Recommended configuration✓ Food-grade product-contact parts
Double-helix screw filler for maize meal bags of 10 kg to 50 kg; VFFS machine with a two-head weigher for 2 kg to 10 kg
A double-helix screw doses each bulk bag; on the VFFS line a screw conveyor feeds a two-head weigher, to within 2%
Maize meal; the same line is specified for sugar and rice
Pre-made bags, sewn closed, for bulk; pillow and side-gusset bags formed from roll film for retail
10 kg to 50 kg on the screw filler; 2 kg to 10 kg on the VFFS line
Belt conveyor and sewing head on the screw filler; a forming shoulder for each VFFS bag width
Product behaviour
A maize packaging machine for maize meal handles heavy bags, several bag sizes and meals that are milled to different grinds. Those traits decide how the line is set up.
Most maize meal bags are heavier than a VFFS forms. Maize meal is sold in 10 kg, 12.5 kg and heavier bags, and most VFFS machines end at about 10 kg. Above that, the meal is filled into pre-made bags on a double-helix screw filler, and the VFFS machine is kept for the 2 kg to 10 kg retail bags.
Each bag size needs its own forming shoulder. A VFFS machine forms the bag around a shoulder sized to the bag width, so a mill selling 5 kg and 10 kg bags runs a shoulder for each. The maize meal line we supplied was quoted with additional shoulders for its bag widths.
The grind decides the dosing. How maize meal is dosed depends on how fine it is milled and how freely it flows. The maize meal line we supplied weighs each bag on a two-head weigher; a finer meal that does not flow freely can be dosed by auger instead. A trial on your meal settles which.
Recommendation
Our first choice for maize meal is a semi-automatic double-helix screw filler for pre-made bags of 10 kg to 50 kg. The screw doses the meal into the bag, a belt conveyor carries the bag on, and a sewing head closes it. We have supplied one for heavy powder bags.
For smaller bags of 2 kg to 10 kg, maize meal is packed on a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine with a two-head weigher. A screw conveyor feeds the meal to the weigher, and the VFFS machine forms the bag from roll film, fills it and seals it. The line we supplied makes pillow or side-gusset bags 350 to 600 mm wide.
Video
A semi-automatic double-helix screw filler for 10 kg to 50 kg bags, our first choice for maize meal bulk bags.
A VFFS machine with a weigher forming, filling and sealing bags, the setup used for maize meal bags of 2 kg to 10 kg.
Filling system
A double-helix screw for bulk bags. The double-helix screw filler doses maize meal into pre-made bags of 10 kg to 50 kg, with the operator placing each bag. It is the doser we recommend first, because most maize meal is sold in bags too heavy for a VFFS machine.
A two-head weigher for retail bags. On the VFFS line we supplied, a two-head weigher doses 2 kg to 10 kg bags to within 2%, fed by a screw conveyor rather than a bucket elevator, because powder spills from elevator buckets. A finer meal that does not flow freely can be dosed by an auger filler instead.
Formats
Bulk bags of 10 kg to 50 kg. Bulk maize meal is filled into pre-made bags on the double-helix screw filler and sewn closed on the conveyor. Woven bags are sewn and sealed: an inner plastic bag is heat-sealed and the outer woven bag is sewn shut.
Retail bags of 2 kg to 10 kg. The maize meal VFFS line we supplied forms pillow or side-gusset bags up to 700 mm long from film 730 to 1,250 mm wide and 0.07 to 0.15 mm thick.
Pack sizes
Maize meal is sold by weight, so the bag weight decides the machine. The maize meal mill we supplied sells 5 kg, 10 kg and 12.5 kg bags; the table shows how each size is packed. Your sizes are confirmed on a trial.
| Pack size | Format | Machine setup |
|---|---|---|
| 10 kg to 50 kg | Pre-made bag, sewn closed | Semi-automatic double-helix screw filler with a belt conveyor and sewing head |
| 12.5 kg | Pre-made bag | The double-helix screw filler |
| 5 kg and 10 kg | Pillow or side-gusset bag formed from roll film | VFFS machine with a two-head weigher, rated 6 to 8 bags a minute at 10 kg |
| 2 kg | Pillow bag formed from roll film | The same VFFS line, rated 20 to 25 bags a minute at 2 kg |
Output
The maize meal VFFS line we supplied is rated at 20 to 25 bags a minute at 2 kg and 6 to 8 bags a minute at 10 kg, to within 2%. Output on the double-helix screw filler depends on the bag weight and the operator, and is confirmed at quotation. These are ratings, not results measured on a customer’s line.
Bag weight, how freely your maize meal flows, the bag format and the film all move the figure. We confirm the output for your meal by running a trial before we quote, rather than promising a figure we have not tested.
Experience
For a maize meal mill in Gauteng, we supplied a large VFFS machine with a two-head weigher and a finished-bag conveyor, specified for 500 g to 10 kg pillow and side-gusset bags of maize meal, sugar or rice. Maize meal is fed to the weigher by a screw conveyor; a Z-type elevator suits the granular products. The mill sells 5 kg, 10 kg and 12.5 kg bags.
The same weigher-fed VFFS setup bags sugar and rice on lines we have supplied, from 100 g to 5 kg. See the sugar packaging machine and rice packaging machine pages.
We have supplied a semi-automatic double-helix powder filler with a belt conveyor and sewing head for pre-made bags of 10 kg to 50 kg. See the double-helix screw filler on the semi-automatic filling machines page.
Quotation
A maize meal packaging machine is quoted to configuration, so we need these details about your meal and mill.
Your maize meal: the grind, and how freely it flows
The bag weights you sell, from the smallest to the largest
Your film or bags: thickness, print, and whether bulk packs go in woven bags
Any coding, checkweighing or bag sewing you need on the line
The output you plan for, now and as you grow
Floor space, ceiling height, power and compressed air at your mill
Send a sample of your maize meal with the enquiry and we will trial it before we quote. For layout planning, the maize meal VFFS machine we supplied is about 2 m by 2 m and 3 m high, runs on a 220 V supply and is run by two operators. For what shapes the figure on a machine quotation, read the packaging machine cost guide.
Related pages
Maize meal is a milled powder, so this page sits under the powder packaging machines hub. Sugar and rice are bagged on the same weigher-fed VFFS setup, and bags above 10 kg on bagging machines.
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Send us a sample of your maize meal and your film or bags, and we will run it at our Riversands showroom before you order.
Questions
Yes, on the same VFFS machine with a two-head weigher, for bags of 2 kg to 10 kg. Each bag width needs its own forming shoulder, changed between runs. Bags above 10 kg go on the double-helix screw filler.
About 10 kg, and only where the film is thick enough to hold the seal at that weight. Maize meal bags of 12.5 kg to 50 kg are filled into pre-made bags on a double-helix screw filler.
For bulk bags of 10 kg to 50 kg, a double-helix screw doses the maize meal. For 2 kg to 10 kg VFFS bags, the line we supplied uses a two-head weigher; a finer meal that does not flow freely is dosed by auger. We settle it with a trial on your meal.
Yes. The maize meal line we supplied was specified for maize meal, sugar and rice in bags of 500 g to 10 kg, so a mill can bag more than one of these products on it.
