Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine

An Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine is a specialized piece of equipment designed for filling and sealing thin-walled, crushable glass ampoules, often referred to as “onion skin” ampoules due to their delicate, thin glass structure (typically 0.3mm to 0.8mm thick). These machines are widely used in pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic, veterinary, and chemical industries for precise filling and sealing of small-volume liquid products, such as medicines, serums, vaccines, agro-insecticides, and biological indicators. Below is a detailed description of the machine’s features, operation, and specifications based on available information:

Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine Video

Key Features

1. Design and Construction:

   • Material: Built with high-quality stainless steel, with contact parts made of AISI SS 316L and non-contact parts of AISI SS 304, ensuring compliance with cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) and FDA standards for sterile and hygienic operations.

   • Frame: Stainless steel square pipe frame with a matt finish, designed for durability and ease of cleaning. A large opening at the bottom facilitates maintenance.

   • Compact Design: Monobloc design integrates filling and sealing operations on a single platform, reducing contamination risks and ensuring cleanroom compatibility.

2. Filling and Sealing Mechanism:

   • Filling Principle: Operates on volumetric piston pumps or peristaltic pumps for high precision (up to ±1% accuracy), capable of filling volumes from 0.2ml to 25ml in a single dose.

   • Sealing Process: Uses oxyhydrogen flame (generated from water electrolysis) or traditional oxygen and LPG (propane) for sealing, with specially designed burners suited for thin glass (0.3mm to 0.8mm). The oxyhydrogen flame reaches temperatures up to 2800°C for fast, high-quality sealing.

   • Pre-Warming Station: Includes a pre-warming unit to heat ampoules before sealing, ensuring a secure and uniform seal.

   • Gas Flushing: Offers nitrogen or argon flushing before and after filling to protect sensitive products from oxidation or contamination.

3. Ampoule Handling:

   • Size Compatibility: Handles ampoules with a minimum diameter of 6mm to 7mm and a minimum height of 55mm, with no upper limit for diameter or height (customizable). Suitable for 1ml to 30ml ampoules with minimal changeover parts.

   • Slant Travel Principle: Ampoules travel at an angle during filling and sealing to accommodate variations in neck dimensions, thickness, and ovality, ensuring consistent performance.

   • Neck Centering: Precise centering of ampoule necks during pre-heating, post-heating, gas flushing, and filling operations to ensure accuracy and avoid breakage.

   • Rotation: Ampoules are rotated during pre-warming and sealing to achieve uniform heating and sealing.

4. Operation Process:

   • Infeed and Loading: Sterilized ampoules are loaded into a slant hopper, then fed one by one via a synchronized star wheel onto an eccentric moving rack in single, double, four, six, or eight units per stroke, depending on the machine model.

   • Sequential Operations:

     1. Pre-Gassing: Nitrogen or argon is flushed to purge air from the ampoule.

     2. Filling: Liquid is dispensed with high precision using piston or peristaltic pumps.

     3. Post-Gassing: Additional gas flushing to protect the filled product.

     4. Pre-Heating: Low-pressure flame warms the ampoule neck for sealing.

     5. Sealing: High-temperature flame seals the ampoule, with specially designed rollers rotating the ampoule for a uniform seal.

   • Collection: Filled and sealed ampoules are automatically discharged onto a collection tray (often with a “dead tray” for upright placement) without human contact, minimizing contamination.

5. Production Capacity:

   • Output ranges from 10 to 250 ampoules per minute, depending on the model (single-head, double-head, four-head, six-head, or eight-head). For example:

     • Single-head: ~25–50 ampoules/min (lab-scale).

     • Four-head: ~100–150 ampoules/min (medium-scale).

     • Eight-head: Up to 300 ampoules/min (high-speed production).

   • Specific case: The FPS1-OS-SS model fills 6.7mm x 60mm onion skin tubes with 0.1ml to 0.4ml at 45–50 ampoules/min with ±0.5% accuracy.

6. Additional Features:

   • Tool-Less Changeover: Minimal parts needed for switching between ampoule sizes (1ml to 20ml), enhancing productivity.

   • Safety and Maintenance: Pendant-type electrical control panel for ease of operation and safety. Large bottom opening for easy cleaning and maintenance.

   • Customization: Available in standard and custom models to meet specific industry requirements, including biological indicator tubes.

   • Certifications: CE-certified and compliant with cGMP and FDA standards for aseptic manufacturing.

   • Eco-Friendly Option: Some models use oxyhydrogen gas generators (HHO technology) instead of traditional gas cylinders, reducing explosion risks and operational costs.

Applications

• Pharmaceuticals: Filling sterile liquids like vaccines, serums, and injectables.

• Biotech: Handling biological indicators and sensitive compounds.

• Cosmetics: Packaging cosmetic serums and oils.

• Veterinary: Filling veterinary medicines.

• Chemical Industry: Filling agro-insecticides and other chemicals.

Advantages

• High Precision: Ensures accurate dosing (±1% or better) for small volumes.

• Sterility: Sealed environment and gas flushing prevent contamination.

• Versatility: Handles a wide range of ampoule sizes and liquid viscosities (free-flowing to heavy oils).

• Efficiency: High output and tool-less changeover reduce downtime.

• Reliability: Robust stainless steel construction ensures durability and low maintenance.

Types of Ampoule Filling Machines

• Small Ampoule Filling Machine
• Ampoule Filling and Sealing Machine
• Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine
• Servo Driven Ampoule Filling Machine
• Peristaltic Pump type Ampoule Filling Machine
• Closed Ampoule Filling Machine
• Single Head Ampoule Filling Machine
• Two Head Ampoule Filling Machine
• Four Head Ampoule Filling Machine
• Six Head Ampoule Filling Machine
• Eight Head Ampoule Filling Machine

Salient Features of Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine

• Compact model.

• All contact parts made from high quality Stainless Steel 316 & other Non-contact parts made from Stainless Steel 304.

• “No Ampoule – No Filling” system.

• Ampoule neck centering during gas flushing and filling operations.

• Possibility of nitrogen gas flushing before, during and after filling.

• Full accessibility allows easy maintenance.

• Machine equipped with pre-warming station.

• Minimum change over time, little maintenance & easy cleaning.

Process Operation of Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine

The sterilized ampoule tray directly loaded in to slant hopper of the unit. The Synchronized star wheel delivers ampoules, one by one on moving eccentric ampoule rack in single/double/four/six/eight. During the movement of ampoule machine perform below mentioned operations:

1. Pre-gassing with Nitrogen
2. Filling the product
3. Post Gassing with Nitrogen
4. Pre-heating with LPG & Oxygen combination
5. Sealing with LPG & Oxygen combination

At the end duly filled and sealed ampoules get collected automatically onto collection tray of the machine. Ampoules now can be collected for further inspection and/or sticker labeling operations.

Technical Specification of Onion Skin Ampoule Filling Machine

* Power voltage can be adjusted as per customer’s domestic power voltage requirements.
* Rights of technical improvements & modification reserved.
* Illustrations & dimensions are shown for information purpose only.