VFFS - Vertical Form Fill and Seal

A VFFS machine (vertical form fill seal machine) forms, fills and seals bags and pouches from a single roll of flexible film. It is the workhorse of automated bagging across the food, pharmaceutical and consumer-goods industries, and is supplied and supported Australia-wide by Nexus Australia.

Also known as a vertical form fill and seal machine, a vertical bagger, a bagging machine, a vertical form filler or a VFFS packaging machine. Nexus supplies VFFS machines for sale Australia-wide, from a single-lane bagger to a ten-lane stick pack line, running vertical form filling film from one reel through forming, filling and sealing in one pass.

How a vertical form fill seal machine works

Flat film unwinds from the reel and passes over a forming collar, which folds it into a tube around a vertical filling pipe. Vertical seal jaws weld the film edges into a tube, horizontal jaws seal the bottom of the bag, the dosing unit drops the product down the pipe into the bag, and the same horizontal jaws then seal the top of that bag and the bottom of the next while a knife cuts them apart. The cycle repeats at rates from a few bags a minute to well over a hundred, depending on bag size and product.

Bag styles

• Pillow bags: the most common style, a simple rectangular shape with a sealed top and bottom.
• Gusseted bags: expandable sides (gussets) for increased volume capacity.
• Quad seal bags: four side panels for added stability and a square base, suited to heavier or bulkier products.
• Stand-up pouches: a bottom gusset that lets the bag stand upright, suited to retail display and storage.
• Three-side seal bags: three sealed edges and an open top, often used for single-serving products or samples.
• Sachets and stick packs: small, single-use pouches for condiments, sauces, powders and small quantities.
• Zipper bags: a resealable zipper for easy opening and closing.
• Quad seal with zipper: the quad seal design with a resealable zipper.

Dosing methods

• Auger filling: a rotating auger screw dispenses powdered or granular products with controlled rotation for consistent filling.
• Volumetric cup filling: predetermined cups measure and dispense free-flowing granules, powders and small parts.
• Multihead weighing: multiple weigh heads measure the target weight, then dispense the combined amount.
• Liquid pump filling: a pump controls the flow and volume of liquid products.
• Counting systems: counts and fills specific quantities of individual items such as tablets, capsules or small hardware.
• Piston filling: a piston and cylinder mechanism measures and dispenses liquid or viscous products.
• Combination weighers: combine weighing and vibration to fill precise amounts of granular or small-piece products.
• Net weight scales: weigh the whole package, then dispense product to reach the desired net weight.

Products packed on a VFFS machine

Snacks, confectionery, nuts and dried fruit, rice, pulses, sugar, coffee, flour and milk powder, protein and nutraceutical powders, frozen vegetables and seafood, pet food, hardware and fasteners, seeds and fertiliser, and liquids such as sauces and drinks in sachet form. The dosing unit is matched to the product: weighers for pieces, augers for powders, pumps for liquids. For a product-by-product map of food formats to machines, see our guide to food packaging machines for Australian food manufacturers.

VFFS versus HFFS and premade pouch machines

A vertical bagger forms its own bag from roll film, which gives the lowest packaging cost per bag and suits free-flowing product that can drop into a bag. A horizontal form fill seal (HFFS) machine or flow wrapper suits solid items that need to lie flat, such as bars, trays and bakery products. A premade pouch machine fills pouches that arrive already made, which suits premium stand-up pouches with zippers and spouts at lower volumes. If your product pours and you want the cheapest bag, VFFS is normally the answer.

Film for vertical form fill seal

VFFS machines run heat-sealable laminates and mono-films supplied on reels: PE, OPP and CPP, PET and PE laminates, metallised and foil laminates for barrier, and paper-based laminates for a natural look. Nexus supplies printed laminated film rolls and BOPP film matched to the machine and product, so film and machine come from one supplier.

Lead time, installation and after-sales support

Allow about 75 days from order to shipment for a standard VFFS machine, and 90 to 120 days for a complex application, plus freight and installation. Every machine is quoted individually, since the configuration depends on your product, container and line speed.

Installation and commissioning are done by Nexus technicians in every state and territory. They travel interstate as required, and for a complex line the manufacturer sends an engineer to work with them. Recent installations have gone into Perth, Melbourne, Shepparton, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Nexus also supplies customers in New Zealand.

Support after the sale covers machines supplied by Nexus: training for your operators, preventive maintenance, spare parts and technical help. If the machine stops, we work through it with you by phone or video call for free, and if it needs someone on site we send a Nexus technician or an approved contractor in your state. Common spares are stocked in Australia, and the warranty is 12 months return-to-base, excluding wear parts. Nexus Australia is a member of APPMA, the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association.

Configurations and output

Single-lane baggers cover retail bags from 50 g to several kilograms. For small formats the same principle runs in multi-lane form: the stick pack machine runs up to ten lanes side by side, and the multi-lane stick pack machine packs powders and granules with volumetric cup dosing. Throughput ranges from entry-level up to high-speed production lines. Machines are built with stainless steel product contact parts, tool-free changeover between bag sizes and a touchscreen with stored recipes.

Related: sachet packing machines, stick pack machines, flow wrappers (HFFS) and the full bagging system range. Send us your product, bag size and target bags per minute and we will specify the machine. Contact Nexus Australia for a quote on a VFFS machine.