Dry fillers are indispensable for packaging and processing everything from powdered baking mixes to candy and pharmaceutical capsules. In this 3-minute Package This episode, see a range of dry fillers, including gross weight fillers, combination scales, auger fillers, and vibratory fillers. Learn how dry filling machines ensure precision, reduce downtime, and adapt to diverse production needs. Boost your industry knowledge and see how dry fillers work. Watch now and subscribe for more!
From flour, sugar, and soup mixes to candy, nuts, pharmaceuticals, and even non-food items, dry fillers are a big part of the world of packaging and processing. Dry fillers come in a wide range of varieties.
Be sure to stick around until the end of this video to boost your industry knowledge about these versatile machines.
Gross Weight Fillers
Let’s start with gross weight fillers, perfect for bulk powdery products including mortar, titanium dioxide, and other dry goods such as flour and proteins.
Consistent weight is critical for these products, even though their flowability and bulk density can vary.
This is the ROTO-PACKER valve bag filler from Haver & Boecker. Designed for filling and weighing dry bulk materials, it handles products from flour to cement across industries. With 3 to 16 filling spouts on a single rotating platform, it offers flexibility and speed.
While spout sealing is optional, it boosts productivity by enabling simultaneous bag filling, minimizing downtime, and optimizing efficiency.
Combination Scales
Next up: combination scales, also called multihead weighers. These machines use a central cone to feed product into weigh buckets via linear pans. Each bucket is on a load cell, which calculates the optimal combination to meet the specified target weight before releasing the product for bagging.
Combination scales are fast, accurate, and ideal for applications like snacks, confections, or small packaged goods.
Auger Fillers
Auger fillers excel at dispensing powders and finely granulated products. They use a rotating screw—called an auger—to move product through a vertical shaft, ensuring consistent volumetric distribution. Widely used for powders, spices, ground coffee, baking mixes, and similar products, auger fillers offer precise control, guaranteeing accuracy and repeatability in every portion.
Net Weight Fillers
Net weight fillers, often used in food packaging, dispense dry products like grains, nuts, or pet food by exact weight, thanks to load cells beneath each filling station. The result? Uniform packages that meet strict weight requirements.
Loss-in-Weight Fillers
For precision applications, loss-in-weight fillers can be a great go-to option. They continuously measure the container’s weight during filling, adjusting the product flow in real time to hit the target weight. These fillers are common in high-end food and specialty applications.
Pocket Fillers
Pocket fillers are a volumetric solution for small to medium dry items. They use rotating pockets to scoop a set volume of product from a feeder, dropping it into the package below. Simple and reliable, pocket fillers work well for snack and confectionery items.
Vibratory Fillers
Vibratory fillers use vibration to settle and distribute dry goods like pasta or dried fruits evenly into containers. This minimizes air gaps and ensures visually appealing, consistent fills.
Piece Counters
Piece counters handle products where count accuracy is critical. These machines may count and fill items like screws, bolts, or nails, ensuring the exact number is bagged. They’re a staple for hardware and manufacturing industries.
Tablet Counters
Similar to piece counters, tablet counters are engineered to precisely count tablets or capsules. Using optical sensors or vibratory channels, they’re indispensable for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies focused on dosage accuracy.
Thanks for watching this episode of Package This — your guide to packaging machinery and materials.
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And if you are looking for dry filling equipment suppliers, explore PMMI ProSource at prosource.org, a searchable directory of over 1,000 of the top suppliers across North America.
