Keeping it Clean: Maintenance of Your Liquid Filling Machines

Liquid filling machines are essential to improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness across industries, and increased global demand for them has led to a projected CAGR of 4.9% – reaching $6.89 billion by 2021. However, keeping your liquid filling machines maintained and clean is essential to meeting all regulatory and sanitation specifications for the industry. You can also extend the life and performance of your machine investment – ​​whether purchased outright or leased. When performing routine maintenance, follow these tips on critical cleaning and sanitizing to keep your system clean and running efficiently!

Different Systems, Different Approaches Work Best

It is imperative that your business has a clearly defined and documented maintenance program and skilled staff to understand each type of machine. For example, the cleaning requirements for linear and rotary liquid filling machines will differ.

Liquid filling machine types made of stainless steel and using additional fixtures and valves made of rubber or tubing provide high levels of performance and sanitation. You can still use certain cleaning agents to properly sanitize the internal components, but make sure you understand any warnings about degradation or unsuitability for use. This is especially important in pharmaceutical and industrial cleaning applications where the liquid product mixture is unstable.

Consideration must also be given to rubber or other components that may be sensitive to harsher chemical cleaning agents applied using a clean-in-place system. When setting up the cleaning cycle (either manually or with an automatic control panel setting), review all technical specifications and safety precautions to extend the life of the machine and prevent product failure.

Automatic Filling Machines
Just as liquid filling machines work differently depending on the product being used, the cleaning process will also be adjusted. Clean-in-place systems on automatic filling machines typically use a water flush or a cleaning solution flush to prevent product caking, contamination, and buildup. This is especially important in multi-product line businesses that require higher production outputs. Flushing and cleaning supply lines can also be controlled by the operator, minimizing production downtime. Operators simply set timers and cycles on the control panel while they monitor machine performance data to offset downtime.

Staff can manually clean individual components, hoses, nozzles, and drip trays while the cleaning cycle runs automatically. Coil hoses and accessories instead of leaving them on the floor to aid drainage and reduce excess product caking. This also reduces operator handling of components, which can prevent cross contamination. If you are changing production lines, you may need to manually disassemble the filling line and filling head to help flush and clean the supply lines.

Manual or semi-automatic filling machines
If you are a small manufacturer using a tabletop manual or linear filling machine, make sure to sanitize the handles regularly, even on one product line. As with gravity fillers, ensure that the valves under the filling heads are free of buildup, lumps and excess product after filling - regular sanitizing and cleaning will extend their life and prevent production losses due to sanitation failures.

Mind the waste: clean your process checks

Filling machines are simple to operate and clean.
The manual cleaning process follows standard operating procedures and focuses on sanitation and routine maintenance checks performed by skilled operators. It is easy to see where blockages, cleaning updates and service maintenance may be needed. For businesses using liquid filling machines on multiple production lines, clean-in-place systems rely more on automation to achieve standard levels of sanitation and hygiene. Therefore, it is wise to keep these process checks in mind:

Long conveyor lines between manufacturing and filling areas can lead to contamination. Keep production facilities short to avoid cross contamination, and make sure to use rigid pipes rather than flexible hoses, which can coil during cleaning and prevent adequate drainage.
During the production process, raw material supply tanks for products in the food and beverage, health and beauty, and industrial cleaning industries should be monitored by a skilled workforce for batch requirements. Filling machines operate with consistent material transfer, but inconsistencies in product elements and distribution at the end of the raw material batch can affect hygiene.
Volumetric or piston filling machines use delicate machine parts during the filling process, which require regular cleaning via the piston to prevent clogging and bacterial contamination.