How does a powder filling machine work?

From protein and milk powder to flour substitutes to ground coffee to legal cannabis products, consumers love powders in convenient stand-up pouches.

The Shanghai Dahe company has been responding to this demand by offering granular and powder products in this popular packaging format.

If you're considering a Powder Filling Machine to automatically fill and seal pre-made bags, you might be wondering how this all works.

Today, we're going to take a deep dive into the process of packaging powdered products into pre-made bags using a bagging and sealing machine.

Introduction of powder filling machine

Bagging and sealing machines do two main things: dispense product into preformed bags, and then seal the bags.

There are two main designs of this machine type: rotary and inline. The difference between the two is the machine layout.

Inline bag machines pack products in a straight line, with the process starting and ending at opposite ends, requiring more floor space.

Rotary bag packaging machines are arranged in a circular fashion, which means that the starting point of the packaging process is right next to the end point. This creates a more ergonomic setup for the operator and requires a minimal footprint. Due to their popularity in powder packaging, we have only taken a closer look at rotary designs in this article.

Rotary bag filling and sealing machines can be equipped with one, two or four bag feeding "lanes", with the simplex (single lane) model being the most desired for powder packaging. When packaging speed requirements exceed single-lane output, companies can upgrade to machines with additional infeed lanes to meet throughput needs.

1. Pouch loading

Workers will periodically manually load prefabricated bags into the bag feeder, which must be carefully covered with shingles to ensure proper loading into the bag packer. The bags will then be conveyed one by one to the inside of the machine by means of bag feed rollers.

2. Clip bag

A set of bag clamps, one on each side, grips the loaded bag and holds it at all times as it passes through each station on the powder packaging machine. On the best automatic bagging and sealing machines, these grippers sit on stainless steel arms and can easily support fillings weighing up to 10kg, even with heavy use over long periods of time.

3. Powder product filling

The most commonly used for dispensing powders into bags are screw fillers. This filling device uses a long helical mechanism to dispense discrete amounts of powder into each bag. Depending on whether your powder product is free-flowing or non-free-flowing, different auger configurations are required.

Dust is most commonly released at transfer points in powder packaging systems. For this reason, it is recommended to use a dust cover, which is placed directly above the filling equipment to help control the spread of airborne particles.

In powder packaging, there will always be some loose particles that end up on the surface of the machine. It is important to regularly clean your bag packer to prevent buildup that could hinder operation or affect product quality.

4. Seal the bag and deflate

To ensure that all remaining air is removed from the bag before sealing, two bleed plates gently squeeze the bag.

To seal the bag, a pair of heat seals close the top area of the bag. The heat from these strips causes the sealant layers of the bag to adhere to each other, creating a strong seam.

5. Seal cooling and discharge

To flatten and strengthen the seams, cooling rods are passed through the heat-sealed area of the bag. The finished powder bag is then removed from the machine and placed into a container or conveyed down the line for further processing.