An automatic packaging machine supplier normally tests a machine in stages: specification inspection, electrical and pneumatic checks, dry cycling, product trials, filling verification, seal inspection, safety-function checks, and a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). For a 60-pack/min line, a 60-minute production run produces 3,600 cycles, giving technicians far more useful information than a short demonstration. Filling equipment may be checked with 30–60 or more measured fills depending on the applicable procedure, while flexible-package seals can be evaluated with methods such as ASTM F88/F88M-23. Shipment approval should be based on measured output, package quality, repeatability, safety functions, and agreed FAT acceptance limits, not on whether the machine simply starts and produces several acceptable packs.
Testing usually starts with the purchase specification because performance figures have little use if the finished machine differs from the equipment ordered. Technicians compare the completed unit with approved drawings and the purchase specification, checking dimensions, conveyor height, electrical supply, installed components, product-contact materials, hopper capacity, guarding, sensors, motors, filling devices, coding equipment, and change parts. A 2,000-mm conveyor specified by the buyer, for example, should not be accepted as 1,900 mm merely because packages still move through it.
That inspection provides the reference for mechanical checks. Before high-speed running begins, technicians inspect belt and chain alignment, bearings, shafts, fasteners, sealing jaws, cutters, rollers, guide rails, filling heads, conveyor tracking, lubrication points, and accessible mounting hardware. A machine rated at 50 cycles/min completes 3,000 cycles in one hour; minor rubbing or poor alignment can therefore repeat thousands of times during a single shift.
Electrical and pneumatic inspection follows because a mechanically correct machine can still stop repeatedly when its controls are poorly configured. Technicians check terminal connections, grounding, PLC inputs and outputs, photoelectric sensors, proximity sensors, servo motors, variable-frequency drives, heaters, thermocouples, solenoid valves, cylinders, pressure regulators, vacuum circuits, and air fittings. On a machine using 6 bar compressed air, the test should include operation under the specified supply conditions rather than an unspecified factory setting.
Control checks then move from individual components to complete sequences. Operators use manual mode, automatic mode, recipe selection, parameter screens, counters, alarms, reset functions, and access levels while technicians watch the PLC response. They may deliberately interrupt a sensor, remove packaging material, create a low-product condition, or open an interlocked guard. ISO 13849-1:2023 covers methodology and requirements for safety-related parts of machine control systems, including software and electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and mechanical technologies.
A useful FAT does not test only the sequence that works. It also creates foreseeable fault conditions and records how the machine responds.
Once individual functions behave as specified, the machine can move into dry cycling. Running without saleable product reduces material use while technicians observe indexing, servo synchronization, film feeding, conveyor movement, jaw timing, sensor response, vibration, noise, and temperature control. A practical test might begin at 30 packs/min, increase to 45, and then reach an agreed 60 packs/min. Those figures are test points, not universal industry limits; the required speeds belong in the FAT protocol before testing begins.
Dry cycling cannot reproduce the behavior of powder, liquid, granules, bottles, trays, film, labels, or cartons, so representative production materials are introduced next. A powder may bridge in a hopper, a liquid may foam at a high filling rate, and a printed film may lose registration as web speed rises. Testing 500–1,000 packages with the intended material gives technicians a better basis for setting filling time, auger speed, film tension, sealing temperature, dwell time, registration position, conveyor speed, and reject timing.
Material testing matters particularly for gravimetric filling. OIML R 61 addresses automatic gravimetric filling instruments and states that accuracy classes relate to intended use, including product, fill value, installation, and operating rate. Its test procedures also call for representative material and testing around relevant maximum and minimum fills. Depending on fill quantity and the applicable procedure, OIML documentation includes minimum test-fill counts ranging from 10 to 60 fills, rather than relying on a single package.
That sampling principle can also improve a commercial FAT even where OIML verification is not contractually required. Suppose a buyer and supplier agree to assess 50 consecutive 500 g packs. Recording all 50 results exposes minimum, maximum, average, and package-to-package spread. An average of 500.0 g alone is insufficient: 25 packs at 490 g and 25 at 510 g also average 500 g, despite a 20 g range. Individual readings matter as much as the average when repeatability is being assessed.
After dosing is stable, throughput should be measured using finished acceptable packs rather than the machine’s highest momentary cycle rate. A line specified for 60 packs/min has a theoretical output of 3,600 packs/hour. If 72 packs are rejected during that hour, the acceptable output is 3,528 packs, or 98% of theoretical output. Whether 98% passes or fails depends on the contractual FAT criteria; no single percentage applies to every packaging line.
| FAT item | Example measurement method | Example record |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput | Count accepted packs for 60 min | 3,528 accepted packs |
| Fill check | Weigh 50 consecutive packs | Min / max / average recorded |
| Rejects | Count and classify all rejects | 72 of 3,600 cycles |
| Stops | Record reason and duration | Sensor, material, operator |
| Seal check | Sample during sustained run | 30 packages |
| Safety functions | Activate each agreed device | Pass/fail + response |
Package quality is checked at the same operating speed because sealing behavior can change as cycle time decreases. Flexible pouches may be inspected for wrinkles, contamination, cut position, registration, seal width, and leakage. ASTM F88/F88M-23 provides a recognized method for measuring the force required to separate a test strip containing a flexible-material seal and identifies the specimen failure mode. ASTM describes seal strength as a quantitative measure useful for process validation and process control.
A supplier may therefore collect, for example, 10 packages near the beginning of a run, 10 after the equipment reaches stable operating temperature, and another 10 later in the run. A 30-package sample can reveal whether seal appearance or measured strength changes with operating time. The exact sample count and acceptance range should come from the agreed test plan, package specification, or applicable standard rather than being presented as a universal requirement.
Package inspection leads naturally to sustained running because many faults appear only after repeated cycles. If a 70-pack/min machine operates for two hours, it can complete as many as 8,400 cycles. During that period, technicians can record every stop, reject, alarm, film adjustment, product refill, and manual intervention. A machine that produces 20 perfect packs during a demonstration has shown only about 17 seconds of performance at 70 packs/min.
Stop classification makes the resulting data more useful. A planned film-roll change should not be recorded in the same category as a sensor fault, product jam, or servo alarm. If 12 unplanned stops occur in an 8,400-cycle run and 9 come from one registration sensor, the record points technicians toward a specific area for adjustment and retesting. The same run can reveal temperature drift, loose components, air leaks, film tracking changes, or increasing reject frequency.
The automatic packaging machine supplier should also test the machine with agreed abnormal conditions before release. Opening an interlocked guard, pressing each emergency stop, interrupting product supply, removing film, or creating low air pressure allows technicians to observe stop behavior, alarm messages, reset requirements, and restart sequences. ISO 13849-1:2023 applies to safety-related control-system parts operating in high-demand and continuous modes, although compliance assessment depends on the machine design, market, and applicable requirements.
Safety checks should then connect to format and recipe checks when the machine handles more than one SKU. If the contract covers 250 g, 500 g, and 1,000 g packages, testing only the 500 g format leaves two agreed configurations unverified. Operators should install the required change parts, load stored recipes where provided, adjust guides and forming components, and produce a defined sample from each contracted format.
A three-format machine needs evidence from the formats included in the agreed acceptance plan, not one successful format followed by an assumption that the other two will behave identically.
All of the earlier measurements come together in the FAT record. Rather than writing “speed passed,” a useful report can state 3,528 accepted packs from 3,600 cycles in 60 minutes under the agreed material and product conditions. Instead of “weight passed,” it can attach the readings from 50 packages. Instead of “safety passed,” it can list the emergency stops, interlocked guards, and agreed fault conditions that were checked.
The same record should preserve settings that will be needed after delivery: PLC and HMI software versions, recipes, servo parameters, inverter settings, sealing temperatures, timing values, sensor positions, and approved package samples or photographs. If a 2026 factory test produced stable packages at an agreed sealing setting but installation-site results differ, service engineers can compare material, utilities, settings, and operating conditions against the recorded FAT baseline rather than starting without reference data.
Before packing, technicians perform another physical check because FAT completion does not confirm that every shipping item is present. The packing list can be matched against change parts, tooling, spare parts, manuals, electrical drawings, accessories, cables, and loose components. If a project includes 3 forming sets, 2 spare heater sets, and 1 coding unit, all six contracted groups should be accounted for before the crate is closed.
Transport preparation follows that count. Moving assemblies are secured, exposed surfaces protected where required, loose parts fixed, and tested product residue removed. Photographs taken before and during packing provide a condition record. For overseas or long-distance shipment, the packing method should match the transport route, storage conditions, equipment mass, lifting arrangement, and contractual requirements rather than relying on a single packing method for every machine.
For the buyer, approval is easier when the FAT protocol was written before the machine reached the test floor. A usable document states the product, package material, target rate, run duration, sample quantities, allowable filling range, package inspection method, required formats, alarm tests, safety checks, and treatment of downtime. If a test calls for 60 minutes at 60 packs/min and 50 weighed samples, both parties know what will be measured before the first production cycle begins.
The release package can then contain measured FAT results, sample records, parameter backups, electrical documentation, packing lists, photographs, and agreed open-item records. For a line producing 3,600 packs/hour, even a 1% difference represents 36 packs each hour, so recorded measurements provide a more useful basis for acceptance than statements such as “runs well” or “factory tested.” A pre-delivery test is strongest when every contractual performance claim has a defined test condition, a measured result, and a recorded acceptance status.