A Compaction Feeder Unit compacts material within a box or bag container whilst feeding along a length and onto the next stage of a production line. Often used on packing lines, the compaction feeder ensures that containers are filled to their optimum levels whilst not interfering with efficiency on the line.
A Compaction Feeder Unit:
- Ensures that a box or bag container is filled to its optimum capacity
- Reduces blockages at the packing line sealer
- Maintains production efficiency by feeding to the next process
- Designed to work seamlessly within a pre-existing production line
- Stabilises bags and reduces ‘popping’ issues by minimising air pockets
Typical applications of a Compaction Feeder Unit include:
- Compacting product early in the production line before re-filling
- Compaction of foods in boxes before feeding to the sealer (potatoes/vegetables/fruits)
- Compacting powders in bags (chemical/pharmaceutical/supplements)
- Compaction of plastic, metal, glass parts in a container (recycled/shredded/waste)
Designed to suit the application at hand:
- Compaction levels determined to suit the specific product being handled
- Guide rails position container onto the next process
- Often designed in food quality full stainless steel structure
- Can be designed to suit small or large containers
Hygiene sensitive areas
As many applications that benefit from the use of a compaction feeder are within hygiene sensitive areas such as the food and chemical industry, the unit is often designed to suit full food quality requirements and manufactured in full stainless steel. Carbon steel units can also be designed to suit less sensitive areas of use.
Ensuring that boxes and bags can be sealed
We have been approached by a number of companies over the years that were having issues with product not filling out into a container efficiently. Rather than filling out to the bottom of the box or bag, product was instead filling parts on top of one another. This causes issues along the line when the container reached the sealing machine as it could not be sealed, causing blockages and slowing production. Often an operative had to shut down the process and manually remove the issue, and if not caught quickly enough damage was caused to the sealer.
A compacting feeder unit solves this problem. Stationed before the sealer, the unit compacts the product and encourages it to fill into the gaps within the container. This then settles the product beneath the sealing level of the box or bag, allowing for the container to be sealed without issue and ensuring that the production line efficiency is not disrupted.
Stabilising bags
When a bag moves along the length of a compaction feeder, the material within compacts down in order for the bag to be either re-filled or sealed. In this process, air gaps are removed from the material which means that when bags are sealed (particularly with powder products) they are more stable and secure, and the removal of air reduces the change of the bags splitting open when under pressure.
