Tube Filling 101

Toothpaste, hand cream, sunscreen, hair gel… we’re surrounded by things that come in tubes but how those things get into tubes is worth taking a closer look at. Welcome to Tube filling 101.

Norden Machinery has been filling tubes since 1934 and it has put its focus on just one thing: filling tubes. That narrow focus, along with innovation, quality, and customer care, has made it a global industry leader.

So just how do those tubes get filled? In basic terms a tube filler is a machine that fills and seals tubes. Inside the machine there are tube transport mechanisms that move the tubes step-by-step between stations. Then you typically have a tube infeed station where tubes are put in tube holders, followed by a station for putting the tube into the correct position so that the print will be on the correct side. There is then a filling station where the tube is filled with the correct volume and a number of sealing stations where the tube is closed. A discharge function moves the tube out of the machine.

More Than 100 Patents
The base machine is the foundation for everything Norden does, but what makes the company stand out is innovation (with more than 100 patents held) and flexibility. In combination these two factors allow customers to add various functions to the basic machine, including tube cleaning, inert gas, laser printing, and vision controls. The machines can fill between 25 and 1000 tubes per minute, and the heavy, firm base of the machines works very smoothly with low vibrations, even with high-speed movements.

While tubes are often thought of in terms of things like we mentioned above, such as tooth paste and hand cream, there are a number of other market segments where tubes play a role, including pharma, food, and technical products. Different segments drive different features, so cosmetics are driven more by the appearance of the tube, toothpaste drives speed, and pharma is all about hygiene. And when it comes to food all three areas – looks, speed, and hygiene – come into play.

Norden has its ear to the ground
With more than 80 years of tube filling experience Norden prides itself on its strong reputation for listening to customers and adapting to their needs. And customer needs often drive the innovation Norden is known for: when new demands arise the Norden team gets to work finding a solution. Some innovations you might recognize include Hot Air sealing for plastic and laminated tubes, multi-colour filling, and Design A Seal® for HA tube seals.

Norden is always looking at new ideas while using the latest techniques for automation, servo function, marking equipment, visions systems, and much more.

Future-proof: The Philosophy of Norden Tube Filling Systems
When you buy a tube filling machine you’re buying a system. What you want is a machine that is flexible yet reliable – and Norden, with its commitment to customer care and innovation, not only makes machines that will run for many years, it also looks into how new design functions and other improvements can be added to older machines already out in the field. This could, for example, be an upgrade for higher efficiency or greater autonomy for the operator, or it could be an upgrade for the customer looking to broaden the range of produced products.
And while you may not need to know all the nuts and bolts of how your tube filling functions, Norden has built its business on being the leading industry experts. It has made tube filling into something of a beautiful science – and it prides itself on being there for customers, whether they need service, technical support, updates, spare parts, size parts for new tubes, or anything else that may arise.

With 84 years of innovation under its belt, Norden knows tube filling machines inside and out – and that innovation not only benefits the user but also the end customer.