Machine Overview
| Machine type | Piston filler (piston filling machine), pneumatic or servo-driven |
| Fills | Liquids, creams and pastes: sauces, honey, jam, mayonnaise, tahini, margarine, edible oil, yoghurt, lotions, detergents, lubricants and paints |
| Fill range | 10 ml to 5 litres on semi-automatic fillers, by cylinder; 2 ml to 5 litres across our piston fillers |
| Output | 20 to 40 fills per minute at 500 ml on one head, 20 to 70 on two; 13 to 20 bottles per minute on an automatic 6-head line with capper and labeller; up to 130 on an automatic 8-head filler |
| Accuracy | Within 0.5% on semi-automatic fillers; ±0.5% to ±1% on automatic fillers |
| Filling heads | 1 or 2 on semi-automatic fillers; 2 to 12 on automatic fillers |
| Pack types | Bottles, jars, tubs and pre-made pouches |
| Contact parts | SUS304 stainless steel; 304 or 316 on automatic fillers |
Configurations
A piston filler draws a set volume of product into a cylinder and pushes it out through the nozzle, so the dose stays the same whatever the thickness of the product. It is supplied as a semi-automatic filler with one or two heads, as a multi-head automatic filler on a bottling line, and as the dosing pump on tube, sachet and pouch machines. For thin liquids and the other fillers we supply, see liquid filling machines.
01
A pneumatic piston draws a set volume from the hopper and pushes it into the bottle or pouch. A hand wheel sets the fill and a throttle valve sets the speed. The single-head piston filler we supply runs 20 to 40 fills a minute at 500 ml, to within 0.5%, with cylinders for 10 ml to 1,000 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres; we have supplied it with a 10 ml to 1,000 ml cylinder to a cosmetics producer. It runs in automatic continuous or semi-automatic mode.
Best for
•Sauces, jam, honey and mayonnaise
•Creams and cosmetics
•Fills from 10 ml to 5 litres
Benefits
Mirror-finished SUS304 hopper
Hand wheel sets the fill
Continuous or semi-automatic mode
02
Two pneumatic pistons fill two containers at once from one hopper. The two-head piston filler we supply runs 20 to 70 fills a minute at 500 ml, to within 0.5%, with cylinders for 50 ml to 500 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres, and a version for 200 ml to 2 litres. On a line we have supplied, it runs beside a semi-automatic round bottle labeller that labels 15 to 30 bottles a minute at ±1 mm.
Best for
•Liquids, pastes and sauces
•Fills from 50 ml to 5 litres
•Growing daily volumes
Benefits
Two fills per cycle
Within 0.5% accuracy
One hopper and set of controls
03
On a bottling line, an automatic piston filler fills several bottles at once and passes them to the capper and labeller. On a line we have supplied, an automatic 6-head piston filler fills 100 ml to 1,000 ml at 13 to 20 bottles a minute on 500 ml, with a hopper level sensor, a touchscreen PLC and quick-release contact parts, and feeds an automatic screw capper and a round bottle labeller running at the same speed. The 8-head piston filler runs 90 to 130 bottles a minute, depending on viscosity. On a tracking piston filler, the heads move with the bottles so filling never stops: 20 to 40 bottles a minute on 2 to 10 heads, and a 12-head version fills 2 ml to 100 ml at ±1%. See the bottle filler-capper-labeller for complete lines.
Best for
•Edible oil, creams and sauces
•Detergents, lubricants and chemicals
•Continuous bottling lines
Benefits
2 to 12 filling heads
Capper and labeller in line
Quick-release contact parts
04
A tube filler and sealer doses viscous products such as creams, gels, ointments and pastes into plastic, laminated or aluminium tubes and seals the end, filling to within ±1%. Piston seals wear with use, so they are checked and replaced as part of routine care to keep every tube filled to the same level.
Best for
•Creams, gels and ointments
•Pastes and adhesives
•Plastic and aluminium tubes
Benefits
Fills and seals in one machine
Within ±1% accuracy
Semi-automatic or fully automatic
05
On a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine, a liquid piston or diaphragm pump doses into sachets formed from roll film, and multi-lane versions run several lanes side by side. On a horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine, piston dosing fills sauces, oils and gels into pre-made pouches, including spouted pouches.
Best for
•Sauce and condiment sachets
•Spout pouches
•Oils and gels
Benefits
Doses straight into the film
Multi-lane options
Fills through the spout
Applications
Food. Thick food products filled by volume:
Sauces, mayonnaise and tahini
Honey, jam and margarine
Edible oil and yoghurt
Cosmetics and household. Creams, lotions and cleaning products:
Lotions and creams
Gels and ointments in tubes
Detergents, lubricants and paints
Pouches and sachets. Liquids and pastes dosed into flexible packs:
Spout pouches from 100 ml to 1,000 ml
Liquid and paste sachets on a VFFS machine
Sauces in pre-made pouches
Very thick products. Grease and other products too thick for a piston run on a lobe pump filler, which can mix and heat the product so it flows into the pack. Send us a sample and we check which filler suits it.
For every machine we supply that fills liquid, see liquid filling machines. For operator-run fillers for powders and granules as well as liquids, see semi-automatic filling machines.
Specifications
A piston filler is specified by the product, the fill volume and the container. The cylinder sets the fill range and the number of heads sets the output, so a single-head bench filler and a multi-head automatic filler use the same dosing principle.
Output depends on the viscosity of the product and the size of the container. On a semi-automatic piston filler the operator sets the pace; on an automatic line the conveyor does. Real speeds are confirmed on a trial with your product.
| Piston filler | Heads | Fill range | Output | Accuracy | Utilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-automatic single-head piston filler | 1 | 10 to 1,000 ml, 100 to 1,000 ml or 500 to 5,000 ml, by cylinder | 20 to 40 fills/min at 500 ml | Within 0.5% | Compressed air 0.4 to 0.6 MPa |
| Semi-automatic two-head piston filler | 2 | 50 to 500 ml or 500 to 5,000 ml, by cylinder; 200 to 2,000 ml | 20 to 70 fills/min at 500 ml | Within 0.5% | Compressed air 0.4 to 0.6 MPa |
| Automatic 6-head piston filler, with screw capper and round bottle labeller | 6 | 100 to 1,000 ml | 13 to 20 bottles/min at 500 ml | Confirmed on trial | 380 V three-phase, 3 kW |
| Automatic piston filler | 8 | 10 to 100 ml, 100 to 1,000 ml, or 1 to 5 L | 90 to 130 bottles/min | Confirmed on trial | 6.6 kW |
| Tracking piston filler | 2 to 10 | Confirmed at quotation | 20 to 40 bottles/min | ±0.5% | Confirmed at quotation |
| Automatic tracking piston filler | 12 | 2 to 100 ml | 20 to 40 bottles/min | ±1% | 2 kW, 220 V, 50 Hz; compressed air 0.6 to 0.8 MPa |
Automatic piston fillers are built in 304 or 316 stainless steel. The automatic 6-head filler weighs 800 kg and measures 4,000 × 1,200 × 2,100 mm, and the screw capper on its line takes caps of 20 to 50 mm, fed by hand. Very thick products such as grease run on a lobe pump filler instead, which can mix and heat the product. Not sure which your product needs? Send us a sample and tell us the containers you fill.
ABOUT THE MACHINE
A piston filler, or piston filling machine, is a volumetric filler for liquids, creams and pastes. A piston draws a set volume of product from the hopper into a cylinder, then pushes it out through the nozzle into the container. Because the volume is set by the piston, the dose stays the same whether the product is thin or thick, and products with pieces fill without the dose changing.
Also known as
Each fill follows these steps:
On the semi-automatic piston filler, a hand wheel sets the fill volume and a throttle valve sets the speed. The filler runs continuously, or one fill at a time as the operator places each container.
Uneven fills usually come from air bubbles in the product, worn piston seals or a filler that has drifted out of calibration. Degassing the product before it reaches the hopper, replacing worn seals and checking the fill volume on a regular schedule keep every container filled to the same level.
See piston-style liquid filling in our single-head filling and capping video and our cream and lotion bottling line video.
Thin liquids such as water and juice usually run on gravity or pump fillers, and carbonated drinks on isobaric fillers on automatic lines. See liquid filling machines for every liquid filler we supply.
For a complete line that fills, caps and labels bottles, see the bottle filler-capper-labeller.
“Highly recommended! Excellent customer service, great prices, and they always go above and beyond.”
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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.
Comparison
A piston filler and a pump filler both fill liquids by volume. A piston filler pushes a fixed volume on every stroke, which suits thick products such as creams, sauces, honey and pastes. A pump filler moves product through a pump, covers a wide range of viscosities and is the usual choice on sachet and pouch machines, and a peristaltic pump suits thin or sensitive liquids that need hygienic, easy-clean dosing.
| Piston filler | Pump filler | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Thick liquids, creams, sauces, honey and pastes, including products with pieces | A wide range of viscosities; peristaltic pumps for thin or sensitive liquids |
| How it doses | A fixed volume on every piston stroke | Product moved through a pump |
| Usual containers | Bottles, jars, tubs and pre-made pouches | Sachets formed on the machine, and pre-made spout pouches |
Choose a piston filler when your product is thick or carries pieces, and a pump filler for thinner liquids and sachets. On a rotary spout pouch machine we have supplied, a servo-controlled magnetic pump fills 100 ml to 1,000 ml through the spout at 16 to 41 pouches a minute, to within ±1%.
Send us a sample and we trial it on the filler that suits it.
A semi-automatic piston filler suits smaller runs and changing containers: the operator places each bottle, jar or pouch and the piston doses it. An automatic piston filler runs on a conveyor with a capper and labeller, and suits long runs of one container. See semi-automatic filling machines for the operator-run range.
Advantages
Choose a piston filler when your product is too thick to pour evenly. A gravity or pump filler relies on the product flowing; a piston pushes out the same volume on every stroke, so sauces, honey, creams and pastes with pieces fill to the same level whatever their thickness. One cylinder covers a wide fill range, from 500 ml to 5 litres on our single-head filler, and the same dosing principle scales from a bench filler to an automatic bottling line.
Quotation
Every piston filler is quoted to your product and container rather than from a list price. Send us your product and we run it on a piston filler at our Riversands showroom, then quote the configuration that suits it. For what shapes the figure on any machine quotation, see the packaging machine cost guide.
Why us
Every piston filler we supply is set up and handed over by our own technicians.
Installation and commissioning.
We position the filler, connect the power and compressed air, set the fill volume against your own product and container, and hand over once every fill is consistent.
Operator training.
Your operators learn to set the fill volume and speed, run the filler continuously or one fill at a time, and clean the hopper between products.
Service, spares and support.
Spares are held in Johannesburg, and our technicians support the line in person and remotely once you are running.
Choosing the right piston filler starts with the product, the container and the output you need.
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SA Packaging Machinery supplies piston fillers across South Africa and Southern Africa, from semi-automatic bench fillers to automatic bottling lines. Send us your product and containers, and we will trial it and quote the configuration that suits it.
Questions
A piston filler is a volumetric filler for liquids, creams and pastes. A piston draws a set volume of product into a cylinder and pushes it into the container, so every fill is the same volume. It is also called a piston filling machine.
A piston filler fills thick liquids and pastes such as sauces, jam, honey, mayonnaise, tahini, margarine and yoghurt, as well as edible oil, creams, lotions, detergents, lubricants and paints, including products with pieces. Very thick products such as grease run on a lobe pump filler instead.
The semi-automatic piston fillers we supply fill to within 0.5%. Automatic tracking piston fillers fill to ±0.5%, and the 12-head version to ±1%. Accuracy is confirmed on a trial with your product.
The semi-automatic single-head piston filler covers 10 ml to 1,000 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres, and the two-head filler 50 ml to 500 ml or 500 ml to 5 litres, depending on the cylinder. The automatic 6-head filler we have supplied fills 100 ml to 1,000 ml, and our automatic piston fillers cover 2 ml up to 5 litres.
The single-head piston filler runs 20 to 40 fills a minute at 500 ml, and the two-head filler 20 to 70. On automatic lines, a 6-head piston filler with its capper and labeller runs 13 to 20 bottles a minute, a tracking piston filler 20 to 40, and an 8-head piston filler 90 to 130, depending on viscosity.
Yes. The semi-automatic piston filler is pneumatic and needs compressed air at 0.4 to 0.6 MPa. The automatic 12-head tracking piston filler we supply runs on compressed air at 0.6 to 0.8 MPa.
Yes. The semi-automatic piston filler fills stand-up, flat-bottom and zipper pouches as well as bottles, jars and tubs, with each pouch closed on a band sealer or pouch sealer. On automatic lines, piston dosing fills spouted pouches on a horizontal fill-seal machine.
