Packing Line Troubleshooting

Before You Change Anything Write Down What Changed

Almost every fault on a packing line follows a change: a new film roll, a new batch of product, a cleaned hopper, a different operator, a wet morning. Establishing what changed is faster than any diagnostic procedure.

Weight Drifting High Or Low

• Check the hopper level first. A varying head above the feeder changes the flow rate and therefore the in-flight quantity, which shows up directly as weight drift.
• Check the product. A new batch with a different bulk density will move a volumetric dose immediately and a weighed dose slightly.
• Check for vibration from a neighbouring machine transmitted into the weigh frame.
• Re-verify against a certified reference weight before you touch any parameter. Half the time the machine is right and the reference scale is wrong.

Weight Scattering Not Drifting

Drift and scatter are different faults. Scatter usually means the fine-feed stage is too short or too fast, so the controller is guessing at more of the charge than it should. Lengthen the fine feed and accept a fraction of a second on the cycle.

Poor Or Leaking Seals

Temperature, pressure and dwell time are the only three variables, and they interact. Raise the temperature and you can shorten the dwell; shorten the dwell too far and you get a seal that looks right and fails in transit.

Look for product in the seal area. On powders this is the most common cause by a wide margin, and the answer is de-dusting or a bag support change rather than more heat.

Check the jaw faces for build-up and clean them while they are still warm at the end of a shift.

If the seals were fine last week, suspect the film before you suspect the machine.

Film Tracking Off Line

Check the roll is seated square and the core is not damaged. Check the dancer and the tension. Check the eye mark sensor is clean and reading the register mark rather than the print.

A film that wanders progressively through the roll is usually a film problem: the roll is telescoped or wound unevenly.

Premade Bags Failing To Pick

Check the vacuum first: a blocked filter or a tired cup accounts for most pick failures. Then check the magazine loading, then the bag batch dimensions.

If one batch of bags picks and another does not, measure both. It will be the bags.

Bag Jams On The Outfeed

Nearly always a transfer geometry problem rather than a speed problem. Look at the gap and the height change between the machine and the conveyor with the line stopped, and watch a single bag through it at hand speed.

When To Call Us

If the fault display shows a servo or PLC alarm, or the machine has lost a recipe, stop and call. Our support runs 24/7 with a guaranteed 4-hour response on a critical stoppage, and we can look at the PLC and HMI remotely rather than asking you to describe the screen.