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Packaging equipment includes all manner of industrial devices that form, fill, and/or seal packages. Packaging equipment is generally defined based upon the items they are used to form or fill. Specific items include bags and pouches, bottles and jars, boxes and cartons, capsules (often in the medical fields), cups and trays, tubes, and other similar media holders. These devices are available in many sizes and automation levels, depending upon the capacity needed for a given application.
The machines within the packaging equipment field are designed to perform specific actions. These specific actions include filling, sealing and closing, filling and sealing, and forming, filling and sealing. Fillers simply fill a bag, bottle, can, etc., with a predetermined volume of product such as food, cosmetics, medicine, etc. They are not involved in forming the transport or holding vessel.
Sealers form a film seal around a bag filled with product, while closing machines secure flexible bags by tying a wire, narrow metal strap or tape around the neck of the bag. Filler sealers load bags, bottles, trays, cans, etc., and then seal them. They are widely used for products such as powder, liquid or paste foodstuffs.
Form, fill and sealing packaging equipment uses flexible plastic packaging film to form a package, fill it, heat-seal it, and finally cut it off into an individual product. There are two basic types of this style of packaging equipment: horizontal and vertical. A horizontal machine forms a package, fills it with product and seals it; all in a sequence of operations while the film is being transported in a horizontal direction. They are widely used to package solid foodstuffs. A vertical machine forms a tube, fills and seals it; all in a sequence of operations while the film is being transported vertically downwards. They are widely used for packaging foodstuffs in a liquid, powder, paste, or granular state
Capping machines, case equipment, label applicators, marking equipment, packaging machines, and stretch wrappers also fall within the packaging equipment category.
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