How to use this guide
Use this guide to prepare your requirements. Contact us if you need help choosing a configuration.
A useful liquid filling machine comparison begins with the product and package, not with a catalogue speed. Two machines that look similar can behave very differently when viscosity, foam, particles, fill volume, bottle stability or cleaning expectations change. Use this checklist to prepare an RFQ that lets a supplier recommend a defensible configuration.
1. Describe the material under actual filling conditions
Provide the product name and a practical description of how it behaves. Record whether it is water-like, viscous, sticky, foaming, stringing, abrasive, corrosive, volatile or sensitive to temperature. If it contains particles, state their approximate size, concentration and tendency to settle. A viscosity value is most useful when it includes the test temperature and method; a single number without conditions can be misleading.
Also explain whether the product changes between batches or during the day. Honey, sauces, gels, oils and cleaning liquids may flow differently as temperature changes. If the material must remain warm, be mixed or protected from air, identify that before choosing a hopper, pump, nozzle and product path. Do not assume that a machine demonstrated with water will deliver the same output or accuracy with your product.
2. Define the dose range and acceptance method
List the minimum, normal and maximum fill volumes. A very wide range may need different cylinders, pumps, nozzles or recipes. State whether acceptance will be based on volume, net weight or another measurement, and describe the acceptable tolerance for each target dose. Include the number of test fills, the warm-up or priming method and how outliers will be handled.
Accuracy should never be evaluated without the material, dose, container and operating conditions. Product trapped in hoses, air bubbles, dripping, inconsistent feed pressure and operator technique can affect results. Agree on the test scale, sample conditioning and measurement resolution before FAT so that buyer and supplier calculate the result in the same way.
3. Provide real container and closure information
Send dimensioned drawings or representative samples of every bottle, jar, tube, pouch or other package. Record the opening diameter, total height, body width, material, rigidity and center of gravity. Soft containers may deform; tall narrow bottles may need guides; small openings may limit nozzle diameter; transparent products may show splashing or bubbles.
Explain how containers arrive at the filling station: manually placed, indexed on a table or transported by conveyor. For a compact line, also provide cap type, thread or press-fit details, label position and coding requirement. A filler cannot be selected in isolation when downstream capping, labeling or sealing controls the usable line speed.
4. Separate target output from catalogue maximum
State the required good containers per minute or per hour and the shift pattern. Ask the supplier to state the assumptions behind the proposed output: fill volume, material behavior, number of heads, container spacing, operator actions, feeding method and rejection or stoppage allowance. The slowest station and the accumulation available between stations determine line output.
For a semi-automatic machine, identify who loads containers, starts the cycle, moves filled packages and applies closures. A realistic labor cycle is part of the capacity calculation. For an automatic system, define infeed availability, changeover time and recovery after a stop. Request a range or tested condition instead of an unconditional speed promise.
5. Confirm product-contact parts and cleaning boundary
Identify the required contact material, seal compatibility and surface expectations for the actual product and destination. Ask which parts contact the product, which can be removed without tools, where residual product can collect and how the pump, hopper, hoses and nozzles are drained. Define whether the expected procedure is wipe cleaning, manual disassembly, flushing, clean-in-place preparation or another validated method.
Cleaning suitability is application-specific. FDA’s Food Code states that food-contact surfaces should be clean to sight and touch and identifies circumstances requiring cleaning; a machine purchase alone does not establish a complete sanitation program. The user remains responsible for a procedure appropriate to the product, hazards and local rules.
6. Record utilities and installation constraints
Confirm destination country, voltage, frequency, phase, available compressed-air pressure and quality, and any restrictions on plugs or components. Provide the available floor area, line direction, working height, doorway and lifting limitations. If the product is flammable, hazardous or used in a classified environment, stop the general selection process and obtain a separate engineering and compliance assessment.
7. Ask for a configuration boundary, not only a price
The quotation should identify the exact model, dosing principle, number of heads, product-contact path, standard accessories, optional items, excluded upstream and downstream equipment, utilities, change parts, documentation, test conditions, packing, lead time and warranty boundary. Certification must be linked to the selected model and applicable scope; one certificate should not be treated as evidence for an entire product family.
Information to send MUJIU
- Material description, temperature, viscosity conditions, foam and particles.
- Minimum, normal and maximum dose with acceptance method.
- Container drawings, samples, opening and stability details.
- Required good output and operator involvement.
- Cleaning, contact-material and changeover expectations.
- Destination, electrical supply, compressed air and available layout.
- Required documents and intended industry or regulatory environment.
MUJIU uses these inputs to narrow the equipment principle and configuration. Final suitability, output and acceptance criteria must be confirmed in the technical proposal and order.