One packet, many products: from sugar to active ingredients
A sachet is a flat, single-serving pouch made of heat-sealed film for small quantities—typically ranging from 1 to 50 grams or milliliters. Sugar sticks in cafés, spice portions in restaurants, shampoo samples in magazines, effervescent powder in pharmacies: the same principle applies everywhere. The sachet machine produces these pouches in a continuous process—by design, it is a Vertical filling and capping machine, designed for narrow formats and tight sealing tolerances. The machine base corresponds to the classic vertical form-fill-seal machine; what distinguishes sachet machines are their format range, number of lanes, and dosing accuracy at low fill volumes.
Production Process: From a Roll of Film to a Finished Sachet
The machine operates according to the VFFS principle in five stations:
- Film unwinding: The film roll (typically 200 to 600 mm wide) is unwound with controlled web tension; a photocell reads registration marks to ensure that the printed image is positioned precisely within the sealing window.
- Molded part: Forming shoulders and folding blocks transform the flat web into a tube. In 4-side sealing, additional metal plates fold the side edges before the longitudinal seam—this creates the characteristic angular sachets.
- Longitudinal and transverse sealing: Heated sealing jaws close the longitudinal seam, followed by the top and bottom cross seams. The sealing area is small—which is why the tolerances for temperature, pressure, and time are tighter than for larger bag sizes.
- Dosage: Above the filling tube, the dosing station dispenses the product into the open hose—the choice of method depends on the product being filled (see below).
- Separation: A cross-cutting blade cuts between the seams; the finished sachet falls onto a conveyor belt or into a collection chute.
The Three Basic Formats
| Format | Seams | Typical Dimensions | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Side Seal | Back seam + top + bottom | 30 to 100 mm wide, 50 to 150 mm long | Sugar, spices, single-serving packets |
| 4-sided seal | all four edges | 40 to 150 mm wide, 60 to 200 mm long | Samples, pharmaceutical powders, liquid portions |
| Stick Pack | Longitudinal seam, tubular | 15 to 40 mm in diameter | Coffee, tea, powdered drinks, single-serve beverages |
The Stickpack is the narrowest sachet format—manufactured on the Stitch-sewing packaging machine, often with 4 to 10 lanes running in parallel. Multi-lane operation is the key to sachet production: A single-lane system produces 40 to 80 sachets per minute, while a four-lane stick-pack line produces four times that amount or more—with the same machine length.
Dosing Method: It Depends on the Product
- Screw Feeding For powders and granules: Dosing accuracy ±0.5 to ±1 %, typical for coffee powder, spices, and pharmaceutical powders.
- Volumetric Cup Dosing For free-flowing bulk materials such as sugar or rice: simple, robust, ±1 to ±2 %.
- Piston or peristaltic pump For liquids and pastes: ±0.5 % for fill volumes of 0.5 to 50 ml – See the article on Sachet Filling Machine for Liquids and Pastes.
- Multi-head scale For high-quality products containing individual pieces, when precise and quick dosing is required.
What a sachet machine is not
At a fill weight of about 50 g, the economical sachet range ends: Larger portions are produced as flat pouches or stand-up pouches in wider formats, while pre-made pouches are produced on the Bag-filling machine. The comparison provides a detailed explanation of the distinction Sachet or bag. Those who instead form pouches from film will stick with the vertical filling and sealing machine—a detailed overview of the machine can be found in the VFFS Guide.
When the Format Pays Off
There are three reasons to choose the sachet: Portioning as a product promise (single dose, one cup of coffee), Sample and Travel Sizes as a sales tool and Hygienic single-use dispensing in the food service and healthcare industries. However, this format is not suitable for bulk packages of 100 g or more or for products that need to be displayed on shelves—for those, the stand-up pouch is the right choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast is a sachet machine?
Single-lane systems reach 40 to 80 bags per minute, while multi-lane 4-side-seal and stick-pack systems reach 150 to 300 bags per minute—the number of lanes multiplies the output at the same cycle frequency.
What film thicknesses are processed?
Typically 40 to 100 µm total thickness in the composite—thinner than in large bags because the fill volume is small and the seam is narrower. Barrier applications with an aluminum interlayer are at the upper end of the range.
What filling capacities is a sachet machine designed for?
1 to 50 grams or milliliters is the most cost-effective range; below and above this range, format efficiency decreases. Transition formats up to 100 grams are produced as 4-sided sealed pouches.
How long does a format change take?
With pre-assembled format parts and recipe retrieval via the control panel, the process typically takes 20 to 40 minutes—significantly shorter than a changeover between sachet and pouch operation, because the base frame remains the same.
Related pages: Vertical Filling and Sealing Machine | Stitch-sewing packaging machine | VFFS Guide | Bag-filling machine
Request technical specifications and a quote for your production line. Please specify the product, bag size, and target output (bags/min.) – Request Technical Specifications and a Quote.
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