Capsule Filling Machine

The machine works on an indexed rotary turntable. Empty capsules are fed from a hopper into carriers on the table, which advances one station at a time. At each stop a different operation happens: the capsule is positioned, product is dosed in, lidding film is applied and sealed, and the finished capsule is weighed and discharged. Because the table stops at each station rather than moving continuously, dosing and sealing both happen against a stationary capsule, which is what allows tight tolerances on fill weight and a consistent seal.

Sealing quality is the point of the format. A capsule that is not properly sealed lets oxygen at the contents, and for roast coffee the aroma is gone long before the best before date, so seal integrity is verified at commissioning rather than assumed.

Coffee is the most popular application but the machine can handle liquids, pastes, granulates, powders and solid pieces, which opens it to tea, drinking chocolate, powdered supplements and non-food single-dose products where a rigid capsule suits better than a flexible pack.

Control is through an industrial PC and touch screen, with the turntable driven by servo on intermittent motion.

The machine runs the main capsule systems on the market: Nespresso compatible, Nescafe Dolce Gusto compatible, Lavazza compatible and K-Cup. Changing between designs, capsule types and capsule materials is a tooling change the machine is built to accommodate rather than a rebuild.

A contract packer or own-label producer rarely stays on one system and a machine that only runs one capsule design ties the business to whichever brand or retailer it was bought for. The ILPRA UK team will go through the formats you need now and the ones you expect to add, so the machine is specified to cover the set.

An in-line checkweigher sits on the machine and weighs each capsule individually in real time rather than sampling, so under and over-filled capsules are identified as they are produced.

For a product sold by the dose that is the difference between giving away product across a production run and failing to deliver what the pack claims. It also produces the record you need to demonstrate fill accuracy if a customer or a retailer asks for it.

A capsule line runs on two consumables: the capsules themselves and the lidding film that seals them. Both have to suit the machine and each other, and a lidding material that seals cleanly on one capsule body will not necessarily seal on another.

We supply packaging materials alongside the machines we install and specify the material and the equipment as one job rather than leaving you to source a film and find out at commissioning whether it runs.

The machine can run standalone or as part of a line. Upstream, capsule feeding and product loading are sized to the doser. Downstream, capsules move on to coding, secondary packaging and end of line packaging equipment that cartons them into retail packs.

Most installations start with the machine and its feeding arrangement and add cartoning and automation when volumes justify it.

Installation and configuration are handled by our in-house engineers, with operator training delivered on site. We also provide servicing and maintenance, breakdown attendance and spare parts.