What a coffee capsule looks like, how it is assembled, and how it works
A coffee capsule is ideal for enjoying coffee that smells and tastes like freshly made coffee. But what does a coffee capsule look like? How is it assembled? At Sarg, we manufacture coffee capsule filling and assembling machines. This article will explain how the whole process takes place step by step.
Let’s start from the beginning. A coffee capsule is generally a small container in plastic (sometimes aluminum), often biodegradable or compostable, inside of which coffee powder is pressed and sealed. As with pods, the properties of the product are preserved in capsules as well. The production of coffee capsules takes place in coffee roasting plants. Automatic machines place a specific amount of ground coffee in a thick, cylindrically-shaped container. Once the capsule has been filled, it is sealed in a casing to prevent coffee powder dispersion and ensure optimal storage.
Once the capsule has been assembled, it can be sold and used with special coffee machines. The capsule is placed in the housing of the machine. An internal mechanism then pierces it while a small boiler heats the water. In a short time, coffee brewing is achieved. Having coffee in your cup or glass takes less than thirty seconds.
However, note that a capsule is different from a pod. The latter consists of a paper container in cellulose, while a capsule is a plastic casing, often cylindrical. Various capsules are commercially available; typically, the coffee content ranges from a minimum of 5 grams to a maximum of 8 grams.
Filling occurs in a protective atmosphere to prevent air, heat, moisture and other external agents from entering since they could be harmful. This also maintains the characteristics and wonderful flavor of the various coffee varieties intact.
How coffee capsules are assembled
Let’s see in detail how coffee capsules are produced. First of all, a filling and quality analysis of the pilot capsules is required. This is the most critical stage for the collection and analysis of product performance and injection parameters to achieve the desired coffee flavor and creaminess
After this initial review stage, there is the production, which involves verifying that the capsule is filled correctly and that there are no defects. Coffee capsule filling and packaging platforms can reach a speed of up to 90 thousand pieces per hour.
Coffee industry and automation: Sarg’s solutions
Sarg is specialized in manufacturing machinery for high-speed feeding of components such as the filters added inside the capsules, usually discs with perforation patterns, which make the coffee creamier, enhance the flavors, and hold together the ground coffee and the capsules themselves. Our industrial component orientation solutions also find application in this industrial segment. We are a leading manufacturer of polymer capsule assembly machinery and feeding systems. Our company has focused on designing and manufacturing coffee capsule orienting machines with high-speed solutions used in thousands of systems operating worldwide, tailor-made according to the customers’ needs. The systems manufactured by Sarg allow the processing of the various components needed for an efficient and safe process, namely the discs, filters, and – of course – the capsules.
Sarg’s team is dedicated to designing machinery that can ensure volume productions, with solutions that can be customized to the specific needs of the filling and coffee roasting system manufacturers and the customer’s specific capsules. Sarg’s coffee capsule orientation machine can process almost any type of capsule, whether self-protected or not, with various types of biodegradable, compostable, injection molded, or thermoplastic materials.
In-line inspection
At Sarg we use the most advanced technologies available on the market to offer high-speed solutions with vision systems that can identify non-conformities or imperfections in plastic capsules or filters.
Sarg provides capsule assembly, filling, and packaging systems with performance and machine inputs at variable speeds, depending on the speed and configuration the customer wishes.
To optimize space, we provide compact and reliable solutions, multi-row distribution solutions (from 2 up to 16) proven in thousands of applications, and finally, also the positioning of capsules arranged at a predetermined distance and pattern.
Our solutions are mechanical or centrifugal orientation machines or unscramblers, linear vibrators, multi-row sorting groups, and associated belt or double belt hoppers with more than 2,000 l capacity storage. Our compact systems are suitable for assembling single and multi-row coffee and soluble coffee capsules. Do you wish to learn more about Sarg’s products for the coffee industry? Contact us! We will reply as quickly and accurately as possible.