Filling viscous sauces into flat PET bottles: four-head dosing unit with shape hold
A flat bottle has softer walls and does not stand on its own, so in service it is held by its cross-section — otherwise the soft body folds in and the label wrinkles. The dosing unit holds the bottle geometry and fills it while keeping the shape, ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise lays down evenly, and the container goes to labelling without a skew. We match the clamp and the speed to your format.
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What changes with this machine
The flat PET bottle never stops under the filling heads: it moves continuously on the slat conveyor while the four fillers follow its speed. The stop–start cycle disappears, so useful output rises. The product in an open flat bottle stays calm: in-motion filling has no inertial surge that causes uneven levels and marks on the inner wall. The dose is set by servo revolutions, not air pressure. A flat pack needs extra work: a rectangular or oval cross-section lets the bottle rotate, so an anti-rotation guide holds the face side, and soft walls call for gentle filling and padded grippers. Frame and working parts are 304 food-grade stainless steel with clear tempered doors.
The product is a viscous or thick mass: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, cream sauce, cheese sauce, soy sauce, pesto, béchamel, BBQ, curry.
Containers are flat PET bottles with a rectangular or oval cross-section: width, height, neck finish and diameter for the cap, pump or sprayer.
Pack shape: face side, label area and base stability — these decide how the bottle is positioned and held.
Soft walls: a thin flat PET wall deforms under grippers and filling vacuum — filling pressure is set softer.
Container feed is continuous on a slat conveyor; the machine is not designed for stop-and-position filling.
The site provides 380 V / 50 Hz power and 0.6–0.8 MPa compressed air through a filter-regulator.
Position in the line: after product preparation and feeding, before capping, labelling and packing. Product goes from the hopper through stainless pipes into the dosing cylinders, through three-way rotary valves and filling heads into the flat bottle; the slat conveyor carries the filled containers on, keeping the face side oriented for labelling. A different feeding arrangement is a separate configuration.
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Specifications by head count
Values come from the product manual; the output unit follows the pack format.
| Number of filling heads | 4 heads (2 and 6 available) |
|---|---|
| Dose range | 50–1000 ml, set to the flat bottle format |
| Output | 40–50 bottles/min |
| Voltage | 380 V / 50 Hz |
| Power | 4.5 kW |
| Compressed air | 0.6–0.8 MPa |
| Overall dimensions | 2200×1400×2200 mm |
| Weight | 700 kg |
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Construction and process
Scenario: continuous filling into flat PET bottles
The line covers the section from prepared product feed to the closed bottle moving on to capping and labelling. A flat pack requires shape holding and face orientation — set from your sample.
How it works: the container moves, the filler follows
The bottle never stops. Four filling heads move synchronously with the conveyor on a rack-and-pinion and linear guide, grippers hold the flat bottle on the nozzle axis, and dosing happens on the move.
A cylinder lowers the nozzle to the neck or partly inside to reduce splashing. Pneumatic lines on the moving heads are protected by a nylon chain; pipes come apart with quick-release fittings.
Feeding, dosing and washing
The U-shaped hopper with a level sensor stops the feed pump at the set level. Product travels through stainless pipes into the dosing cylinders; the plunger draws and pushes the dose while three-way rotary valves switch the flow. After the cycle the machine washes with water or sterile water and collects waste in a tank.
Products and containers this line is built for
The line is built for viscous products in flat PET bottles: sour cream, yogurt, kefir and fermented dairy; ketchup, tomato sauce, sweet sauce, hot sauce, sweet-and-sour sauce; cream sauce, white sauce, cheese sauce, béchamel, mayonnaise sauce, garlic sauce, pepper sauce, chili sauce, mustard sauce, mint sauce; soy sauce, teriyaki, adjika, tkemali, relish, satsivi, pomegranate sauce (narsharab), curry sauce, oyster sauce; pesto, basil sauce, bolognese, caesar, tartare, onion sauce, cucumber sauce, thousand island, shriracha, demi-glace; BBQ sauce, meat sauce, beef sauce, chicken sauce, mushroom sauce, fish sauce, nut sauce, truffle sauce, plum sauce, apple sauce, apricot sauce, cranberry sauce, honey sauce.
Operation runs from the HMI: dose, speed, status and product count; the cabinet holds PLC, drives and the air filter-regulator.
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Machine photos
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What to confirm before ordering
Send samples — we test on your product and build the configuration around it.
- Pack shape: longitudinal and transverse axes, cross-section (rectangular or oval), body width and height.
- Orientation and label: which side is the face, where the marking is, label format and angular tolerance.
- Walls and base: wall thickness and stiffness, base stability and how it sits on the conveyor.
- Product: viscosity, filling temperature, whether it is squeezed out, whether filling is hot.
- Neck and closure: type, finish, diameter for cap, pump or sprayer; whether induction sealing is needed.
- Line: equipment before and after, flat label or wrap-around labelling, infeed speed.
Confirmed by testing, not promised
Deformation of soft flat PET walls under grippers and filling vacuum, bottle stability on the conveyor, angular tolerance of the face orientation, actual dose and output, product residue in the cylinder and at the nozzle, and wash duration and quality after changeover are not claimed as confirmed values: they are checked on your flat PET bottle samples before shipment. Compatibility with labelling and packing is confirmed against your samples and the line scheme. Equipment for another head count or container type is a separate configuration.
Filling viscous sauces into flat PET bottles: four-head dosing unit with shape hold
We will size the configuration for your flat PET bottle
Send the bottle, the label drawing and the product parameters — we will prepare the line scheme, the output calculation and the price.
✓ 15+ years of experience · ✓ own factory in China · ✓ free sample testing