A packaging line should not begin with a machine catalog.

It should begin with a production flow.

For INNOV projects, the first task is to understand what happens between raw material and finished package.

Only then should the equipment configuration be determined.

Below is a practical engineering workflow for planning the line.

Stage 1: Define the Product

Start with six questions.

1. What is the product?
Rice, coffee beans, powder, pet food, fertilizer granules?

2. What is the physical form?
Granule, powder, liquid or paste?

3. How does it flow?
Free-flowing, sticky, dusty or irregular?

4. Is the product fragile?

5. What is the bulk density?

6. Does the material require special hygiene or cleaning considerations?

This information affects the feeder, weighing method, hopper and machine structure.

Stage 2: Define the Package

The next step is not machine selection.

It is package definition.

Confirm:

• Filling Weight
• Bag Length
• Bag Width
• Bag Style
• Film Material
• Seal Type

For example:

500 g / 220 × 150 mm / Back Seal / Laminated Film

is much more useful for machine selection than simply writing:

“Food Packaging Machine.”

Stage 3: Define Real Production Capacity

Customers often say:

“I need a fast machine.”

That is not a production specification.

A useful target is:

20–25 finished bags/min at 500 g

Now the feeder, packaging machine, coding and inspection systems can all be matched around the same target.

Stage 4: Select the Feeding System

The product characteristics determine the feeder.

Examples:

Free-Flowing Granules

Possible solution:
Bucket Elevator / Inclined Feeding System

Fine Powder

Possible solution:
Screw Feeder

Fragile or Irregular Products

A gentler customized conveying method may be required.

The goal is stable material supply, not simply maximum feeder speed.

Stage 5: Select the Packaging Machine

Depending on the bag type and product, the solution may include:

• Granule VFFS Machine
• Powder VFFS Machine
• Premade Pouch Machine
• Sachet Packing Machine
• Stick Pack Machine
• Liquid Packaging Machine

This is where INNOV's packaging equipment forms the core of the complete line.

Stage 6: Plan Coding Before the Layout Is Finalized

Confirm the information required on the finished product.

For example:

MFG 2026/10/09
EXP 2027/10/09
LOT A1029
QR Code

Then determine:

• Printing technology
• Printing position
• Trigger method
• Product stability
• Installation space

This prevents the common problem of trying to squeeze a coder into a finished line.

Stage 7: Decide Whether Inspection Is Required

Possible systems include:

• Checkweigher
• Metal Detector
• Checkweigher + Metal Detector Combination
• Vision Inspection

These systems require both space and production-capacity matching.

They should be planned before the factory layout is finalized.

Stage 8: Build the Complete Material Flow

A simple granule line may be:

Feeder → VFFS → Conveyor → TIJ → Checkweigher → Metal Detector → Collection

A more automated system may be:

Feeder → VFFS → Conveyor → Laser/TIJ → Checkweigher → Metal Detector → Vision Inspection → Cartoning → Case Sealing

Every added machine should have a reason.

The objective is not to make the line look complicated.

The objective is to remove a real production bottleneck.

Stage 9: Check the Factory Layout

Before final design, confirm:

• Ceiling height
• Available line length
• Available width
• Operator aisle
• Cleaning space
• Electrical access
• Machine maintenance space
• Raw-material entry point
• Finished-product exit direction

This is especially important when using elevators or multi-level feeding equipment.

A machine may fit on paper but still be difficult to maintain if there is no service space.

Stage 10: Plan for Future Expansion

A customer may begin with:

Feeding + Packaging + Conveyor

but later add:

Coding + Checkweigher + Metal Detector + Cartoning

A good layout can reserve enough space and interface capacity for later upgrades.

This avoids rebuilding the entire line.

Example Configuration

Product

Coffee Beans

Filling Weight

500 g

Bag Type

Pillow Bag / Back Seal

Target Speed

20 Bags/Min

Required Coding

MFG Date + LOT Number

Required Inspection

Checkweigher

Possible Configuration

Z-Type Bucket Elevator → Granule VFFS → Discharge Conveyor → TIJ Coding → Checkweigher → Collection Table

This is a more useful way to describe a production line than listing five unrelated machines.

It shows how each piece of equipment contributes to the complete process.

What Information Should Be Sent to INNOV?

For a line-design request, provide:

• Product name and photo
• Product sample if possible
• Filling weight
• Bag size
• Bag style
• Film material
• Target bags/min
• Required code
• Factory layout
• Ceiling height
• Voltage
• Inspection requirement
• Existing machines
• Factory video if available

From this information, the line can be evaluated as a system rather than as a collection of products.

Quick Answer: How Do You Design an Automatic Packaging Line?

An automatic packaging line should be designed by defining the product, package, target output, feeding method, packing process, coding requirement, inspection requirement and factory layout in that order.

Machine selection comes after the production requirements are clear.

That is the fundamental difference between buying equipment and designing a production solution.