What Is the Working Principle of a Degreasing Cleaner Liquid Filling Machine?

Struggling with messy, inaccurate fills for your corrosive degreasing cleaners¹? This can damage equipment and waste product, hurting your production line². A specialized filling machine³ is the answer.

A degreasing cleaner filling machine³ uses a corrosion-resistant⁴ system, like a piston or pump, to pull a precise amount of liquid from a hopper and dispense it into containers. This method ensures accuracy and protects the machine from damage caused by harsh alkaline or acidic ingredients.

That's the basic idea, but the real magic is in the details. The right machine depends entirely on your specific product. The viscosity⁵ and corrosive properties of the cleaner are the two most important factors we need to consider. To truly understand how it works, we have to look at how these challenges are solved. Let's dive deeper into how we select the perfect setup for these tricky liquids.

How Does Liquid Viscosity Affect the Filling Machine's Choice?

Choosing the wrong filler for your liquid's thickness leads to slow production or inaccurate fills. This means wasted product and time. Selecting the right mechanism based on viscosity⁵ ensures efficiency.

For thin, low-viscosity⁵ liquids, a simple gravity-fed system works well. But for thicker, more viscous degreasers, a piston or pump system is necessary to actively push the product into containers for an accurate and consistent fill every single time.

Viscosity is just a simple word for how thick a liquid is. Water is thin, and honey is thick. Degreasing cleaners can be anywhere in between. This property completely changes how we approach filling. I once worked with a client who was using a gravity filler for a slightly thicker degreaser formula. Their fill volumes were all over the place because the liquid was too thick to flow consistently. We had to help them switch to a piston filler⁶, which solved the problem immediately.

Gravity Fillers for Thin Liquids

Gravity fillers are the simplest type. The machine has a holding tank located above the filling nozzles. When it's time to fill, a valve opens, and the liquid flows down into the bottles using just the force of gravity. This method is great for very thin, free-flowing liquids like water-based cleaners. It's cost-effective and easy to maintain. However, it's not suitable for thicker products or liquids that tend to foam, as the flow rate can be slow and hard to control precisely.

Piston and Pump Fillers for Thicker Liquids

For medium to high-viscosity⁵ degreasers, you need a machine that takes active control. This is where piston and pump fillers⁷ come in.

• Piston Fillers: A piston filler⁶ works like a giant syringe. The piston pulls back, drawing a specific volume of product into a cylinder. Then, it pushes forward, dispensing that exact amount into the container. This method is incredibly accurate and is my go-to recommendation for most degreasers, gels, and creams.
• Pump Fillers: Pump fillers use a pump (like a gear, lobe, or peristaltic pump) to move the liquid from a tank to the nozzles. They are very versatile and can handle a huge range of viscosities, from thin liquids to thick pastes. We can also precisely control the pump speed, which helps manage foaming.

Here is a simple table to show the differences.

How Do You Handle the Corrosive Nature of Degreasing Cleaners?

Corrosive cleaners can eat away at standard machines, leading to costly breakdowns and contamination. This downtime stops your production line². Using machines made from the right materials is the key.

To handle corrosive degreasers, filling machine³s are built with resistant materials like 316L stainless steel⁸ or specific plastics. All parts that touch the liquid, including the tank, nozzles, and seals, must be non-reactive to prevent corrosion and ensure product purity.

Degreasing cleaners often contain ingredients like sodium hydroxide⁹ or phosphoric acid¹⁰. These chemicals are great for cleaning but are very aggressive toward metals. Using a standard machine made from 304 stainless steel is a recipe for disaster. I've seen it happen. The machine starts to corrode, little metal particles get into the product, and eventually, the machine fails completely. That’s why we must pay close attention to every single material that will touch the product. It’s not just about the big parts; it's about everything.

The Importance of Material Selection

The first line of defense is choosing the right material. The industry standard for most chemical applications is 316L stainless steel⁸. It contains an element called molybdenum, which gives it excellent resistance to the acids and alkalis found in degreasers. For extremely aggressive chemicals, we might even use special plastics like PVC or PE for the liquid path¹¹. In rare cases with very strong acids, we have even built machines with titanium contact parts. It’s expensive, but it’s a permanent solution.

Design Features for Safety and Longevity

Beyond the main material, the smaller components are just as critical.

• Seals and Gaskets: The o-rings and seals that prevent leaks must also be chemically resistant. We often use materials like Viton or Teflon (PTFE) because they hold up much better than standard rubber. A failed seal can cause a leak, which is a safety hazard and can damage the rest of the machine.
• Clean-in-Place (CIP) Systems: Manually cleaning a machine used for corrosive liquids is dangerous and time-consuming. That's why many of our machines are designed with Clean-in-Place systems. This allows you to run cleaning cycles with water or neutralizing agents automatically, without having to take the machine apart. It’s safer for your team and gets you back to production faster.

Here is a quick guide to the materials we use.

Conclusion

In short, filling degreasers requires a corrosion-resistant⁴ machine, often a piston filler⁶, chosen based on the liquid's viscosity⁵. This ensures accuracy, safety, and a long machine life.