How to Choose the Right Packing Machine: A 5-Step Buyer's Guide
By the FOOD LINE engineering team · Updated
Short answer: Choose a packing machine by answering five questions in order: what the product is, how much goes in each pack, how many packs per minute, what pack format, and what your site can supply (power, air, space).
1. Define your product
Product form decides the dosing system — the most important part of the machine.
- Powder (milk powder, flour, coffee, spices): auger / screw filler.
- Free-flowing granules (sugar, rice, salt, seeds): volumetric cups or linear weigher.
- Irregular solids (chips, nuts, candy, frozen food): multihead weigher.
- Liquids and pastes (sauce, honey, oil, shampoo): piston or rotor pump.
- Single solid items (bread, biscuits, bars): horizontal flow wrapper.
Also note particle size, density, stickiness, fragility and whether the product is corrosive or needs SUS316L.
2. Fix the weight or volume per pack
Small doses (1–50 g) point to sachet or stick-pack machines; 50 g–5 kg to vertical form fill seal (VFFS) or premade-pouch machines; 20–30 kg to an open-mouth bagging line.
3. Calculate the speed you need
Divide daily output by effective running minutes. Example: 100,000 coffee sticks per 8-hour shift ≈ 210 sticks/min → a 6–8-lane stick-pack machine (25–40 sticks per lane per minute). For bulk bagging, below about 5,000 bags/day a semi-automatic line is enough; above 10,000 bags/day choose fully automatic.
4. Choose the pack format
| Pack format | Typical machine | Why choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Stick pack / small sachet | Single or multi-lane sachet machine | Portion packs, lowest film use |
| Pillow / gusset bag from roll film | VFFS | Lowest cost per bag, high speed |
| Zipper doypack, flat-bottom, spout pouch | Rotary premade-pouch machine | Premium retail look, quick size change |
| Bottle, jar, can | Filling & capping line | Rigid containers |
| Single solid product | Flow wrapper | Bakery, candy, non-food items |
5. Check your site
Measure ceiling height (weigher lines can be 3.6–4 m tall), floor space and access. Confirm voltage, phase and frequency, compressed air (usually 0.6–0.8 MPa) and any explosion-proof requirement for chemical plants.
Get a recommendation
Send us the answers to these five questions plus a photo of your target pack, and we will reply with a recommended configuration, layout and quotation within 24 hours.