Volumetric, gravimetric or level filling: how to choose

Dosing a liquid seems simple until the product changes density with temperature, foams or carries solids. Choosing the right filling system is what separates a stable line from one full of rejects. These are the three most common families and when each makes sense.

Volumetric filling

It doses a fixed volume per cycle, usually with a piston or a flow meter. It's fast and repeatable, and ideal when what matters is the volume the customer sees in the container.

• Very good production rate and contained cost.
• Sensitive to temperature and dissolved air: if the density changes, the final weight changes.
• Suits low-viscosity, stable liquids.

Weight filling (gravimetric)

Each container is filled on a load cell until it reaches a target weight. It's the most precise when what you sell, and what you invoice, is weight.

• Precision independent of density and foam.
• Allows statistical control container by container.
• Somewhat slower and with more investment than volumetric.

Level filling

It fills to a fixed height inside the container. It doesn't guarantee exact volume or weight, but it does give a visually uniform fill across the whole line.

• Ideal for transparent containers, where it matters that they all "look equally full".
• Depends on container geometry: if the container varies, the content varies.
• Simple and economical.

So, which do I choose?

The short rule: if you invoice by weight, gravimetric; if volume matters and you want throughput, volumetric; if aesthetics and transparent packaging rule, level. But the real decision depends on your product — viscosity, foam, temperature —, your container and the legal precision you need. That analysis is exactly what we do before proposing a machine: we don't start from a fixed model, but from your process.