A vertical form fill sealing machine is a type of automated assembly-line product packaging system, commonly used in the packaging industry for food, and a wide variety of other products. Walter Zwoyer, the inventor of the technology, patented his idea for the VFFS machine in 1936 while working with the Henry Heide Candy Company. The machine constructs plastic bags and stand-up pouches out of a flat roll of film, while simultaneously filling the bags with product and sealing the filled bags. Both solids and liquids can be bagged using this packaging system. Specifications of machine The typical machine is loaded with a continuous flat roll of plastic film, which has had labeling and artwork applied to the exterior or interior of the film. Note that while plastic is the most commonly used packaging material in the food industry, the technology can also be used to form continuous metalized foil/film, paper, and fabric product containers by changing the edge sealing/seaming methods. For some products the film may first be fed through a sterilizing chemical bath and dryer prior to use in the packaging system. Single Web Machine Systems Vertical or Inclined Form-Fill-Seal Packaging machine For a vertical form-fill-seal the film approaches the back of a long hollow conical tube, which is called the forming tube. When the center of the plastic is near the tube, the outer edges of the film form flaps that wrap around the conical forming tube. The film is pulled downward around the outside of the tube and a vertical heat-sealing bar clamps onto the edges of the film to create the "fin Seal", bonding the film by melting the seam edges together. To start the bagging process, a horizontal sealing bar creates the "Bottom Seal" by clamping across the bottom edge of the tube, bonding the film together, and cutting off any film below. This sealing bar can be on a fixed height, which is called an intermittent sealing process. Faster systems include a sealing bar that moves down with the bag while sealing. This is called a continuous process. The product is either pre-measured by a multi-head weighing system or the sealed tube end is then lowered onto a precision weighing table and the product to be bagged is dispensed through the long conical tube in the center of the bag. When the gross weight of the product-filled bag is reached, filling stops, and the