capability of
inline indexed filling machines, the most efficient set-ups use
rotary filling machines. Rotary fillers are available from as
few as 8 heads to as large as is needed, sometimes numbering
in the hundreds of filling heads for very high speed
operations. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a rotary
liquid filling machine to be incorporated into what is know as dual-modal or
tri-modal monoblock system that includes rinser-filler-capper
(tri-modal) or filler-capper (dual-modal). An often overlooked
issue for rotary filling machines and monoblocks is that it is
a very good idea to use a common sized cap and neck finish for
whatever range of bottles needs to be filled, because change
parts and changeover time is very expensive, increasing
greatly as the need for speed increases. Generally
speaking change parts for bottle changeover is not all that
expensive or time consuming, but if the cap size changes along
with a bottle change the parts can cost a small fortune, and
changeover time can take a full day on some of the larger
machines. Just a wise word of advice for those of you whom are
contemplating a future need for higher speed bottle filling equipment.
Bottle Filling on a large Rotary Filler
Types of Rotary Fillers
Rotary Piston Filling Machine
Just about any type of filler that is available as an
inline system is also found in a rotary filling machine. There
are pressure fillers, gravity fillers, piston fillers, and carbonated
beverage filling machines, canning and more, plus numerous
arrays of configurations such as neck supporting for water
bottles, bottom fill platforms or diving nozzles, to the brim
fillers for many juices, plus hot fill options and much more.
However all rotary fillers share certain characteristics
mainly that starwheels are made for each sized bottle to
center it under the filling head and similarly to to remove
the bottle to return it to the conveyor. Sometimes the infeed
starwheel can be choke fed, requiring a sensor to make sure
there is an adequate backlog of bottles to prevent a random
bottle from causing a jam. However in most instances (and
always for higher speeds) the bottles are spaced and timed
with an infeed screw which is another changepart prior to the
infeed starwheel.
Normally speaking filling heads are not changed out for
different fill sizes, but are set to the fit the smallest neck
size of the bottles to be run on the system. (Again, it is
much better to have all neck finishes of your bottles the same
when possible). However, you can expect slower productions
speeds that would otherwise be the case if you have a 1/2"
neck finish on a small bottle and also want to fill a gallon
bottle which can require a 3/4" or 1" head to fill at a faster
speed.
It is always a good idea to talk with one of our sales
engineers before purchasing higher speed liquid filling machines to make sure you have a thorough
understanding of all of the factors involved. That way you can consider
possible product packaging changes to make rotary filling and
capping operations more affordable and efficient.
Rotary Filling Machinery is Custom Built for your job
Unlike inline fillers, which can be very
adaptable with little or no need for change parts, rotary
bottle filling equipment is custom-built to your specific
requirements. That is why we cannot stock machines,
since requirements vary so much. In fact it is hard for
us to even catalog machines because of the endless variety of
possibilities that are available. For instance you may need a
60 head filler, the next customer may need only a 45 head
filler (assuming same product), while the previous customer
may need only a 30 head filler. In other words there is
such a range of needs that it is nearly impossible for us to
have a quote right at hand that we can forward to you right
away (although we often try to get something in the ballpark
for rough budgetary quotes), add in all the different
variations of filling types, products, etc. and you can see
how the complexity increases. Bottom line is planning.
Do not expect to purchase a rotary filling machine right off
the floor, and getting a quote for your specific needs can be
a matter of days in some cases.
Tri-Modal Rinser - Filler - Capper: 80
Rinsing Heads - 80 Filling Heads - 22 Capping Heads
When Planning for Automation Seriously think about
standardizing your cap size
It will save you a ton of money in change parts and many hours
of changeover time
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