A vertical form fill sealing machine is a type of automated assembly-line product packaging system, commonly used in the

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

industry for

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

and many other products. Walter Zwoyer, the inventor of the technology, patented his idea for the VFFS machine in 1936 while working with the Henry Heide Candy Company. The machine constructs

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, Powder (substance), powders, ...

s and

stand-up pouch A stand-up pouch or doypack is a type of flexible Packaging and labeling, packaging that is able to stand erect on its bottom for display, storage, and convenience. It has characteristics of Plastic bag, plastic bags, Water bottle, water bottles ...

es out of a flat roll of film, fills them with product, and seals them. Both solids and liquids can be bagged.

Specifications of machine

The typical machine is loaded with a continuous flat roll of

plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plast ...

, which has usually had

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

ing and artwork applied.

Plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

is the most commonly used packaging material in the

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

, but the technology can be used to form continuous metallized foil/film, paper, and fabric product containers by changing the edge sealing/seaming methods. For some products the film may first be fed through a sterilizing chemical bath and dryer.

Single-web machine systems

Vertical or Inclined Form-Fill-Seal Packaging machine For a vertical form-fill-seal the film approaches the back of a long hollow conical tube, which is called the forming tube. When the center of the plastic is near the tube, the outer edges of the film form flaps that wrap around the conical forming tube. The film is pulled downward around the outside of the tube and a vertical heat-sealing bar clamps onto the edges of the film to create the "fin Seal", bonding the film by melting the seam edges together.{{Cite book, title=Fundamentals of Packaging Technology, last=Soroka, first=W., publisher=IoPP, year=2002, isbn=1-930268-25-4 To start the bagging process, a horizontal sealing bar creates the "Bottom Seal" by clamping across the bottom edge of the tube, bonding the film together, and cutting off any film below. This sealing bar can be on a fixed height, which is called an intermittent sealing process. Faster systems include a sealing bar that moves down with the bag while sealing. This is called a continuous process. The product is either pre-measured by a multi-head weighing system or the sealed tube end is then lowered onto a precision weighing table and the product to be bagged is dispensed through the long conical tube in the center of the bag. When the

gross weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition. Some st ...

of the product-filled bag is reached, filling stops, and the horizontal sealing bar seals the top of the bag, simultaneously forming the bottom of the next bag above. This bag is then cut off from the tube and is now a sealed package, ready to advance onward into the product boxing and shipping processes. During the final sealing process, the bag may be filled with

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

from a blower or from an

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. Though inert gases have a variety of applications, they are generally used to prevent u ...

supply such as nitrogen. Inflating the bag helps reduce the crushing of fragile products such as

potato chip Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

s, while inflating with inert gas drives out oxygen and retards the growth of

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

that would spoil the product. Other product finishes such as hole punching for retail hanging racks will be done concurrently or just after the "Top Seal" is made. The feeding of material and cutting of the bag/pouch can be determined either by pouch length, or by indexing to an eyespot (photo registration mark), which is detected by a visual sensor. While single web systems are popular for food applications, the dual web four side seal system is often popular for IVD and Medical device products. Closely related is the horizontal form-fill-seal machine, which generally uses more floor space than a vertical system. Modern advancements in pouch forming technology have allowed for smaller and smaller Vertical pouch forming systems. Many food-filled packages are filled with nitrogen to extend shelf life without the use of chemicals. Many manufacturers create and control their own nitrogen supply by using an on demand nitrogen generators.

Dual-web systems

Dual-web systems are available for pouches requiring different materials for each side, or with four sides. Dual-web systems use two rolls of material fed in from opposite sides of the machine. The bottom and sides are heat-sealed together to form the pouch, and the product is loaded from the top. The pouch with the loaded product then advances downwards; the top is sealed and the pouch is cut off. The sealing of the top of the pouch forms the bottom of the next pouch. During this process a tear notch may be punched.

References

{{Reflist {{packaging Industrial design Packaging machinery

Specifications of machine

Single-web machine systems

Dual-web systems

See also

References