Llenadora rotatoria

Inline filling machine: bottles travel in a straight line; the line stops briefly while each set of heads fills. Simple design, easier to maintain, changeover is faster. Suitable for 2–12 heads and speeds up to ~200 fills/min. Best for medium-speed production and frequent product changes. Rotary filling machine: bottles move continuously around a rotating carousel; fill heads descend and fill while the carousel rotates. No stop-start motion. Much higher speed per number of heads (8 heads rotary = equivalent throughput to 16 heads inline). Suitable for 6–24 heads and speeds up to 1,200 bottles/hr or more. Best for high-volume single-product or limited-SKU production. Rotary machines cost significantly more (2–5×) than equivalent inline machines and have longer changeover times.

Fill head count depends on target speed and fill volume. Guideline: 6 heads (50ml–500ml): 200–400 bottles/hr. 8 heads (50ml–1,000ml): 300–600 bottles/hr. 12 heads (50ml–1,000ml): 500–900 bottles/hr. 16 heads (50ml–500ml): 800–1,200 bottles/hr. 24 heads (50ml–300ml): 1,200–2,000 bottles/hr. These are approximate; actual speed depends on fill volume (larger fills = slower fill time per head), liquid type (thin fills faster) and downstream line speed (capper and labeller must match). For target speeds above 500 bottles/hr, a rotary filler is typically more cost-effective than adding more inline heads.

CIP (Clean-In-Place): the filling machine can be cleaned internally by circulating cleaning solution (water, caustic, acid rinse) through the fill path — tanks, pipes, valves, cylinders and nozzles — without disassembly. CIP is required for food-grade production (dairy, juice, sauce) where the fill path must be sanitised between production runs and at end of day. SIP (Sterilise-In-Place): the fill path is sterilised by circulating steam or hot water (121°C+) through the system, achieving sterilisation validated to pharmaceutical or food safety standards. SIP is required for aseptic filling (long-shelf-life juice, dairy, pharmaceutical oral liquid, injectable) where the product must be filled into pre-sterilised containers in a sterile environment. CIP alone is standard for food. SIP + aseptic filling environment is required for extended shelf-life and pharmaceutical applications.

Aseptic filling is filling a commercially sterile product into pre-sterilised containers in a sterile filling zone (isolator or cleanroom) to produce a product that is shelf-stable without refrigeration. The liquid is heat-treated (UHT: 135°C+ for 2–4 seconds, or HTST: 72°C for 15 seconds), cooled, then filled into sterilised bottles/pouches/Tetra Pak in an aseptic environment. Required for: UHT dairy (milk, cream, plant-based milk) — ambient shelf life up to 12 months; ambient juice and beverages — ambient shelf life 6–18 months; pharmaceutical oral liquid — aseptic process per GMP Annex 1; and food ingredients requiring ambient shelf life without preservatives. Aseptic rotary filling machines are the most complex and expensive filling equipment ($200,000–$1,000,000+) and require dedicated cleanroom infrastructure.

Rotary filling machine changeover (format change) is longer than inline due to the number of fill heads and the rotary mechanism. Typical changeover times: same bottle diameter, different fill volume: 30–60 minutes (recipe change + nozzle height adjustment). Different bottle diameter (same family): 60–120 minutes (change star wheels, bottle plates, guide rails). Complete format change (different bottle and liquid): 2–4 hours (includes full CIP cycle, format parts change, re-validation). Compared to inline (20–60 minutes for most changes), rotary changeover is 2–4× longer. This reinforces that rotary machines are best for dedicated high-volume product lines with limited format changes.

6-head rotary piston filler (200–400 bt/hr): $80,000–$150,000 USD. 12-head rotary piston filler with CIP (500–900 bt/hr): $150,000–$250,000 USD. 16-head rotary filler with servo drives and CIP (800–1,200 bt/hr): $200,000–$350,000 USD. 24-head rotary filler with full aseptic package and SIP: $500,000–$1,000,000+ USD. Complete rotary filling line (filler + capper + labeller + CIP): $250,000–$600,000 USD. Investment is significantly higher than inline filling for the same head count due to the rotary carousel mechanism. The payback comes from higher throughput per unit of floor space and operator. Contact us with your bottle, liquid and target speed for a quotation.