Liquid Filling Machine

A liquid filling machine is a production equipment that automatically dispenses a measured volume or weight of liquid product into a container — bottle, jar, pouch, can or drum. The machine uses one of five fill principles based on the liquid type: gravity (thin, free-flowing liquids), piston (universal, medium to high viscosity), peristaltic pump (pharmaceutical and aggressive chemicals), gear pump (viscous oils and syrups), or electromagnetic flow meter (high-speed water and thin liquids). A PLC with HMI controls fill parameters and stores up to 200 product recipes. Output ranges from 500 BPH on a small 2-head inline to 60,000 BPH on a 60-head rotary.

Gravity: water, juice, wine, thin spirits (<100 cP) — simple, low cost, high speed. Piston: universal, 1 cP to 1,000,000 cP — most common for multi-product food, cosmetic and chemical lines. Peristaltic: pharmaceutical oral liquids, corrosive chemicals — no product contact with the pump mechanism; easy sterilization. Gear pump: oils, syrups, adhesives (1,000–500,000 cP) — high accuracy at constant temperature. Flow meter: water, thin beverages (1–100 cP) — ±0.2% accuracy, high speed, no mechanical displacement. Choose the principle that matches your viscosity and regulatory requirements.

Standard servo piston: ±0.3%–±0.5% volumetric at consistent temperature. Electromagnetic flow meter: ±0.2%–±0.3% — highest accuracy for thin liquids. Gear pump: ±0.3%–±0.5% — best for oils and syrups at controlled temperature. Net-weight filling (load cell): ±0.1%–±0.2% by weight — for declared-volume products and pharmaceutical fill weights. All HEMUfill liquid filling machines include SPC (Statistical Process Control) monitoring that tracks each head individually and auto-corrects throughout the shift.

Step 1: Calculate required bottles-per-hour (BPH) = daily units ÷ production hours. Step 2: Apply OEE factor (typically 0.75–0.85): Adjusted BPH = Required BPH ÷ OEE. Step 3: Match head count: 2-head inline = ~1,200 BPH; 4-head = ~2,400 BPH; 8-head = ~4,800 BPH; 12-head = ~7,200 BPH. Step 4: Add growth buffer — size for 120%–150% of today's volume. Example: 50,000 units/day, 8-hr shift = 6,250 BPH needed. At 0.80 OEE: 7,812 adjusted → 12-head inline or small rotary.

Inline piston or pump fillers handle virtually any container: rigid (PET, HDPE, PP, glass, aluminium), semi-rigid (HDPE containers, bags-in-boxes) and flexible (pouches, sachets, tubes). Round bottles are easiest — no orientation needed. Non-round shapes need a timing screw or orientation unit. Deep containers (drums, pails) need a dive nozzle (bottom-up fill). The HEMUfill system includes guide rail, conveyor speed, nozzle height and dive depth adjustments, all stored as recipe parameters.

Semi-automatic bench-top filler (1 head, 30 ml–5 L): $1,500–$5,000. Entry-level automatic inline 2-head (500–1,200 BPH): $8,000–$18,000. Mid-range automatic inline 4-head with conveyor (1,200–2,500 BPH): $18,000–$40,000. High-speed inline 8-head servo with CIP (2,500–5,000 BPH): $45,000–$90,000. Complete inline line (fill + cap + label): $60,000–$200,000. High-speed rotary (12,000–60,000 BPH): $150,000–$600,000+. Contact HEMUfill with your liquid, container, and target BPH for an accurate quotation.