Grease Tube Filling Machine

A grease tube filling machine is a high-viscosity tube filling and sealing machine designed to fill industrial grease, lubricating grease, petroleum jelly, bearing lubricant and technical paste into aluminium fold-crimp tubes or HDPE/PP plastic tubes. Grease tube filling machines differ from standard cosmetic tube filling machines in several key ways: viscosity handling — grease can reach 100,000–1,000,000 cP, requiring a heated hopper (60°C–90°C for most lithium greases), a heavy-duty gear pump or large-bore piston, and heated product transfer lines; filling accuracy — ±1% (vs ±0.5% for cosmetics) due to the thicker, less homogeneous nature of grease; nozzle design — large-bore nozzle (12–25 mm) with a positive cut-off to prevent stringing of thick grease; tube type — primarily aluminium fold-crimp tubes (standard for grease, automotive and industrial applications) or heavy-gauge HDPE plastic tubes; production speed — 10–60 tubes/min (lower than cosmetic fillers due to higher viscosity). Typical products: lithium grease (NLGI grade 2, the most common industrial grease); bearing grease; EP (extreme pressure) gear lubricant; petrolatum / petroleum jelly (cosmetic and medical grade); PTFE-based lubricant; food-grade grease; automotive chassis grease; silicone grease.

Grease tube filling machines handle a wide range of lubricant and grease products: NLGI Grade 0 (semifluid, 100,000–140,000 cP) — centralised lubrication system grease, gear oil; NLGI Grade 1 (soft grease, 130,000–200,000 cP) — low-temperature bearing grease, food-grade lubricant; NLGI Grade 2 (standard grease, 175,000–280,000 cP) — most common industrial and automotive grease; NLGI Grade 3 (stiff grease, 260,000–385,000 cP) — high-speed bearing grease, open gear lubricant; petroleum jelly (petrolatum, 15,000–200,000 cP depending on grade) — cosmetic and pharmaceutical petrolatum in aluminium tubes; silicone grease (100,000–300,000 cP) — electrical insulating grease, food machinery; PTFE grease (100,000–400,000 cP) — dry lubricant for plastic and metal; food-grade grease (NSF H1, H2, H3 — same viscosity grades) — food processing machinery; copper grease and anti-seize compound (50,000–200,000 cP); dielectric grease (10,000–100,000 cP). Equipment sizing: for grease above 300,000 cP, a heated hopper (60°C–90°C) and heavy-duty gear pump are recommended to ensure consistent dosing and prevent air entrapment. Contact our engineers with NLGI grade, fill temperature and tube specification to confirm equipment specification.

Aluminium fold-crimp tubes have been the preferred packaging format for industrial grease, automotive lubricant and pharmaceutical ointment for over 80 years. The reasons are: (1) Chemical compatibility — aluminium is chemically inert to petroleum-based greases, mineral oils, silicone greases and most industrial lubricants. No plasticiser migration (unlike some plastic tubes). (2) Barrier properties — aluminium provides a hermetic barrier against oxygen, moisture and UV light, preventing oxidation and degradation of grease over shelf life (typically 2–5 years). (3) Complete product evacuation — aluminium tubes collapse completely when squeezed, with no spring-back. This allows near-100% product evacuation (important for expensive synthetic greases). (4) Seal integrity — fold-crimp sealing on aluminium tubes produces a mechanically strong, chemical-resistant seal without heat. (5) Industrial presentation — aluminium tubes signal professional, industrial-grade product quality. Standard in automotive OEM grease, industrial MRO and pharmaceutical grease sectors. Common aluminium tube formats for grease: D35 × 150mm (75g grease); D40 × 160mm (100–120g); D50 × 180mm (200g); D60 × 200mm (400g). Weight fills are typical for grease (rather than volume) — the fill system is calibrated by net weight per tube on a checkweigher.

Grease tube filling machines use several techniques to handle lubricants and greases above 100,000 cP: (1) Heated hopper — a jacketed stainless-steel hopper heated to 60°C–90°C by hot water or electric heating. Heating reduces grease viscosity to a pumpable range. Example: NLGI Grade 2 lithium grease at 25°C is ~200,000 cP; at 70°C it may be 20,000–50,000 cP, making it easily pumpable. (2) Gear pump filling — a positive-displacement gear pump replaces the standard piston cylinder for very thick greases. Gear pumps provide continuous pressure and handle high-viscosity products with fewer air pockets. (3) Large-bore piston — for greases that should not be heated (e.g., food-grade grease, certain pharmaceutical ointments), a large-bore piston (40–60 mm diameter) reduces fill pressure per unit area. (4) Heated transfer lines — insulated, heated product lines (typically 50°C–80°C) between hopper and nozzle prevent grease from cooling and solidifying in the transfer path. (5) Large-bore cut-off nozzle — a nozzle with 12–25 mm bore and a spring-loaded or pneumatic positive cut-off prevents stringing and dripping of thick grease after each fill cycle. (6) Tube follower plates — for aluminium tubes which must remain perfectly cylindrical during filling, follower plates support the outside of the tube during the fill stroke. Important: grease tube filling is generally slower (10–60 tubes/min) than cosmetic tube filling due to the higher viscosity and the need for complete air purging from the fill nozzle.

Grease tube filling and petroleum jelly (petrolatum) tube filling share the same machine platform, but differ in product characteristics and packaging format: Industrial grease tube filling: product — NLGI grade lubricating grease (petroleum, synthetic, bio-based); viscosity — 100,000–1,000,000 cP at room temperature; fill temperature — often 60°C–90°C (heated fill); tube format — primarily aluminium fold-crimp (industrial appearance, maximum barrier); tube size — 20ml–500ml (100g–400g net weight fills); applications — automotive MRO, industrial machinery, bearing maintenance; accuracy — ±1% or ±2g net weight. Pharmaceutical/cosmetic petroleum jelly (petrolatum) tube filling: product — white petrolatum USP, yellow petrolatum, cosmetic petrolatum (Vaseline-type); viscosity — 15,000–60,000 cP at room temperature (softer than grease); fill temperature — room temperature or mild warming to 40°C–50°C; tube format — aluminium fold-crimp (pharmaceutical) or LDPE plastic squeeze tube (retail cosmetic); tube size — 5ml–100ml; applications — pharmaceutical skin protectant, lip balm base, cosmetic ointment, baby care; accuracy — ±0.5%–±1%. Both can be produced on the same machine platform with hopper heating, gear pump option and nozzle adjustments. The key difference is the fill temperature profile and the tube format (aluminium for pharmaceutical petrolatum vs. plastic for retail cosmetic petrolatum).

Grease tube filling machine investment (USD): semi-automatic grease tube filler with heated hopper, fold-crimp seal, 5–15 tubes/min: $15,000–$30,000. Automatic grease tube filling and sealing machine, heated hopper, gear pump, 10–30 tubes/min: $30,000–$65,000. Automatic 2-head grease tube filler, 20–60 tubes/min, with inline checkweigher for net weight verification: $65,000–$120,000. Turnkey grease tube filling line with tube loader, date coder, vision inspection, checkweigher: $120,000–$280,000. Important cost factors for grease vs cosmetic tube filling machines: heated hopper (add $3,000–$8,000 vs standard machine); gear pump option instead of piston (add $5,000–$12,000); large-bore nozzle set (included in standard grease machine); heated transfer lines (add $2,000–$5,000); net weight checkweigher for industrial grease (common for industrial customers): add $8,000–$15,000. Note: for pharmaceutical-grade petrolatum or OTC drug ointments in aluminium tubes, add GMP documentation and validation package ($15,000–$40,000 depending on scope). Contact us with NLGI grade, fill temperature, tube diameter, fill weight range and daily production target.