SDH-R Automatic Rotary Hummus & Paste Packaging Machine

A rotary cup filling machine carries containers on an indexing turret rather than along a straight conveyor. Cups are placed into pockets on a circular dial, the dial indexes one position, and every station on the circle performs its operation at the same time during the dwell. That single design choice separates rotary from inline: on an inline machine the operations are spread along a line and the frame grows with every station added, while on a rotary machine a station is another position around a dial that already exists.

The practical result is throughput without sprawl. The SDH-R runs up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle, with real-world output typically 18-25 CPM depending on product viscosity, fill weight, cup size and whether snap-on lidding is in the pass. Cycle time is governed by the slowest single station, not by the sum of all operations, which is why a compact circle of stations matches the output of a far longer straight-line layout. The footprint is 44 x 52 in (1,100.5 x 1,315.5 mm) with a height of 65.6 in - a machine that drops into the corner of an existing production room instead of forcing a plant re-layout.

Station by station, one pass through the SDH-R looks like this:

• Cup denesting - a pneumatic denester strips one cup from the stack and seats it in the dial pocket.
• Base filling - the servo volumetric piston deposits the main product.
• Second and third filling stations (optional) - drizzle, oil, sauce swirl or a particulate garnish, applied in the same pass.
• MAP nitrogen flush (optional) - headspace oxygen is displaced immediately before sealing.
• Roll-film membrane sealing - film is die-cut and heat-sealed to the cup flange.
• Snap-on lid (optional) - a pick-and-place head applies a rigid overcap.
• Discharge - finished cups transfer to a conveyor for labeling or date coding.

For a fuller comparison of the two architectures, see our breakdown of rotary versus inline filling machines.

Roll-film membrane heat sealing

As a cup filling and sealing machine, the SDH-R seals from a reel of lidding film. Film unwinds over the filled cup, a heated die cuts and bonds a membrane to the cup flange in one action, and the web scrap winds off. Roll film is the lowest cost-per-cup closure, accepts your printed artwork, and produces a tamper-evident pack - the membrane cannot be lifted and replaced without visibly destroying it. Because the film is die-cut as it seals, one reel serves every cup sharing that flange diameter.

Pre-cut lids and snap-on lids

Two options cover the rest of the shelf presentations. An optional pre-cut lid system feeds die-cut membranes instead of running from a reel, which suits short runs and multi-SKU artwork without film changeovers. An optional snap-on lid station uses a pick-and-place head to seat a rigid overcap on top of the sealed membrane, giving retail shelf appeal and a reclosable pack for larger formats. Membrane plus overcap is the standard chilled-retail combination: the seal does the food-safety work, the cap does merchandising and reclose.

MAP nitrogen flushing for extended shelf life

The optional MAP nitrogen flush injects nitrogen into the cup headspace in the instant before the seal head closes, displacing the oxygen that drives oxidation and aerobic spoilage. For fresh refrigerated dips this typically moves shelf life from roughly 7-10 days to 30-45+ days refrigerated - the difference between local delivery and national retail distribution. See how it is applied on our dip filling and sealing machine page.

Seal parameter control and repeatable tamper evidence

Seal temperature, pressure and dwell time are each controlled independently and stored per recipe. That separation matters: a PP cup with a peelable lacquer and a PET cup with a different film need different combinations, and being able to raise dwell without raising temperature avoids scorching thin films or distorting the flange. Consistent parameters mean consistent peel force, consistent tamper evidence and fewer leakers in the cold chain.

Every product-contact surface on the SDH-R is 304 stainless steel, and the machine is built for CIP (clean-in-place) with easy-access connectors so the fill path can be flushed without breaking the line down. Where a strip-down is required - a product changeover from a garlic recipe to a plain one, or an allergen change - the piston, hoppers and product path come apart tool-free, which is what keeps sanitation inside a shift changeover rather than spilling into production time.

Documentation and build standards support the audits food plants actually face:

• CE, FDA and UL compliance, with the supporting documentation supplied with the machine.
• Construction and cleanability suited to HACCP and BRCGS-ready programs, including accessible surfaces for swabbing and verification.
• Recipe-locked seal parameters so seal integrity is a recorded, repeatable setting rather than an operator judgement call.
• Diagnostic alerts on the HMI that time-stamp faults for review.

Maintenance expectations are modest and mostly routine: CIP and wipe-down of contact surfaces at end of run, inspection of the seal head face, film path and denester at the weekly interval, and periodic checks of drives, guarding and the pneumatic supply per the schedule in the machine manual. Because the fill axis is servo-driven rather than pneumatic, the usual consumables of an air-driven filler - cylinder seals, valves, regulators and filter elements - are simply not there to fail. Fewer wearing parts means fewer unplanned stoppages and a shorter spares list to hold on the shelf.

The machine ships with a 12-month warranty and is made in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, supported by service centres in Alberta, New Jersey and California, so parts and technicians are on the same continent as your line. Talk to our team about a maintenance and spares package sized to your run hours.