A vertical form fill and seal (VFFS) machine is a versatile piece of equipment used in automated production lines to create, fill, and seal packages. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

1. Forming the Bag: The machine unwinds a roll of flat plastic film, which is then guided by a forming tube. This tube shapes the film into a pouch of the desired size.

2. Filling the Bag: Once the pouch is formed, it’s held open by a clamp. The product is then dispensed into the open pouch using a variety of filling mechanisms depending on the product characteristics. This could be by weight, auger, pump, or volumetric cup depending on the product’s consistency.

3. Sealing the Bag: After filling, the pouch is heat-sealed closed at the top. Some machines can also create a seal at the bottom of the pouch, depending on the desired style (e.g., pillow pouch vs. doy pouch).

4. Trimming and Completing the Package: After sealing, the pouch is cut from the remaining film. The finished package can then have additional features added, such as a date code, a tear notch for easy opening, or a hole punch for hanging.

Designed to combine horizontal flow wrapping and vertical bagging in one compact machine, the Elite i130 is the most easily serviceable vertical bagging machine on the market today. This vertical form and seal machine is commonly used for high-speed applications ranging from 50 to 100 packages per minute and can produce pouches up to 13 inches (330mm) wide. Perfect for products such as frozen food, vegetables, snacks and pasta, it is as user-friendly as it is fast.

Machine features include a heavy-duty stainless steel frame with anodized aluminum side plates, precise control over seal jaw travel, toolless removable vacuum pull belts, air shafts that eliminate the need for side chucks, an open design for easy film threading and servo drives on both the pull belts and sealing jaws for increased speed and accuracy.

Available options include gas flushing, polyethylene seal assembly, hole punch, pivoting pouch support, bag squeezers to reduce air in the headspace, and provisions for code dating/printing devices.