Buyer article
Bottle-Format Changeover Checklist for a Sauce Filling Machine
A practical checklist for engineering, production, and purchasing teams to review conveyor alignment, bottle gripping, guides, filling-head position, product paths, and controls on FTPfill. It excludes unverified changeover times, speeds, and accuracy claims.
The decision this page helps you make
When the container format changes, check the alignment chain in order: conveyor path, adjustable guide plates, bottle-gripper spacing, filling-head height, nozzle position, HMI settings, and product-path connections. The machine materials support the inspection points, but the correct settings must be confirmed for the actual container and product.
Buyer questions answered here
Why is continuous tracking relevant when changing bottle formats? FTPfill moves containers on a chain conveyor while the filling heads follow the container movement. This avoids making the container stop at the filling position and addresses the splashing and liquid-surface disturbance associated with repeated stop-start filling.
Which mechanical points should be checked first? Review the adjustable bottle-gripper spacing, guide plates, filling-head vertical position, and nozzle alignment. The image index also identifies the four-cylinder filling assembly and the conveyor area as useful visual references; it does not provide a numeric changeover setting.
What should be confirmed in controls and cleaning? Review the HMI settings for filling volume and speed, running status, and filled-count feedback; check that the hopper level sensor feeds the pump control. Inspect quick-connect product lines, cleaning lines, and the wastewater collection structure. The materials confirm cleaning support but do not confirm a CIP time, temperature, flow rate, or validation level.
Start with the changeover boundary: neck, height, and product path
The first changeover question is not a new fill value. It is whether the new bottle or jar can travel steadily on the chain conveyor and keep its neck aligned with the filling nozzle. FTPfill uses bottle grippers, adjustable guides, and vertically movable filling heads for this alignment, so begin by recording the new container neck, height, and diameter conditions before adjusting the machine.
Mechanical alignment checklist for the new container
Use this mechanical sequence: check the bottle-gripper position and spacing for the new container; adjust the guide plates so the container follows the intended path; check the filling-head height so the nozzle meets the bottle neck; and verify whether the installed nozzle matches the application, since the materials note that the filling nozzle can be replaced. Do not substitute a generic format chart for an actual alignment check.
Confirm dosing and HMI checks without inventing settings
After the container path is aligned, review the HMI values for filling volume and filling speed, then observe running status and filled-count feedback. FTPfill uses four piston dosing units; each piston pump performs product intake, metering, and discharge, while servo control uses speed and rotation count to control piston movement. The hopper level sensor also feeds the system and controls the supply pump stop condition. The source materials provide no numeric setting for a particular bottle format, so this step is a review and confirmation task, not a promised recipe.
Close the checklist with product-path, cleaning, and safety checks
Before handover, inspect the product pipes, three-way rotary valve, filling valves, cleaning lines, and wastewater collection structure. Confirm the quick-connect condition and use the transparent safety enclosure and HMI to observe and operate within the documented machine boundary. Cleaning support is documented, but no CIP time, temperature, flow rate, or validation level is supplied; record those items as engineering confirmations rather than filling them with assumptions.
Need to review a new bottle format?
Send the container format and product details to discuss the relevant FTPfill alignment and dosing checks with the project team.