A VFFS (vertical form-fill-seal) machine makes a bag from a flat roll of film, fills it from above and seals it, all in one continuous vertical process. It is the most common way to pack snacks, spices, sugar, pulses, powders and many liquids in pouches.
Because it makes the bag itself, a VFFS machine uses cheaper roll stock than premade pouches. It is also fast and compact.
How it works
- Film unwinds from a reel through rollers that keep it under steady tension.
- A sensor reads a printed eye mark so each bag is cut in the right place relative to the print.
- The film passes over a forming collar that wraps it into a tube around a vertical filling tube.
- A vertical sealer joins the edges of the film to close the tube along its length.
- Horizontal jaws seal the bottom of the bag, the filler drops product through the tube, and the jaws seal the top and cut the bag free.
Intermittent or continuous motion
In an intermittent machine, the film stops while the jaws seal. This is simpler and suits most products at moderate speed. In a continuous-motion machine, the film keeps moving and the jaws travel with it. That allows higher speeds but costs more and needs more careful setting.
Servo drives on the film pull and the jaws give finer control than pneumatic or mechanical drives. They also make changeovers easier and repeatable. Ask which parts of the machine are servo-driven, because some machines use servos only on the film pull and keep pneumatic jaws.
Fillers, bag styles and films
The VFFS machine is paired with a filler that suits the product. Common choices are cup fillers for granules, auger fillers for powders, multihead weighers for snacks and pump fillers for liquids. These are compared in packaging machines made in India.
Bag styles include the pillow bag, the gusseted bag, the block-bottom bag and the quad-seal bag. Each needs the right forming set and jaw design.
Most bags use heat-sealable laminated films. Seal quality depends on jaw temperature, pressure and dwell time, and on the film itself. Options include nitrogen flushing for shelf life, date and batch coding, and hole punching for hanging packs.
What to check
- The range of bag widths and lengths, and the change parts needed for each width.
- The film width and reel diameter the machine accepts.
- Speed in bags per minute for each of your pack sizes, with your product.
- Seal strength and leak testing during the trial, using your own film.
- Filling accuracy at speed, covered in filling accuracy.
- Dust control around the jaws for powders, because powder in the seal causes leaks.
Next step
We arrange VFFS trials with your product and film at shortlisted makers and check the results before you buy. For the full checklist, see packaging machine specification. To start, book a free sourcing review.