Guidance for first time to buy Filling Machine/ Packing Machine
31.Jul 2023
people view
Share
Many customers are confused about the opportunity to buy a filling machine and packaging machine for the first time. They will have many questions and are not sure whether they have chosen the most suitable machine and the best price. Today I will give you some tips about buying a packaging machine and filling machine for the first time.
Essential Pre-Purchase Preparation: Defining Your Specific Needs
Before consulting quotes, you must clearly define your product characteristics, packaging type, and production goals. This information is the foundation for selecting the right packing machine type and configuration.
1. Product Characteristics Analysis
The machine type is primarily dictated by the physical characteristics of your product.
State/Viscosity: Is your product a low-viscosity liquid (e.g., water, juice), high-viscosity/paste (e.g., honey, ketchup, cream), powder (e.g., flour, spice), or granule/solid (e.g., nut, grains)?
Temperature/Foaming: Does your product require hot filling? Is it easy to foam (e.g., detergents, hand sanitizer)?
Particulates: Does it contain pulp or particles? (This requires specialized pump and valve designs).
Corrosiveness: If you are dealing with chemicals, consider the machine's material of construction is corrosion-resistant (often recommended as Stainless Steel 316).
2. Packaging Type (Pouch /Container)
For Filling Machines: Are you using bottle (glass or plastic), jar, Tin/can, cup or barrel? The container’s shape, size, and opening diameter will influence the design of the filling nozzles and clamping systems.
For Packaging Machines: Do you require premade pouches (e.g., Doypacks, zipper pouches), Form Fill Seal (FFS) roll film (e.g., back sealing, 3/4 sides sealing), stick pack, sachet or cartoning/case packing?
3. Capacity and Automation Level
Target Output: How many products do you need to package per hour or per minute? This is the critical factor for selecting the machine's speed (e.g., Bags per Minute, BPM) and level of automation.
Automation Level: Semi-Automatic: Operators must manually position containers or initiate the filling/sealing process. Fully-Automatic: The machine handles the entire process—from container feeding/bag making, filling, sealing, to output
Choosing the correct technology in the filling and packaging process
Selecting the correct filling or dosing mechanism based on your product features is important. The right choice will result in high precision, excellent speed, and sealed packaging.
Applicable Product
Filling Principle/Type
Key Characteristics
Low Viscosity Liquids
Gravity Fillers
Fills by time or liquid level; cost-effective; suitable for fertilizer, juices.
High Viscosity Liquids
Piston Fillers
Dispenses a precise, measured volume using a piston; high accuracy; ideal for pastes, sauces, syrup.
Powders
Auger Fillers
Uses a auger to precisely measure and dosing powders; suitable for coffee, spices.
Granules/Solids
Volumetric Cup /multi heades weigher/linear weigher
Measures a preset volume using measuring devices; suitable for free-flowing products like grains, beans.
Universal/High Accuracy
Pump Fillers
Utilizes peristaltic, gear pumps; cosmetic and pharma liquid
Common Packaging Machine Types
Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS): Used for chips, candy, powders, liquids, etc. Creates bags (pillow, gusseted) from a roll film. Efficient and space-saving.
Horizontal Form Fill Seal (HFFS): Used for wrapping single or multiple products horizontally, such as wipes, small chocolate bars, or medical masks.
Premade Pouch/Doypack Machine: Handles premade pouches (e.g., with zippers or spouts). The machine focuses on picking, opening, filling, and sealing the premade bags.
Multi-lane packing machines: Designed to simultaneously fill and seal multiple lanes of packages (e.g., stick packs or sachets) from one machine.
Packaging lines/ Filling lines: Applied to the packing, boxing, and palletizing of bagged and bottled products. It provides complete packaging solutions to meet customer packaging needs, reduce manual intervention, and achieve fully automated production.
Packing Machine Manufacturer Selection and After-Sales Service
For a first-time buyer, A reliable supplier is often more important than the machine itself. Choosing the right supplier is equivalent to choosing the right partner.
1. Vetting Manufacturer Credibility
Industry Experience: Look at the manufacturer's production experience, customization capabilities, and successful case.
Client Feedback: Search for customer reviews and testimonials on industry forums or social media.
Site Visit (Recommended): If possible, visit the factory to observe.
2. After-Sales Support
Technical Training: Does the manufacturer provide on-site training for operators and maintenance staff?
Warranty Terms: How long is the warranty period on the machine and its components?
Spare Parts Supply: Ensure short lead times for wearing parts and common spares, and ask for a detailed spare parts list.
Remote Support: Is remote troubleshooting and technical guidance available?
The First-Time Buyer's Final Checklist
Define needs: Reconfirm your product, packing types, and target capacity specifications.
Request a Demonstration: Strongly recommend asking the packing machine manufacturer to perform a machine test by using your product and packaging material.
On-site visits: Assess supplier factories for industry experience and customization capabilities.
Seek Expertise: If in doubt, consider consulting a professional packaging specialist.
To quickly solve your product packaging needs and fully comply with the above-mentioned guide for first-time purchases of packaging and filling machines, please allow me to recommend Landpack. I will provide you with quick Q&A to help you know us:
Q&A about Landpack
1. Are you a real manufacturer or trade company?
Of course, we are a real manufacturer with over 16 years of experience, we have 8 production workshops for different types of machines, we have our own professional and experienced engineering team, welcome to visit our factory.
2. What’s the warranty on your machine?
Our machine enjoys a 1-year warranty, and our electric components enjoy 2 years warranty, besides all of our electric components are very famous brands all over the world, with the best quality, in case some problem with the electric parts, within the warranty period, you can contact us, we will send new one freely with freight prepaid, no within the warranty period, you also can contact us to buy new one or find from the local market easily.
3. How to install the machine?
For most of the machines, we won't disassemble them, we will send you the whole set, and you don't need to spend too much time to install, also we will send an operation video, use a manual and installation video to teach you how to operate it easily.
4. Is it possible to arrange for your engineer to come to our factory to train our workers?
Firstly, in order to help you use the machine and start production as soon as possible, we will help you to solve the problem online line first, when you get the machine, I will make WhatsApp or WeChat group, or by Email, you can add your workers and engineer, I will invite our engineer and after-sales person who can speak English, we will follow your machine after the sale in the group together by video call, Email, picture, video, etc.
If we still can’t solve the problem, we will arrange for our engineer to your factory to help you solve the problem and train your workers, but buyers pay per person USD150 per day daily service fees, travel expenses & accommodation.
5. What’s the speed of the machine?
Normally the machine speed depends on many factors, such as product features(fluidity, viscosity, size) weight, bag size/bottle size, and even the temperature and humidity of the working environment, etc. It’s difficult to fix a speed, we can give you a speed range according to your product information and bag/bottle/cans information, but our machine also can customize according to your request, we have standard speed and high-speed equipment, so you just need to confirm exact information and your request with our sales, the speed can be 10-100 bags /bottles per minute, even more! we will customize the most suitable equipment for you!
6. What’s the payment term?
Normally we accept 30% or 50% deposit before production, 70% or 50% balance before shipping, by TT or 100% LC.
7. What’s the machine lead time?
Usually, our machine's standard lead time is 40-50 working days after we get the deposit, but you know different customers have different requests and products, if the machine or filling/packing line is fully customized, you need to confirm the exact lead time to sales.
8. What’s the purchase process?
Send an inquiry to Landpack, and leave your Email or WhatsApp contact information our sales will contact you to confirm detailed information about your product and request, maybe our sales will ask many questions, so please be patient to confirm all details, we just want to provide the most suitable and best price for every customer! - then our engineer will design drawing, our sales will send quotation and drawing to you - to negotiate to confirm all details with our sales - pay deposit - factory start production - machine finish, sales to take video or make video calling to inspect the machine with customers, or customer can come to factory or arrange someone to come to the factory to inspect the machine - customers are satisfied with the machine, arrange the balance - Landpack ship the machine by sea or by air - customer get the machine, Landpack will follow the after-sale until the machine work smoothly.
Landpack focuses on providing a range of automated packaging machinery to meet the diverse needs of various industries. We hope this guide will be helpful for those purchasing packaging machinery for the first time, enabling you to quickly transition from a novice to an expert in the packaging industry.
