You Need to Know about Vertical Packing Machine

The Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS) machine, at its core, is a highly automated machine. It creates the plastic bags from a flat roll of film, fills them with the product from top to down and closes them. These are highly popular due to their efficient operation and versatility to handle various types of material. It was originally invented and patented by Walter Zwoyer in 1936. He developed the technology while working with Henry Heide Candy Company.

One of the key selling points of the machine is its vertical orientation. Instead of moving product sideways, it uses natural gravity to fill up the bags with granular material, liquids or powdered substances. A modern vertical packing machine can handle the entire lifecycle of packaging through:

• Film Pulling
• Bag Forming
• Date Printing
• Sealing

Owing to their compact footprint, they have become highly popular for industrial applications. A manufacturer can pack a high volume of product even with a small amount of real estate. For businesses, this article will help explore the VFFS technology to find out if it's the right machine for your packaging needs.

The Core Technology: How VFFS Machines Operate

◆From Film Roll to Finished Bag

• Material Handling: A roll of film stock is loaded onto the spindle. The material moves slowly through the machine over the belts, powered by motors. The rollers guide the plastic while ensuring alignment using edge position control (EPC) systems.
• Shaping and Creating Seam: After the plastic is aligned, it goes over a forming shoulder. This guide forces the flat plastic to wrap around a cylindrical conical tube. The process turns a flat sheet into a hollow tube. Then, heat is applied using a heat-sealing bar to melt and close the tube to form a packet.
• Closing, Cutting and Separating: When the product is dropped into the bag vertically, it is shut closed using horizontal jaws. Right when the jaws close, the blade slices the seals horizontally to create two newly formed seals.
• Centralized Control: All of the sequences and their synchronization are controlled using a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and servo systems.

◆Precision Dosing and Filling Systems

To ensure that the product is properly weighted for disposal into the package, the gold standard is using multihead weighers. They use a combination of weights to find the precise combination to drop into the packet. It provides ±0.5 to 1.5 grams of weighing accuracy. In case the product is easy to move, then standardized cups and volumetric fillers are preferred for their simple construction.

The way the machine handles the material depends on its type. For dusty or fine powders, the rotating screw mechanism of the Auger Filling is ideal. For fluids, piston or rotary pumps with anti-drop nozzles are preferred. In case of fragile items, gentle feeding systems ensure smooth material movement with PU belt weighers.

Versatility in Pouch Styles and Materials

✔Popular Bag Configurations

• Pillow Bags: A common and popular packaging style that is secured at the 3-sides. The simple format is ideal for snacks and frozen foods.
• Gusseted Bags: To enable self standing feature, manufacturers may create these bags with more internal space using these machines.
• Quad Seal (Quadro) Bags: For the premium 4-sides sealing and high-end look.
• Sachet and Stick Packs: Single-serving formats for sugar, coffee, or condiments. They are produced using multi-lane machines.

✔Material Compatibility and Barrier Layers

To keep the product fresh, most vertical packaging machines use laminated films. These are better than a single sheet of plastic. The complex multi-layer films, like PET/PE combination or Aluminum Foil/PE, add durability to the material, blocking out moisture and oxygen completely. These are particularly popular for pharmaceutical products. Depending on the amount of protection the process requires, the film thickness can go from 50 to 150 microns.

✔Environmental Friendly Options

Most manufacturers are shifting towards greener practices that are in line with strict environmental laws like the EU PPWR. These require modern vertical pouch packing machines to handle eco-friendly options. It should handle compostable material and packaging made with mono-materials.

✔Dusty Product Material and Sealing

In case you are handling powdery products like flour and spices, there can be build up of static charge. It can cause the airborne powder to cling to the spot. The key is to use specialized electrical tools called static eliminators. They are vital to keep the melting zone clear for the sealing process. In some cases, ultrasonic sealing mechanisms are used with VFFS that can seal the package even when light contamination is present in the sealing region.

Key Benefits for Modern Production Lines

▶Efficiency and Operational Speed

A vertical form fill seal packaging machine can produce 35 to 80 bags per minute, and for smaller packages, high-speed models can reach up to 200 bags per minute. The high production rates require the use of non-stop motion. Everything should flow in a continuous motion with no intermittent start and stop cycles. It helps prevent dust build-up on film and also ensures high production rates.

▶Labor and Product Quality Control

A machine that comes with PLC systems can store up to 100 different recipes, which operators can simply change with the HMI interaction. The speed at which the machine operates still requires a single operator to oversee the process. In the case of food with advanced quality control that lasts months, the machine is integrated with nitrogen purging instead of air to help maintain food characteristics longer than air packaging.

▶Direct Cost Savings and Waste Reduction

The key to a premium vertical packaging machine is the reduction of overhead costs. It does that by ensuring that it can handle large roll stock film. Typically, creating bags is much cheaper than purchasing pre-made bags for filling purposes. The film is at least 20% less expensive. Then the machine ensures that the plastic is cut within exact millimeters to reduce wastage of packaging material.

Particularly, the multihead weigher VFFS system is highly efficient in reducing product giveaway or overfilling. They reduce the overfilling by up to 15%, which increases profit margin on every single bag sold.

▶Long-Term Investment Value

A vertical form fill seal packaging machine requires an upfront capital, but with the right design, you can ensure that they work for longer and provides better returns. The vertical design of the vertical packing machine requires lower floor space, which makes these machines better than horizontal packaging machines. Factory owners have to pay less for production per square foot.

Full automation allows a reduction of labor and material. Most industrial food processes get their money back on the purchase within 12 to 24 months (ROI). After that, with the right maintenance schedule, these machines can last as long as 20 years.

Selecting and Maintaining Your Machine

To select the right machine for the business, you need to ensure that the machine is a direct match with your business requirements. Here is a quick look:

• Production Volume: Make sure that the machine is in line with your production requirements. Startups require around 40 bags per minute, while industrial scale requirement goes to 100+ bpm.
• Product Flow: Is your product grains, dried fruits, or candies? Categorize your products into free-flow and sticky products. Analyze the machine's features to handle them.
• Tool-Less Changeover: Select equipment that operators can conveniently handle without tools. These include swapping forming tubes or film rolls.

When it comes to maintenance of the machine, develop a proper schedule and use smart technology to perform preventive maintenance.

• Daily Maintenance: Clean and lubricate the machine regularly.
• Monitor via HMI: Use PLC to monitor the real-time parameters to prevent wastage.
• Spare Parts: Maintain a minimum of high-wear parts such as blades and heating elements.
• Predictive Maintenance: Use a proactive approach to replace parts before breakdown.
• Sensors for AI: Use high-end sensors and AI to detect failure before it happens.

Comparison Table: Dosing Systems for VFFS

Conclusion

Vertical pouch packing machines or VFFS are an essential part of modern factories that require efficiency. They offer high-speed operation with minimal product wastage. You can have powder, liquid, delicate snacks, or sticky dry fruits packaged using reliable hardware. These machines provide highly reliable operation that businesses need to grow and compete in the competitive market.

If you own a business that requires precision pouch packing machines, then consider Smart Weigh as your partner. We are a highly trusted manufacturer with 1000 customers worldwide. Some of their specialized VFFS packaging machine includes

• SW-P360: Handles Fine Particles
• SW-T520: Premium Quad-Seal Bagging Feature

For maximum output, consider our Twin Tube VFFS system and multihead weighers. All of our equipment are inline with global distribution standards. Our mature supply chain will ensure that the machine reaches your factory in the minimum time possible. Consider visiting our website or contacting us.

FAQs

1. Can one VFFS machine handle different bag widths?

VFFS packaging machines can handle different bag width but it requires slight modification. The forming tube will need to be replaced as it determines the width of the bag. Then the bag length will need to be fed into the PLC software.

2. What is the difference between a lap seal and a fin seal?

A lap seal is a method in which a plastic sheet is wrapped into a tube where one edge lies flat over the other. It uses less material. Fins seal pinch the two edges of the plastic together to make them stick out of the package like a fish's fin. They use more material but are ideal for barrier films to protect against heat, moisture and oxygen.

3. How does gas flushing improve the shelf life of snacks?

In air flushing, the food comes in contact with oxygen and begins to oxidize, changing its characteristics. It creates an environment for microbial growth. Nitrogen, on the other hand, is inert, which prevents such a phenomenon, keeping products like nuts and chips fresh for longer.