Sachet machinery validation guide

Sachet Machine Trials, Leak Testing and Acceptance

A useful trial links the declared product, film, pack and operating condition to measurable results. This guide sets out a practical evidence structure for dose checks, seals, leaks, registration, coding, run video and retained samples without inventing a universal pass standard.

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Vertical form fill seal sachet machinery used for representative product and film trials

1. Write the trial objective and acceptance scope

Start with the decision the trial must support. An early feasibility test may ask whether a product can be dosed and sealed in a proposed laminate. A factory acceptance test may need to prove an agreed machine configuration, pack drawing, output condition, quality checks and documentation. Do not combine these into an undefined demonstration.

List the included products, doses, pack sizes, film structures, lanes, coding formats and operating conditions. Record exclusions and remaining work. Where several variants are intended, identify a worst-case or representative set based on engineering risk rather than selecting only the easiest combination.

2. Control the product, film and environmental inputs

Identify the product batch and the properties that affect the process. These can include temperature, density, viscosity, aeration, foaming, particles, bulk density, flowability, moisture and static. Record how the sample was stored, mixed or conditioned before the run. A trial result is difficult to transfer to production when the input condition is unknown.

Identify the film by supplier, construction, thickness, reel width, core, winding direction, seal layer, print repeat and registration mark. Use production-intent film where possible. If temporary film is used, state exactly which questions remain unproven, such as barrier, print registration, code position, opening behaviour or long-term seal performance.

3. Record the machine configuration and settings

Record model, dosing unit, change parts, forming set, lane arrangement, seal tools, nozzle or chute, date coder and inspection devices. Capture the recipe or principal settings needed to reproduce the run, including fill timing, film advance, seal temperature, dwell or pressure where available, photocell mode and product-feed condition.

Settings should be treated as test evidence, not as universal production values. Film, ambient conditions, product and machine warm-up can affect the usable window. Note any adjustment made during the test and the reason for it.

4. Sample dose by lane, time and operating condition

Define the measurement method, calibrated equipment, nominal dose, permitted range and sample plan before the run. For a multi-lane machine, identify every sample by lane. For a single-lane machine, identify start-up, stable operation, refill, stop-restart or other challenge conditions where they matter.

Report individual results as well as summary statistics appropriate to the agreed plan. A total average can hide one lane running high and another low. Where a volumetric dose is checked by weight, record product density or other conditions needed to interpret the conversion.

5. Inspect seal formation and choose a suitable leak test

First inspect seal location, continuity, wrinkles, channels, trapped product, burn-through, delamination, cut position and opening features. Separate visual workmanship checks from pack-integrity testing. A visually acceptable seal is not automatically leak-tight, and a destructive test may not explain the cause of a defect.

The pack owner should select a leak or integrity method appropriate to the product, laminate, seal and distribution risk. Record conditioning, equipment, test medium or pressure where relevant, sample handling, pass criteria and how failed packs are investigated. Do not apply a generic pressure or duration to every sachet without technical justification.

6. Check registration, coding, cutting and finished-pack presentation

With printed film, confirm that the photocell tracks the approved registration mark and that artwork remains correctly positioned relative to longitudinal seals, cross seals, tear notch and cut. Check code content, orientation, position, contrast and permanence using the agreed inspection method.

Confirm whether packs leave individually, connected, perforated or in strips, and whether this is compatible with counting, collating, cartoning or manual packing. Record malformed cuts, incomplete separation and any lane-specific pattern.

7. State the conditions behind the accepted output

Define whether the figure is cycles, packs per lane or total accepted packs. Record test duration, number of lanes, product and film replenishment, normal stops, rejects and the point at which the machine was considered stable. Instantaneous display speed is not the same as sustained saleable output.

Where downstream equipment is included, test the line as an integrated system. The filler, film transport, coding, discharge, conveyor, counting and cartoning interfaces need compatible ready, running, fault and stop behaviour.

8. Build a traceable evidence pack

Label retained sachets with the trial reference, product, film, dose, lane and run condition. Keep dose sheets, seal or leak-test results, exception records, settings, photographs and run-video filenames under the same reference. Samples from start-up, stable operation and agreed challenges should be distinguishable.

The run video should show more than a close-up of moving jaws. Include machine identity, product and film feed, dosing, forming, sealing, coding, cutting, discharge, normal interventions and the operating condition linked to the results. Avoid edits that remove stops or make the test duration unclear.

9. Close the trial with an agreed outcome

Classify each requirement as passed, failed, conditionally accepted or not tested. Record deviations, corrective actions, ownership and retest requirements. A signed acceptance should identify the machine configuration and evidence reviewed rather than relying on a general statement that the machine ran.

Factory acceptance does not replace installation and site verification. Utilities, line interfaces, production materials, operator training and the customer environment should be confirmed at the appropriate stage.

Common trial failure modes and the evidence needed

Observed issue	Evidence to collect	Questions to investigate
Dose variation	Individual samples by lane and time, product condition, refill events and dosing settings	Is the cause product feed, density, aeration, pump or auger behaviour, lane balance or the measurement method?
Product in the seal	Pack sequence, nozzle or chute video, fill timing, headspace and product behaviour	Does the product drip, string, dust, bounce or settle into the seal path?
Seal or leak failure	Failed pack location, seal appearance, film identity, jaw settings and documented test result	Is the cause contamination, film compatibility, temperature window, pressure, dwell, wrinkle or pack geometry?
Print or cut drift	Registration-mark drawing, pack sequence, photocell settings and artwork-to-seal measurements	Is the mark suitable and stable, is the web tracking correctly and is the repeat consistent?
One lane underperforms	Lane-labelled dose, seal and cut samples plus feed and tooling inspection	Is the issue confined to dosing, product distribution, web geometry, sealing or cutting on that lane?
Output below requirement	Timed run record, stop reasons, refill and reel events, rejects and downstream status	Was the target defined as instantaneous or accepted output, and which process step constrained the run?

Open the quotation checklist Discuss trial requirements

Trial planning questions

Sachet machine trial and acceptance FAQs

What product should be supplied for a sachet machine trial?

Use a representative production batch with the declared temperature, density, viscosity, flow, particle and handling characteristics. A substitute should only be used when its limitations and the remaining risks are documented.

Should printed production film be used?

Use the intended laminate and, where print registration or code position matters, representative printed film with the approved repeat and registration mark. Unprinted film cannot prove artwork-to-seal and cut alignment.

How many dose samples are needed?

The sample plan should be agreed from the process risk, lane count, run condition and acceptance method. It should identify lane and time so averages cannot hide a lane-specific or start-up problem.

Which leak test should be used?

Select a documented method suitable for the product, laminate, seal construction and failure risk. The method, equipment, conditioning and pass criteria should be agreed before testing.

What should be included in a run video?

Show machine identity and configuration, product and film feed, dosing, forming, sealing, coding, cutting, finished packs, normal interventions and the conditions linked to the accepted results.

What records should be retained after acceptance?

Keep the agreed test protocol, machine settings, product and film identification, dose and integrity results, exceptions, photographs or video references, labelled sample sachets and signed outcome.

Define the project around your product and pack

Define the trial before sending product and film

Provide the machine or process under review, representative product, dose, pack and web drawings, film, lane and output requirement, quality risks and proposed acceptance checks. Lancing Ltd can structure the trial evidence around the actual purchasing decision.

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Make every result traceable

Use one evidence register from sample receipt to acceptance decision

Dose sheets, leak-test results, photographs, videos and retained sachets are useful only when they can be tied to the same product, film, machine configuration, lane and operating condition. Create the evidence register before the trial and allocate identifiers as the work is completed rather than trying to reconstruct the record afterwards.

Evidence group	Minimum traceability	Decision it supports
Product receipt	Trial reference, product and batch, quantity, container, received condition, storage, conditioning, temperature and any mixing or preparation.	Whether the tested material represents the production product and which limitations remain.
Film receipt	Converter, material code, laminate, thickness, reel and core, winding direction, artwork revision, print repeat and registration-mark drawing.	Whether the exact production-intent web was tested and can be purchased again under a controlled identity.
Machine configuration	Machine, dosing unit, product-contact parts, forming or lane tooling, seal and cut tools, coder, inspection, recipe and principal settings.	Which physical and control configuration produced the retained result.
Dose samples	Sample ID, lane, time, operating condition, nominal dose, method, equipment, individual result and disposition.	Whether each lane and declared condition met the agreed dose acceptance plan.
Seal and integrity samples	Pack ID, seal location, conditioning, visual result, selected test method, equipment, result, failure location and investigation.	Whether the filled pack meets the defined workmanship and integrity criteria under the test conditions.
Output and interruptions	Start and finish, stable period, produced and accepted packs, rejects, lane status, refills, reel events, stops, interventions and downstream state.	Whether the accepted-output figure is reproducible and what constrained the run.
Deviation and action	Requirement, observed deviation, affected evidence, immediate disposition, owner, corrective action, retest and closure approval.	Whether an exception is accepted, corrected or remains an open purchasing risk.
Retained media	Sample label, photograph and video filename, storage location, retention period and link to the relevant run or deviation.	Whether the signed decision can be checked against physical and recorded evidence later.

Label samples at the machine

Use a consistent sequence such as trial reference, product, film, lane, time and condition. Do not rely on the position of an unlabelled pack in a box or on a video timestamp alone.

Record what was not tested

A conditional outcome should identify missing production film, untested formats, short run duration, unavailable downstream equipment or any substitute product. This prevents an early feasibility result being mistaken for full acceptance.

Link the evidence to the purchasing scope

Use the quotation checklist to connect each requirement to included tooling, options and responsibilities, and the film and seal guide to control the approved laminate and test method.

Tie evidence to the RFQ Discuss the trial record

Traceable evidence register

Carry one controlled evidence set from sample trial through FAT and SAT

A test result is useful only when it can be traced to the product, film, machine configuration, method and operating state that produced it.

Material identity	Product batch and condition; film supplier, structure, reel and artwork revision; code data and approved pack drawing.
Machine configuration	Machine identification, filler/nozzle/auger or lane arrangement, forming and seal parts, recipe and relevant options.
Test conditions	Dose, sachet, active lanes, product feed, utilities, run period, refill/reel events, pauses, restarts and downstream equipment.
Methods	Dose, dimension, registration, code, seal and leak/integrity methods with equipment, sample identity and acceptance rule.
Results	Time- and lane-identified data, accepted and rejected packs, output accounting, alarms, stops and deviations.
Media	Run video showing the declared product feed, web, controls, discharge and inspection; photographs of settings and retained samples where appropriate.
Open actions	Issue, owner, due date, retest condition and closure evidence. Do not hide an unresolved item in meeting notes.
Site transfer	Identify what must be repeated after installation and how site methods, instruments, utilities or line interfaces differ from the factory test.