• Jul 24, 2023
• Filler, Packaging
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Automated packaging plays a crucial role in modern production by increasing efficiency, reducing labor costs, and ensuring packaging consistency. However, in the process of automated packaging, the differing material volumes and machine customization requirements for various types of materials can lead to conflicting challenges.

Our customers typically purchase machines for packaging powders and small granular materials such as flour, rice, and poultry feed. Occasionally, we also encounter clients involved in the popcorn industry or dealing with similar materials, leading us to discover potential issues when it comes to packaging popcorn or materials with similar characteristics. Hence, we decided to express our perspectives in this article.

Key characteristics of popcorn: Large volume and lightweight

Upon discovering that the material is popcorn, we realized that our conventional machines would not be suitable. Instead, we must customize entirely new specifications to accommodate our customers’ needs.

During this process, we encountered the following challenges:
1. Popcorn tends to get stuck in the hopper, hindering the initiation of the filling process.
2. Popcorn may get stuck in the filling channel, preventing the completion of the filling process.
3. Since our machines operate on the principle of free-fall filling, it may result in insufficient filling of popcorn in the bags. This can even lead to popcorn spillage during the sealing process.

We believe the first two issues can be readily resolved:
1. Enlarging the hopper and adjusting the hopper’s interface with the machine would maintain product flow.
2. Implementing continuous vibration in the filling channel would prevent popcorn from getting stuck.

However, the third problem presents a more significant challenge. We cannot fully customize the machine according to the customer’s specific requirements. Instead, we need to upgrade the machine specifications based on their demands. For instance, if you request filling 450 grams of popcorn each time, we must upgrade the machine to a 1-kilogram specification. A 1-kilogram specification machine can handle 450 grams of popcorn effectively, both in terms of performance and overall machine size. Making modifications and adjustments to a 500-gram specification machine alone would not achieve satisfactory results.
However, this approach also means the machine’s cost and selling price would increase significantly, exceeding the budget of most customers.

While we can address these issues by upgrading machine specifications, we must also be mindful of the cost and technological limitations that may arise due to handling these unique materials. Looking ahead, with advances in technology and the continual evolution of automated packaging techniques, we believe innovative solutions will emerge. Perhaps more intelligent and adaptable machines will cater to the diverse packaging requirements of special materials, overcoming the challenges we currently face.

In addition, we hope customers to communicate closely with us, enabling a deeper understanding of their material characteristics and packaging requirements. This way, we can offer more targeted solutions to meet their specific needs.

In the automated packaging industry, comprehending and resolving the contradictions between material volumes and machine customization is an ongoing journey of exploration and progress. Through collaborative efforts, we firmly believe that more innovative approaches will emerge, delivering more efficient and intelligent automated packaging solutions to all industries, thereby adding greater value to modern production.