Manufacturing waste is one of the leading causes of air and water pollution. Liquid waste, in particular, caused by overflows, leaks, and machinery damage are harmful in many ways. These liquids could contain chemicals that might react badly when mixed together, possibly resulting in a fire. The smoke from this fire will be poisonous air pollution, and even people from miles away will be affected.
Although factories cannot avoid liquid waste entirely, machinery manufacturers have upgraded their filling machines to ease this growing problem. There are now machines that fill more accurately, suitable for thin to high-viscosity liquids. High-quality piston filling machine and overflow fillers are two of the best machine types that perform excellently in thin liquid filling. Understanding the functionality and key strengths of these machines is important for factories if they’re looking to invest in a particular type to reduce leaking and spilling.
Piston Filling Machine
There are two types of this machine, namely the Check Valve and the Rotary Valve. The latter, however, is better at filling both thin and thick liquids. Rotary valve type can handle pastes, thick sauces, and most thick dairy products. The valve is connected between the hopper and the cylinder, and then the product is flipped up to 90 degrees between the cylinder and the discharge tube. The valve can be emptied, so thicker products can pass through without damaging or stressing the machine. This function avoids leaks that waste a significant amount of product if accumulated.
In terms of accuracy, piston filler cylinders do not change the volume of the product per cycle. That means only the same amount of product is dispensed in a cylinder by the piston in every cycle. To make filling multiple containers with one piston size easier, packagers will use reed or position to make pistons perform partial or multiple strokes.
Piston filling machines are available in manual, semi-automatic, and automatic types. Tabletop piston fillers are most common in the semi-automatic type, which use a hopper to supply a product or a tank to pull directly from. Automatic types often include multiple pistons and fill heads, and this allows multiple containers to be filled in one cycle.
Overflow Filling Machine
Overflow filling machine is best suited for thin to medium viscosity liquids. Beverages, brine, vinegar, and oil are among the products that an overflow filler can work best with. The closed-loop basis that this machine operates with also makes it an excellent choice for dispensing foamy products such as liquid soap and cleansers. This machine fills at a target height in a container rather than by volume. However, volume accuracy is still possible, depending on the machine’s specifications. Automatic overflow machines return the excess of leftover liquid back to the reservoir. Fill levels and pump speed can be controlled.
Overflow filling machines for corrosive liquid are the best pieces of equipment for filling acidic products and other liquids induced with chemicals that can damage other types of tube, pump, and valve material. This type is designed to withstand harsh chemicals and is guaranteed to last longer than other types of overflow fillers.
Typically, these machines are operated in a single centralized system. If one machine malfunctions, instead of shutting off the system and repairing the damage, machines will be kept running, creating a tremendous amount of waste from the damaged machine. It may sound like a loss for the manufacturer, but losing product instead of losing time for production is more efficient.
In the end, factory waste management all goes down to the manufacturers themselves. Having the right equipment with excellent accuracy and waste control will be of little advantage if the people who use them do not dispose of the waste properly and do not conduct preventive maintenance for their equipment. Machines can only do so much; people will always have to take a bigger responsibility.
