What Is a VFFS Machine? Vertical Form Fill Seal Explained

A VFFS machine, short for vertical form fill seal, makes the pouch and fills it in one line. It pulls film from a roll, forms it into a pouch, drops a measured dose of product in from above, then seals the pouch and cuts it free. Mactec’s MTVP160 and MTVP200 work this way; the family page is pouch packaging machines.

If you are weighing a VFFS machine for sachets, sample pouches or unit-dose packs, this guide explains the process in plain words, what it is good at, when a compact machine is enough, and the questions that decide the project.

What “form, fill, seal” means

The three words are the three jobs the machine does, in order:

• Form. Flat film from a roll (rollstock) is pulled over a forming set and shaped into a pouch. On Mactec’s MTVP machines the pouch is four-sided-seal: sealed on all four edges.
• Fill. A measured dose of product goes into the open pouch from above: a liquid, a powder, or counted tablets or capsules.
• Seal. The pouch is closed with heat and pressure, then perforated and cut so the finished sachets come off the machine ready to pack.

Because the pouch is made on the machine, you buy film, not pre-made bags. That is the main difference between a VFFS machine and a pre-made pouch filler, which opens, fills and closes bags that were made elsewhere.

Vertical or horizontal?

“Vertical” describes how the product enters: it drops into the pouch. That suits anything that can be dosed, meaning poured, pumped or counted. A horizontal form fill seal (HFFS) machine lays the film flat and the product is placed into a pocket, by hand or by pick-and-place. That suits products that must be positioned, such as a transdermal patch or a medical device. Mactec’s MTHP150 is the horizontal machine in the family; the vertical vs. horizontal pouch packaging guide walks through the choice.

What a VFFS machine packs

Mactec’s vertical machines are configured for liquids, powders, tablets or capsules. Typical uses buyers bring to us: single-dose sachets of a liquid or gel, sample pouches for a new product, unit-dose packs of tablets or capsules, and multi-lane runs where several pouches are made side by side on one web. Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sachets are listed applications of the MTVP200. Stick packs, the narrow single-dose sachets, run as a multi-lane configuration on the same platform.

When is a compact VFFS machine enough?

Large form-fill-seal lines exist for snack bags and bulk products. A compact machine is the right size when:

• the pouch is small: the MTVP160’s listed forming area is approximately 100 mm × 160 mm, the MTVP200’s approximately 140 mm × 200 mm, with a web width of up to approximately 200 mm for larger pouches or more lanes;
• output in the tens of pouches a minute is enough: the MTVP machines list 10–35 cycles per minute, depending on product and automation, and a multi-lane set-up makes more than one pouch per cycle;
• you want the same machine to switch between products or pouch sizes with a format change rather than a second line.

If your pouch is larger than those forming areas, or you need bag-fill speeds, you need a different class of machine, and we will say so.

What to decide before you talk to a supplier

1. The product. Liquid, powder, tablet or capsule? For liquids, how thick, how hot, any pieces (the liquid pouch filling guide covers this). For powders, how it flows and how dusty it is (the powder sachet guide covers this). For tablets and capsules, the count per pouch.
2. The pouch. Size, four-sided seal, single or multi-lane, one pouch size or several.
3. The film. Preprinted or plain; the MTVP machines offer registration for preprinted film so the print lands in the same place every time.
4. Marking. Lot and date coding can be printed in line; a tear notch can be added so the pouch opens cleanly.
5. Validation. For regulated products, whether you need IQ/OQ protocol support and factory acceptance testing you can witness; both come with a new Mactec machine.

Why samples matter

A data sheet cannot tell you how your product doses or how your film seals. Where practical, Mactec runs your product and film on a machine at its Sayreville, New Jersey facility before you commit, so the proposal is based on what the machine actually did.

Related buyer guides

• Liquid Pouch Filling Machines for Sauces, Creams and Liquids
• Vertical or horizontal pouch packaging?
• Powder Sachet Filling Machines: Dosing, Dust and Seal

Browse all equipment buyer guides