Liquid Filling Machine Electric Motors

On a rotary liquid filling machine a single main electric motor, through a gearbox and a train of gears, turns the rinsing, filling and capping turrets together with the star wheels that hand bottles from one turret to the next and the capping heads; the product pump, rinse pump, cap elevator and vacuum system each run on a separate small motor. Maker data sheets give 1.5–9.5 kW for the main motor depending on output, and 0.09–0.55 kW for auxiliary pump and cap motors.

DRG Motor is a manufacturer, supplier and seller of electric motors. We do not sell the filling machine, filling valves, capping heads, pump casings, gearboxes or inverters; the servo and stepper motors used on dosing axes or servo capping are not in our range either. For three-phase induction motors such as the block’s main motor and pump motors, see Buy Electric Motors Online.

How are the motors spread over a rotary filling block?

On lines filling water, juice, dairy drinks, oil and sauces, the most common layout is the “3-in-1” block: a star wheel takes the bottle into the rinsing turret, where it is inverted and flushed, then passes to the filling turret, where valves fill by level or volume, and the last turret screws on the cap. According to the third maker, the whole block is driven by one transmission motor. Main motor speed is therefore the block’s bottles per hour: if the motor slows, every turret slows with it and synchronisation at the transfers is kept.

Main drive motor and gearbox

The main motor usually sits on the lower frame of the block, flanged to a gearbox; the fifth maker’s configuration list names “main motor + reducer” as one item, with speed set by inverter. Data sheets write the frame code of this motor in their own standard: the third maker’s main motor is 2.2 kW and 4-pole, but the frame name on its plate may not be the same as the 2.2 kW frame in our IEC list. When replacing, go by flange and shaft dimensions rather than by power.

Cap feeding, pump and vacuum motors

The centrifugal cap sorter turns on a very small motor (0.09 kW); the elevator lifting caps from a low hopper to the sorter is 0.34 kW. The product feed pump holds the level in the filling tank and the rinse pump supplies the rinser nozzles. On beer and carbonated drink blocks, the vacuum system that draws air out of the bottle is the largest auxiliary load: 5.5 kW on the fourth maker’s 12,000 bottles/h block.

Where the motor sits on linear and piston fillers

Thick sauces, honey, creams and products with particles are filled on linear machines rather than rotary blocks: bottles are stopped on a belt and the heads come down to fill. On a pneumatic piston filler the piston is moved by an air cylinder; the seventh maker’s two-head model draws only 10 W of electrical power for its controls, so there is no motor for the piston. On piston and gear-pump fillers whose volume is set electronically, the dosing axis is mostly driven by a servo motor; we do not offer servo or stepper drives. On these machines a three-phase induction motor appears only in the product feed pump, an agitated hopper or the belt.

Small benchtop fillers and single phase

Workshop-size benchtop fill-and-cap machines are often fed from 220 V single-phase supply; they carry a single-phase motor, a type we do not supply. Swapping that motor for a three-phase one, even where the plant has a three-phase network, is a change only the machine builder should sign off.

Wet filling room and motor protection

The filling turret is washed after every shift and the valves are cleaned inside by CIP. Main motor and gearbox stay under the turret in a closed drive compartment; pump motors sit at the side of the frame, away from the product pipe. IP55 copes with splashes from the turret above, yet a hose aimed at the casing is another matter. If a stainless-housed or special washdown motor is required in the filling room, that type is not in our range; please ask us.

How many kW is a filling machine motor? Catalogue values

A) Main and auxiliary motor ratings printed on filling block data sheets:

Depending on maker and output, rotary filling blocks use roughly 1.5–9.5 kW for the main motor, 0.37–0.55 kW for product and rinse pumps, 0.34–0.37 kW for the cap elevator and hopper, and 5.5 kW for the vacuum system. Values such as 4.4–7.8 kW and 5 kW are total installed power, not main motor power.

B) Where DRG fits: 1.5–9.5 kW main motors match our 4-pole 90L to 160M frames (for 9.5 kW the next standard size is 11 kW), 0.37–0.55 kW pumps our 2-pole 71 frames, and 0.34–0.37 kW cap motors DRG-712-4. The 0.09 kW cap sorter motor and all servo or stepper axes are outside our range.

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Worked example: inverter frequency and block output

The third maker’s 4,000 bottles/h block has a 2.2 kW, 4-pole main motor. Its equivalent in our range is DRG-100L1-4 (1,450 rpm, rated torque: DRG-100L1-4, 14.5 Nm). With the gearbox ratio unchanged, output follows motor speed and motor speed follows frequency; assuming the data sheet output corresponds to 50 Hz:

The block is run slowly for foaming products, hot filling or trials with a new bottle format. Below 50 Hz the motor turns at constant torque, so loaded turrets pose no problem as far as load goes; for long runs below 20 Hz, however, the motor’s own fan may not cool enough and motor temperature should be watched. If speed has to change permanently through the gearbox ratio, use the gearbox output speed calculator.

The block’s motors and currents

Matching the motors in the same block’s data sheet with our range:

At 400 V the four rated currents total about 7.6 A, small enough that the main motor’s inrush, not the running load, decides the breaker; the star-delta tool compares the options.

DRG motors for liquid filling machines

Our models in main drive, product pump, rinse pump and cap elevator sizes, with 400 V current:

Under the turret, the main motor meets its gearbox through a B5 or B14 face; the close-coupled pumps at the side want B5 or B35. Aluminium housings cover 0.25–11 kW and cast iron housings 0.55–355 kW, all three-phase IEC induction motors. Before replacing, note the motor plate, flange size P on the gearbox side, shaft diameter, key and wiring; the filler’s manual is then checked against them before we confirm; without dimensions there is no promise of fit.

B5 dimensions for main motor and pumps

B5 flange values of frames found on filling blocks, mm:

A motor entering a gearbox input must match shaft size D × E and spigot N exactly. Conveyor drives before and after the block (infeed, discharge to the labeller) are covered in our filling line conveyor motor article, so they are left out here.

Live price table

Prices of our models in sizes suitable for the block’s main motor and pumps are pulled live from the shop:

DRG MOTOR motors are guaranteed against material and manufacturing defects for 2 years from the delivery date (warranty certificate).

Motors in this power range

• DRG-90L-4 – 1.5 kW – 1445 rpm – 90L cast iron
• DRG-100L1-4 – 2.2 kW – 1450 rpm – 100L cast iron
• DRG-100L2-4 – 3 kW – 1450 rpm – 100L cast iron
• DRG-132S-4 – 5.5 kW – 1460 rpm – 132S cast iron
• DRG-132M-4 – 7.5 kW – 1460 rpm – 132M cast iron

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Browse the products, ask for a quote: suitable motors for your filler are on Buy Electric Motors Online. Two pictures are enough to start — the main motor plate and the flange face at the gearbox — over WhatsApp; by phone (+90 (542) 666 11 11) give the number of filling valves and the bottles per hour.

Frequently asked questions

Can a stronger motor replace the filler’s main motor?

It can, but output will not rise; speed and gearbox ratio set the output. A larger frame may not fit the gearbox flange, so compare dimensions first.

Can a DRG motor be used on a servo-driven filler?

The servo axes themselves stay with the machine builder, as we have no servo or stepper motors. On that same filler, though, the pump, agitator and belt motors are ordinary three-phase duties we can quote for.

Where is the filling machine motor price shown?

The price of the model at the rating and speed you choose is kept up to date in the live table above and on its product page.

Questions: +90 (542) 666 11 11 · info@drgmotor.com · contact page.