August 30, 2023
A sealing machine plays a crucial role in various industries, including food packaging and pharmaceuticals. They function by creating a seal between materials like plastic or paper to safeguard the contents.
Like any other machine, these machines need routine maintenance to ensure smooth operation and prevent expensive breakdowns. This guide will walk you through the fundamentals of sealing machines maintenance and offer suggestions to maintain your equipment in optimal shape.
Taking care of your bag sealer machine is important to make it last and work well. A machine that's well-maintained can keep serving you and your business for a long time. To help you make the most of your packaging process, here are some expert tips for keeping your packaging machine in good shape.
Preventive maintenance is crucial for keeping your packaging machine running well for a long time. Just like a car, your machine needs regular upkeep to ensure it works smoothly and has high efficiency. It's important to create and stick to a maintenance plan right after you install the vacuum seal machine.
Having a maintenance schedule helps prevent both small issues and big problems, which reduces unexpected downtime. Some preventive maintenance tasks include:
These preventive maintenance tasks often need specialized training and knowledge. Only highly skilled and trained personnel or certified service technicians from the packaging machine manufacturer should perform them. Top packaging companies offer Service Audits and Preventive Maintenance Plans with scheduled visits that suit your business requirements.
Another tip from Plan IT Packaging is to combine more complex bag sealing machine maintenance duties with simpler, routine tasks that trained machine operators can handle regularly.
Using a packaging machine maintenance checklist, operators are assigned tasks that must be done daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and twice a year.
These tasks often involve easy visual checks. Since operators become familiar with the machine through repeated maintenance tasks, they can often spot when something doesn't seem right before an official technician visit is scheduled.
Time is crucial when your sealing machine faces issues. Ideally, before you buy equipment, make sure you've thoroughly checked the manufacturer's technical service availability, ways to contact them, and associated costs.
Choose a packaging machine maker where a real person answers your call or email, and they can use remote methods to troubleshoot the most common issues without needing costly onsite visits.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 highlighted the importance of remote service capabilities. Many companies stopped business travel for months. Virtual meetings and video calls became essential, allowing manufacturers and clients to fix food sealing machine problems remotely, regardless of global circumstances.
After getting a packaging machine, the manufacturer should give you a list of recommended spare parts. This list should group parts by how much they wear out so you can plan your parts supply smartly. For instance, at Viking, we classify parts like this:
It's a good idea to always have the high wear parts on hand. When your machine stops working, waiting for a part to be made or shipped is not ideal. Every moment your machine is down during work hours means you're losing money.
Over time, packaging equipment and software need updates, and sometimes, a certain heat sealing machine or parts become outdated and unsupported. Technology evolves rapidly, and packaging equipment is no exception.
Stay in touch with your packaging equipment manufacturer to find out about required or suggested equipment upgrades and to get notified if your specific machine is being phased out. If that's the case, make a proactive plan to upgrade or replace your machinery, parts, or software to minimize downtime.
Maintaining your vacuum seal machine properly is vital to ensure smooth operations and prevent expensive breakdowns. By adhering to a consistent maintenance routine and conducting daily, weekly, and monthly inspections, you can extend the lifespan of your machine, enhance the quality of seals and packaging, and reduce expenses on repairs and replacements.
If you identify any problems with your sealing machine, take swift action to prevent additional damage or downtime. By following these recommendations, you can secure the durability and dependability of your machine for years ahead.
Call Plan IT Packaging now for a free case consultation.
