Recommended configuration✓ Food-grade product-contact parts
Bottle filling machine, set up as a 3-in-1 that rinses, fills and caps
16 rinsing, 16 filling and 6 capping heads in one frame, with stainless steel large-flow filling valves
Fruit juice in bottles and cups; juice with fruit pulp on a piston filler
PET bottles with plastic screw caps; pre-formed cups with a foil lid
Bottles from 200 ml to 2 litres; cups from 50 to 150 ml
Rated at about 83 bottles a minute on 500 ml bottles; 20 to 25 cups a minute
Recommendation
Bottled juice is filled on a 3-in-1 rinsing, filling and capping machine. It rinses each PET bottle, fills it through stainless steel large-flow valves and screws on the cap, all in one closed frame.
The juice line we have supplied runs 16 rinsing, 16 filling and 6 capping heads for bottles from 200 ml to 2 litres. A blowing machine at the start of the line makes the bottles from preforms, and a round bottle labelling machine and a sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel finish the packs. The bottle filling machine page sets out the configurations and specifications.
Product behaviour
Juice has to stay evenly mixed, go into a clean bottle and be sealed tight without damaging the cap, and some juice is filled hot. These shape how a juice filling machine is set up. For how fillers are matched to liquids in general, see liquid filling machines.
The bottle has to be clean before it is filled. On the juice line we have supplied, the 3-in-1 machine holds each PET bottle by the neck, turns it over and rinses it with water jets before filling. An air conveyor feeds the empty bottles in, so they are not knocked about on the way.
Juice has to stay evenly mixed. On the juice cup filler-sealer we have supplied, an agitator in the product hopper keeps the juice mixed from the first cup to the last, and a level sensor watches the tank.
The cap has to be tight but undamaged. The juice 3-in-1 caps with magnetic capping heads set to a torque, so caps are tightened without being damaged. Every part that touches the juice is stainless steel: SUS304 on the frame and contact parts, and SUS316 on the filling heads. Standalone cappers are on the bottle capping machine page.
Some juice is filled hot. Juice is often hot-filled at 80 to 92°C to keep it fresh and extend its shelf life. Our gravity and piston fillers fill hot or cold, with the temperature set to suit your juice, so tell us when you enquire whether your juice is filled hot or cold.
Filling system
Gravity filling for bottled juice. Gravity filling works well for thin, non-carbonated juice, as it does for water and alcohol. The juice 3-in-1 fills through stainless steel large-flow valves, 16 at a time, for fast and steady filling.
Pump filling for juice cups. A cup filler-sealer fills juice into pre-formed cups by pump, measured by volume, at 50 to 150 ml a cup. It then heat-seals an aluminium foil lid on each cup. See the cup filling and sealing machine.
Piston filling for juice with fruit pulp. A semi-automatic piston filler is built for thick products and products with pieces in them, such as juice with fruit pulp. The double-head piston filler we have supplied fills to within 0.5% and suits lower volumes.
Pack sizes
These are the juice packs producers ask us to quote for, with the machine setup for each. Each bottle or cup size is set up on the machine to suit, so send us the bottles or cups you use.
PET bottles with plastic screw caps, rinsed, filled and capped on the 3-in-1. On the juice line we have supplied, the blowing machine makes bottles of up to 2 litres, up to 104 mm across and 340 mm tall, with necks up to 38 mm.
Pre-formed cups filled by pump and sealed with an aluminium foil lid on a rotary cup filling and sealing machine. The cup moulds are made to your cups.
Juice in spouted pouches or cans runs on a pouch packaging machine or a can filling and seaming machine instead of a bottling line.
Output
Output on a juice line is set by the bottle size and the number of filling heads. The juice 3-in-1 we have supplied, with 16 filling heads, is rated at about 83 bottles a minute (5,000 an hour) on 500 ml bottles. Larger bottles take longer to fill. The rotary cup filler-sealer runs 20 to 25 cups a minute. These are machine ratings, so confirm your real output on a trial with your juice and bottles.
The rest of the line has to keep up. On the juice bottle line, the round bottle labeller is rated at 60 to 100 bottles a minute on 500 ml. The shrink wrapper groups bottles into film-wrapped packs of up to 440 by 300 by 330 mm, at 5 to 8 packs a minute.
Experience
A juice line that starts with a 6-cavity blowing machine making PET bottles from preforms, with a water chiller. A 3-in-1 machine with 16 rinsing, 16 filling and 6 capping heads fills 200 ml to 2 litre bottles. A round bottle labeller and a fully automatic sleeve sealer and shrink wrapper finish the packs.
A juice producer in Johannesburg fills juice and water into pre-formed cups of up to 125 ml on an automatic rotary cup filler-sealer, at 20 to 25 cups a minute. It has been in production since installation. Read the case study.
For lower volumes, the semi-automatic double-head piston filler we have supplied fills 50 to 500 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres to within 0.5%, and suits juice with fruit pulp.
Machines from our range for filling and packing juice, from the 3-in-1 and small-run fillers to the pouch filler, labellers and shrink wrappers.
Each bottle is rinsed, filled and capped in one machine.
One filling head with an automatic capper, for lower volumes.
A linear line that fills, caps and labels each bottle in turn.
Piston filling for juice with fruit pulp, from a hand-fed filler to an automatic one.
Fills pre-made stand-up pouches through the spout and caps them.
Groups filled bottles and shrink wraps them into packs.
Round bottle and double-sided labellers for filled bottles.
Quotation
A juice filling line is quoted to configuration, so we need these details about your juice, your packs and your plant.
Your juice, whether it has fruit pulp and whether it is hot-filled, with a sample if you can
Your pack: bottles and caps, or cups and foil lids, with samples
Target output, in bottles or cups a minute or an hour
Whether the line should also make the bottles, label them and shrink wrap them
Site power and air: the juice 3-in-1 runs on 380 V three-phase and compressed air
The floor space available: the rotary cup filler-sealer alone is about 1.5 m by 1.2 m
Send a sample of your juice with your bottle or cup, and we will trial it before we quote. For what shapes the figure on a bottling quotation, read the bottling machine cost guide.
Related pages
Juice is a liquid, so this page sits under liquid filling machines. For drinks with gas, see still vs carbonated liquids. Labels and multipacks are covered on the labelling machine and sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel pages.
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PackMan purchased an Automatic 6-Lane, 4-Side Seal Vinegar Packaging Machine, and it has been performing reliably since installation. The machine delivers consistent packaging quality, operates efficiently, and has met our production expectations.
SA Packaging Machinery delivered a solution that has met our expectations. The equipment has been reliable in daily production, and we’re pleased with its performance. We found the team knowledgeable, professional, and willing to assist whenever required.
We’ve been very happy with the equipment supplied by SA Packaging Machinery. It’s straightforward to use, performs consistently, and has helped us improve our production process. The team was easy to work with and made the entire experience smooth.
Send us your juice with the bottle or cup you use, and we will run them on a filling machine at our Riversands showroom before you order.
Questions
A 3-in-1 rinsing, filling and capping machine. The juice line we have supplied runs 16 rinsing, 16 filling and 6 capping heads for PET bottles from 200 ml to 2 litres, rated at about 83 bottles a minute on 500 ml bottles.
Yes. For lower volumes, a semi-automatic double-head piston filler fills juice at 50 to 500 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres, to within 0.5%. The operator places each bottle, so output depends on the operator, and a semi-automatic labeller can run beside it.
Yes, on a piston filler. The semi-automatic piston filler is built for products with pieces in them, such as juice with fruit pulp, jam and sauces. Thin juice without pulp fills fastest by gravity, on the large-flow valves of a 3-in-1.
Yes. A rotary cup filler-sealer fills juice into pre-formed cups by pump, at 50 to 150 ml a cup, and seals each with an aluminium foil lid. The one we supplied to a juice producer runs 20 to 25 cups a minute, with an agitator that keeps the juice mixed.
Yes. On the juice line we have supplied, a 6-cavity blowing machine makes PET bottles of up to 2 litres from preforms and feeds them straight to the 3-in-1.
