Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-16 Origin: Site
Ever wonder how your single-serve coffee or vitamin powders are packed? Stick packs are slim, portable, and easy to open. They dominate because consumers love convenience and portion control. You’ll find them with powders, liquids, and even gels. In this post, you’ll learn how stick pack machines work step-by-step. We’ll show the process, benefits, and why efficiency matters.
A stick pack machine is a vertical packaging system that forms, fills, and seals narrow, single-serve sachets from a continuous roll of film. It pulls a flat web into the machine, shapes it around slim forming tubes, doses a precise amount of product, then seals and cuts each packet into a tidy “stick.” The result: portable, portion-controlled packs consumers can tear and use on the go.
Unlike a typical single-lane VFFS unit that produces one pouch at a time, a stick pack machine is designed for multiple lanes operating in parallel. Each lane behaves like its own miniature packaging line, so output scales quickly without expanding the footprint. Powders, granules, liquids, and gels can be run using the appropriate dosing system—auger, cup, piston, or pump—while heat and pressure create tight vertical and horizontal seals. In short, it’s a compact, high-throughput way to deliver consistent unit doses in a sleek, brandable format.
A stick pack machine turns a wide roll of film into many slender, single-serve sticks in one smooth, continuous motion. Each lane repeats the same eight micro-steps every few seconds, so the output looks like a marching band of tiny sealed tubes. Below is an expanded tour that keeps the original order but adds the “why” and “how” behind every move.
The process starts at the unwind station, where a mill-wide roll of film sits on a pneumatic shaft. When the operator presses Start, the shaft inflates, locks the roll core in place, and keeps it from wobbling during the run. Instead of a separate motor, the machine uses the cross-seal jaws themselves as the pulling engine: every time the jaws close and move down, they drag the film forward an exact distance.
This “index-by-jaw” method removes extra feed belts and guarantees that each pull matches the intended stick length. Photocells read a printed eye-mark or the film edge; if the web drifts left or right, tiny guide rollers nudge it back before any forming begins. The result is a calm, steady supply of film that never overtakes or lags behind the sealing jaws.
Before the film is shaped, it can be decorated. A compact thermal-transfer or ink-jet printer is mounted directly over the web. As the film indexes, the printer fires a tiny ribbon or droplet that lands between future seal lines. Registration rollers keep the repeat length constant, while an eye-mark sensor tells the printer exactly when to start so the code ends up in the same spot on every stick.
Whether the artwork is a simple date code, a lottery number, or a QR code that links to a coupon, the printer waits for the sensor signal, not for a timer, so minor speed changes never smear the text.
Too loose and the film bags out sideways; too tight and it tears at the slitters. A dancer arm—basically a roller on a pivoting lever—rides on top of the web. When the jaws pause, the arm rises and takes up slack; when the jaws pull, the arm drops and releases stored film.
A small air cylinder under the lever sets the desired pressure, so the web feels the same gentle tug whether the roll is full or almost empty. Nip rollers upstream add a micro-brake, preventing the roll from overspinning. Together these parts keep the film flat and calm, ready for clean, straight slits.
The wide web now meets the slitting head. Non-motorized razor blades sit on sealed ball bearings and slice by contact pressure alone; motorized knives spin at a set RPM and cut faster, useful for thick laminates.
Each blade is locked on a dovetail bar, so operators can slide lanes closer or farther apart in minutes. A vacuum hood pulls away the tiny edge trim, keeping the floor clean and preventing loose threads from wandering into the seals. Accurate slitting is invisible to the eye but vital to the next steps: even a millimetre of drift here will shift the vertical seal later and can cause leaks or crooked sticks.
Every slit strip gets its own tiny forming collar. The collar is a slim piece of stainless steel shaped like a teardrop; as the film rides over it, the edges curl upward and meet at the rear of a vertical tube. Two seal styles are possible: a lap seal overlaps the film edges and looks flat from the front, saving material and giving a sleek appearance; a fin seal folds the edges outward and seals them face-to-face, using a little more film but adding strength, helpful for coarse coffee or heavy salt.
Heated bars press the overlap against the tube for a brief moment—just long enough to melt the inner plastic layer without scorching the outer print. Once the vertical seam is closed, each lane becomes a miniature tube travelling downward in perfect parallel.
| Seal Type | Look | Material Use | Strength Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lap | Flat seam | Less | Moderate |
| Fin | Raised seam | More | Stronger |
Product enters while the film is momentarily still. Powdered drinks, instant coffee or protein blends are fed by miniature augers that count revolutions; granular sugar or seeds arrive through cup dosers that scoop an exact volume; thin liquids such as honey or hand-sanitizer are pushed by piston pumps that deliver a set millilitre stroke; round tablets or capsules fall through vibrating counters that release a precise count.
Each lane has its own dosing unit, so lane #1 can run coffee while lane #3 runs sugar—no cross-contamination. Drip-proof nozzles retract before the horizontal jaws close, and a small catch tray stops any stray grains from landing on the seal area. Sanitation is built-in: augers lift out without tools, pumps connect via tri-clamp fittings, and all product-contact parts can be rinsed or placed in a wash-basin between batches.
Vertical sealing bars ride alongside each forming tube. They press, heat, and release in a rhythm matched to the film speed—usually a fraction of a second. Temperature and pressure are set from the touch-screen and locked by password so operators cannot accidentally weaken the seam.
Next, horizontal jaws close across all lanes at once. The upper jaw makes the bottom seal of the new stick; the lower jaw makes the top seal of the previous stick. A quick blast of cool air or a short water-cooled interval sets the plastic before the jaws open again. Keeping product out of the seal zone is critical; even a single grain of coffee can create a micro-channel that later lets moisture in, so the drip-control and suction systems from Step 5 are quietly doing body-guard duty here.
While the horizontal jaws are still closed, a knife blade or rotary cutter moves across the sealed tail. Blades can be set for clean straight cuts, zig-zag tear edges, or simple V-notches that help consumers open the stick by hand. The cut is timed so it happens during the jaw dwell, ensuring a square, burr-free edge.
Finished sticks drop onto a shared conveyor or into individual lane chutes if you want to keep flavours separate. From here they glide to a check-weigher that removes under- or over-filled sticks, an X-ray unit that finds lost tablets, or a horizontal case-packer that forms cartons underneath. The entire sequence—pull, print, slit, form, fill, seal, cut—repeats every few seconds, turning one quiet roll of film into thousands of neat, single-serve sticks ready for market.
Stick pack machines deliver speed and efficiency in one compact system. They cut waste, save space, and create a consistent product.
Multi-lane design means big output without giant floorspace. One unit may run 4, 8, or 20 lanes at once. Each lane forms, fills, and seals its own packet. Together, they reach hundreds or even thousands per minute.
| Lanes | Bags per Lane (per min) | Total Output |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 60–80 | 240–320 |
| 10 | 60–80 | 600–800 |
| 20 | 60–80 | 1200–1600 |
Every stick delivers the same measured amount. It keeps flavor, strength, or dosage accurate every time. Consumers trust the repeatability—it feels safe and reliable. Brands benefit when people never second-guess the pack.
A stick uses less film than a wide pouch. That means lower material cost per unit produced. More sticks fit in cartons, trucks, and on shelves. It improves logistics density and scales well for large orders.
Key wins for producers:
Lower film consumption.
Cheaper transport per unit.
Stronger shelf presence per square inch.
A: Yes, most stick pack machines can. They use auger fillers for powders and piston or gear pumps for liquids. Changeover depends on product type.
A: Speed depends on the number of lanes, film quality, and product flow. Powders run faster, while viscous liquids may slow production.
A: Lap seals save film and look flatter. Fin seals are stronger, better for products needing higher seal integrity.
A: Laminated films combining PET, foil, and PE layers provide strong barriers against oxygen, moisture, and light.
A: Machines feed completed sticks onto conveyors. From there, checkweighers, X-ray, or vision systems verify weight, integrity, and print quality.
Stick pack machines transform a simple roll of film into thousands of neat, single-serve packets in just minutes. They balance speed, precision, and flexibility while staying compact enough for modern production floors. Consumers appreciate the convenience and dosing accuracy, while manufacturers gain efficiency, material savings, and reliable unit economics.
Whether it’s coffee, medicine, or powdered supplements, the process ensures consistent quality with every stick. For any brand looking to scale single-serve packaging, stick pack machines remain one of the smartest and most efficient solutions available today.
