The goal when shopping for a new capping machine is to find a capping machine that perfectly tightens your caps and fits seamlessly into your production environment. In order to accomplish this, begin by taking a closer look at your caps, bottles, and the work area the capping machine is to be used in.

The perfect place to start is with your caps. Here are some examples of the types of questions that should be considered. How many different sizes and styles of caps do you have? What are the outside diameters of these caps? What are the torque requirements for these caps? Do you have any caps with external features such as sports caps, mist spray caps, yorker caps, dropper caps, trigger spray caps, lotion pump caps or other such caps? Is there anything unique about your containers, such as their size or shape?

Knowing the answers to these questions will allow you and your capping machine supplier to narrow down which capping machines will be best suited for you and will allow you to equip the capping machine with any accessories that will be required. For example, if you have a large cap, such as an 89mm cap, you will require a capping machine capable of tightening large caps as well as the appropriate chuck size to fit an 89mm cap. If you have a trigger spray cap, then you cannot use a chuck capping machine and will instead require a capping machine that can grip the cap at the sides of the cap such as our PumpCap capping machine or a spindle capping machine. If you have a cap with an external feature such as a yorker cap, then you will require a special chuck called a deepwell chuck to tighten it.

Before purchasing a bottle capping machine, it is helpful to know at least approximately how much torque is required to properly tighten all of your caps. Your cap supplier is the best source for this information. If they are unable to help you, you can use a general application torque guide, such as the one shown to the right, to approximate the amount of torque required to tighten each of your caps.

A very common mistake people make when purchasing a cap tightening machine is that they assume that any cap tightening machine can tighten all cap sizes, but this is not true. You have to make sure that the cap tightener that you choose has the appropriate torque range for your caps. This is especially important if you have very small caps, less than 18mm in diameter, or very large caps, over 83mm in diameter. Most capping machines on the market cannot properly tighten these less common cap sizes. Make sure to use a supplier that can demonstrate expertise when dealing with uncommon applications.

Application Torque Guide
* Torque is measured as inch.lbs.
Cap Size (MM)
Onto a Plastic
Container
Onto a Glass Container
15 7-9 6-9
18 8-10 7-10
20 10-12 8-12
22 11-14 9-14
24 12-15 10-15
28 13-17 11-17
33 16-20 13-20
38 19-23 15-23
43 21-26 17-26
45 23-28 18-28
48 24-29 19-29
53 27-32 21-32
58 29-35 23-35
63 31-38 25-38
70 35-42 28-42
83 41-49 34-49
89 44-53 36-53
100 48-60 40-60
110 55-65 45-65
120 60-72 48-72

After you have completed reviewing your cap sizes and determining your torque requirements, give some thought as to how you want the capping machine to fit into your production environment. Here are some examples of the types of questions that should be considered. Do you have a lot of space for the capping machine, or do you have limited space? Do you have compressed air available or will you require a cap torquer that runs on electricity? Are you going to use the capping machine on a conveyor or would it be better to place it on a table? Do you have any special requirements such as capping in a clean or sterile environment? A particularly important question to consider is who will be using the capping machine?

The answers to the questions in the above paragraph can point you to different types of capping machinery. For example, if you need to cap in a clean environment you will want a capping machine that is constructed of materials that are suitable for use in these environments such as a capping machine constructed of stainless steel. Consider who will be using the capping machine. If the person, or people, using the cap tightener are robust and energetic then perhaps you can choose a less automated and less expensive handheld capping machine. If the person, or people, using the machine are of a more delicate nature then perhaps a more automated machine, a capping machine that takes all of the effort out of the capping process, would be the better choice.

After you have examined your caps, bottles, and work environment, you are now ready to start shopping. Make sure the company you purchase your capping machinery from is expert in what they do. If they are, they will be grateful for all of the information you have gathered because it will make their job of providing you with the best capping equipment for your particular needs so much easier. It will also greatly increase the likelihood that your search and purchase of a new capping machine will be a successful one.