As technology advances, packaging machines are becoming more and more advanced to not only meet the current demands but to try and "future proof" the packaging equipment The choice of packaging machinery for primary & secondary packaging can depend on various situations: budget, payback period, integration, associated running costs, machine technology, and available floor space.

1. Amita Beniwal
Dept. Food Science and Nutrition
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat

2. Packaging can be defined as "the science, art and technology
of enclosing or protecting products for distribution,
storage, sale, and use". Packaging also refers to "the process
of design, evaluation, and production of packages"

3. As technology advances, packaging machines are
becoming more and more advanced to not only
meet the current demands but to try and "future
proof" the packaging equipment
The choice of packaging machinery for primary &
secondary packaging can depend on various
situations: budget, payback period, integration,
associated running costs, machine technology and
available floor space

4. Packaging machinery
Machine type Description of operation
Filling and dosing
machines
Packaging machines that measure out a product from bulk by
volume, level in a container, mass or number.
Closing machines Packaging machines which seal or close filled packages.
Labeling,
decorating and
coding machines
Packaging machines that apply labels, decoration or codes and
other markings to
packages.
Cleaning,
sterilizing,
cooling and drying
machines
Machines that clean, sterilize, cool or dry containers or filled
packages.
Fill and seal
machines
Packaging machines that combine the functions of filling and
closing in one machine.
There are a great variety of machines combining the functions of
filling machines and closing machines

5. Inspection machines Packaging machines that inspect products, packages or
packaging components, for a particular attribute (e.g. colour ,
size or mass) and reject items that fall outside pre-set values.
Container and
Component handling
machines
Packaging machines that arrange dispense or accumulate
packages or packaging components.
Form, fill and seal
machines
Packaging machines that form, fill and seal a package.
Carton erecting,
carton closing and
cartoning machines
Packaging machines that erect and close, or erect, fill and close
carton blanks or folded and side seam sealed cartons.
Wrapping machines Packaging machines that wrap a flexible packaging material
(e.g. paper, aluminum or plastic film) around a product or
groups of products.
Group or transit
packaging machines
Packaging machines that group together products for transit
purposes. Group packages include cases, trays, crates and
carton board sleeves.

6. Name of equipments (machine)
 Cartoning
 Cartoning Machinery
 Carton Erecting Machinery
 Carton Closing Machinery
 Carton Form Fill & Seal
Machinery
 Case Handling
 Handling Machinery
 Product Arranging Machinery
 Product Dispensing Machinery
 Coding & Marking
 Coding and Marking Machinery
 Emboss Coding Machines
 Ink Jet Coding Machines
 Laser Coding Machinery
 Thermal Transfer Printing Machines
 Wet Ink Coding Machines
 Industrial Cleaning
 Cleaning Machinery
 Cleaning & Drying Machinery
 Sterilizing & Pasteurizing
Machinery

7.  Filling
 Filling & Dosing Machinery
 Flexible Package Filling Machines
 Gravimetric Filling Machines
 Level Filling Machines
 Container Filling Machines
 Volumetric Filling Machines
 Conveyors
 Product Conveyors
 Bulk Product Conveyors
 Small Product Conveyors
 Small Unit Load Conveyors
 Large Unit Load Conveyors
 Package Closing
 Package Closing Machinery
 Closing without Materials or Closure
 Package Closing that uses a closure
 Package Closing that uses materials
 Food Processing
 Food Processing Machinery
 Bakery Processing Equipment
 Dairy & Meat Processing
Machinery
 Food Processing Cleaning
Machines
 Food Processing Control Systems
 Food Processing Equipment
 Food Process Handling Machines
 Food Process Pumping Equipment
 Wrapping
 Wrapping Machinery
 Flow Wrapping
 Partially Wrapped
 Shrink Wrapping
 Wrapped with a Seal
 Wrapped without a Seal

8.  Form Fill Seal
 Form Fill and Seal Machinery
 Bag FFS Machines
 Sachet FFS Machinery
 Tubular FFS (TFFS) Machines
 Vertical FFS (VFFS) Machinery
 Blow Fill and Seal Machines
 Flow Wrapping Machines
 Modified Atmosphere Packaging
Equipment
 Thermoform Fill and Seal
Machinery
 Stick Pack Machines
 Strip Pack Machines
 Labelling
 Labeling Machinery
 Wet Glue Labellers
 Pressure Sensitive Label Applicators
 Print & Apply Label Applicators
 Decorating Machines
 Sleeving
 Packing
 Packing Machinery
 Container Erecting Machines
 Container Loading & Unloading
Machines
 Container Sealing Machines
 Package Form Fill & Seal Machines
 Package Handling Machines

9.  Ready Meals
 Ready Meals
 Ready Meal Pumps & Depositors
 Ready Meal MAP / Gas Flushing
 Ready Meal Thermoformers
 Ready Meal Tray Denesting & Sealers
 Ready Meal Seal Testers
 Ready Meal Cartoners & Sleevers
 Package Closing
 Package Closing Machinery
 Closing without Materials or
Closure
 Package Closing that uses a
closure
 Package Closing that uses
materials
 Inspection
 Inspection Machinery
 Check weighing Machinery
 Color Sorting Machines
 Detection Machinery
 Pack Testing Machines

10. Cartoning
 Cartoning machines are packaging systems which are erector
close carton blanks or folded and side seam sealed cartons
 Cartoners which erect, fill and seal on one machine are
called Carton Form, Fill, Seal machines
 Cartoning machines and systems are patented like the Tetra Brik
and "Combibloc" for liquids which can only be produced on those
companies' machines, while other patented designs like
'crashlock' cartons can be automatically erected on a wide range
of machines

11. Cartoning machine

12.  Cartons can come in the form of blanks, which are flat, pre-printed and cut to
size and shape, with slots and tabs pre-cut if necessary. These are then folded or
'erected' to form the carton in the machine
 Some are glued using adhesive, others have pre-cut tabs and slots, or are pre-
coated with a heat sensitive material. Some applications use window cartons - a
carton with a pre-cut area behind which transparent film has been fixed to allow
the contents to be viewed
 Shapes triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, double-wall, frame-wall, wave-shaped
cartons; and tapered trays
 Cartons are delivered folded and side seam sealed to form what is known as a
skillet.
 Cartons are made from carton board which is a semi-flexible paper material
250µ to 1,000µ in thickness

13.  Semi-automatic machines which close the flaps of manually
erected and filled cartons at low speeds
 Fully automatic machines incorporating pick-and-place product
loading or stacking devices, leaflet inserters and coding devices
and run at several hundred cartons a minute
 Modern cartoners have benefited from the introduction of servo
driven subassemblies, programmable logic controllers and even
computers which allow the machines to be size changed
automatically and synchronised using software rather than
mechanical transmission components.
 These features come at extra cost and often a combination of old
and new technology can achieve the desired performance

14. Wrapping Machines
Wrapping Machines wrap a flexible packaging material (e.g. paper,
aluminum, plastic film) around a product or group of products
Style of packaging : 1)Flow-wrapping 2) Overwrapping 3)Horizontal
Form Fill Seal
Shrink wrapping: heat is applied by various means to a
thermoplastic material already loosely wrapped around the
product or group of products, which then shrinks around them
to form a tight wrap.

15. Wrapping Machine

16.  Wrapping is so versatile it is used in many sectors, however, it is
most common in food, bakery and confectionery for single items
which can range from confectionery (count line), bars and cakes
through to cheese and sausages
 Many single item wrappers can handle products at very high
speeds, particularly in the confectionery sector
 When wrapping is used for larger items or units or for grouping
single products in multipacks for point of sale, or in larger
numbers for transportation, then speeds tend to be slower
 Beverage sector can achieve reasonable speeds to match demand
from the speed of other machines in the line
 Machines have been specifically designed to wrap very large
items and pallets for both protection and security reasons

17. Labeling Equipment /Machines
 Labelling Machines apply labels and decoration onto all types of
packaging containers, display, point-of-sale and transit packs
 Labels are used on every kind of product to brand, decorate or provide
information for the consumer. Many labels do all three functions and
can contain, for example, pre-printed bar codes supplying, batch, stock
and price information to the retailer and consumer
 Other machines provide print on demand and weigh/price labels,
usually for fresh or perishable products where the weight of item varies
from pack to pack or for transit purposes. Many of these labels are
printed and applied in the store or warehouse
 Labels are also used to provide protection against tampering (tamper
evident) to ensure the product reaches the consumer without
interference and unopened

18. Double sided labeling

19.  Sleevers or sleeving equipment are used to apply shrink
sleeve labels on products which do not have surfaces
suitable for a conventional label.
 A growing market is security labelling to counter fraud
and theft, and give brand protection and authentication.
 Other types of labelling include in-mould labelling a
technique that applies labels to blown bottles, injection
moulded containers, and thermoform fill seal machines
 There are two principal types of labelling machine: Wet
Glue and pressure Sensitive (Self Adhesive) applicators.

20. Coding and Marking Machine
 These machines applies a code (including bar codes), dates
and other variable or unique information to a package
 There are two basic methods: contact or non-contact; and
programmable and non-programmable
 There is a whole range of machines and equipment carrying
out these functions, from simple mechanical stamps or
overprinters to sophisticated ink jet and laser coders applying
computer generated data. These machines are usually attached
to a larger packaging machine such as a cartoner, filler or
wrapper.

21. Marking machine

22. Fill Seal (FFS) machine
 These are packaging machines that form fill and seal a
package on the same machine.
 Types : Vertical form fill seal (VFFS) and Horizontal form
fill seal (HFFS) machines
 In both cases packaging material is fed off a roll, shaped, and
sealed. The bags/packs are then filled, sealed and separated.

23.  FFS systems are highly sophisticated featuring computer
interfaces and control networks.
 For example snack producers demand systems that have the
versatility to provide fast changeover between many
different packaging formats to meet growing demand for
single serve packs
 Here Vertical FFS is capable of creating virtually any size or
shape ranging from the standard pillow pack to bags sealed
on all four sides

24. Automatic fill and seal machine

25. Form fill seal machines are often divided into the types of
packs they produce:
 Bottles/vials : blow fill and seal
 Bags and Pillow packs : flow-wrapper, lower reel flow-
wrapper, vertical form fill and seal, stickpack machines,
mandrel form fill seal
 Cartons :vertical carton board form fill seal
 Pots trays and blisters :cold form fill seal, thermoform fill
seal,blister form fill seal
 Sachets and Envelopes :edge seal machine, horizontal form
fill seal,vertical sachet form fill seal
 Sacks and Bags: tubular sack form fill seal and vertical form
fill seal

26. Products commonly associated with form/fill/seal include:
 Crisps Nuts, Sugar, Rice, Pulses, Sweets & Confectionery,
Sauces & Soups, Pet Foods, Grain, Jams & Preserves,
Cakes, Biscuits, Tea Bags, Condiments etc.

27. Filling & Dosing Machines
 These machines measure out a product from a bulk supply by some
predetermined value, e.g. volume, level in a container, mass or count
 The filling method used is influenced largely by the nature of the product
e.g. liquid, gas, piece goods, powder, free flowing solids or sticky paste, but
also by the measure for selling the product e.g. by weight, by volume or by
count
 Filling machines may comprise of one or a number of dosing
devices that may be arranged with or without a mechanism to control
containers or packages as they are filled

28.  The filling of powders and free flowing solids particular
problems because of the generation of dust and variations in
bulk density.
 The filling of carbonated drinks like soft drinks or beer and
products like liquid detergents which have a tendency to
foam also poses significant problems which are typically
solved using a technique called "bottom up filling", where
the filling nozzle is inserted into the container and slowly
raised during the filling process so that the mouth of
the filling nozzle is always kept below the level of the
liquid.

29. Auto filling and dosing machine

30.  Volumetric and level filling is typically associated
with liquid or gas products but a whole range of
products also use this technology including dry
products such as powders and granules, pet foods
 Multiple filling heads are 'in line' where the filling heads
are fixed and containers are moved under the heads and
then removed when filled in an intermittent process,
and 'Rotary' where several filling heads are mounted on
a rotating

31.  Weigh filling machines for filling liquids like oils look
remarkably similar to their volumetric or level
equivalent, large machines for filling sacks or bags
have little physical resemblance to liquid fillers
 Fill & Seal machines are specific to a particular type of
container or package but can incorporate different
types of filling heads and different closing
mechanisms depending on the type of closure or
method of closing the package e.g. cap, cork, heat seal,
crimp or fold

32. Strapping Machine
 Semi-automatic : that features an adjustable table height and
energy saving design that shuts down the main motor when
there is no package to be strapped
 Fully-automatic solutions: offers throughput of up to 45 cycles
per minute
 Our industrial strapping machines are designed to handle the
packaging challenging environments of the meat, poultry and
seafood Industries
 Strapping consist of steel straps, rayon or polyester cord and
polypropylene, nylon and polyester straps
 Some strapping is secured via metal seals, closing methods,
punch and die seals and friction welding .

33. Strapping machine

34. Positioning of strapping on the boxes
Protection of edges
Use of strapping to fix unit loads on pallets

35. Weighing machine
 Weighing scales (or weigh scales or scales) are devices
to measure weight or calculate mass
Check weighers
Conveyor Scales
conveyor is in motion
and is intended for
weighing individual
boxes, cartons, cans or
unpackaged products
such as large cuts of
meat.

36. Digital Weight Indicators
indicators can be linked to printers,
bar code scanners, computers and
other peripherals for integration into
existing networks, allowing
effortless data transfer and
management from anywhere in the
operation.

37. Capping machine
 Capping Machines for the Food and Beverage Industry: products may
be packaged in jars, cans, bottles or a number of other containers.
 A single capping machine will handle a wide range of bottle and cap types
and sizes with little adjustment necessary
 Spindle cappers and chuck capping machines are offered in automatic
models that allow for continuous capping on a packaging line.
 These machines use automatic cap delivery systems that require an
operator only to do the initial setup and occasionally replace bulk caps.

38.  For facilities that do not have a need for continuous
capping to meet their production needs, spindle
cappers, chuck cappers and specialty capping machines
are available in tabletop and semi-automatic models as
well.
 Low production facilities may use handheld or
manual capping machines for consistent and reliable
container seals

39. Capping machine