There are very few operational tasks that require downtime for cleaning. But as you know, there’s nothing ordinary about the cannabis industry. When it comes to filling some of the most popular consumption methods (510 carts and all-in-one devices), cleaning couldn’t be more crucial for the process—leading operators to deal with the unfortunate side effect of necessary downtime.
In a world where vape cartridge filling machine cleaning couldn’t be more critical, it’s even more important to understand what systems or equipment can help you be more efficient. So, if you’re here to increase your facility’s throughput, improve overall efficiency, or simply overtake the competition, you’re in the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything first-time and seasoned veteran operators need to know about vape cartridge cleaning systems. Keep reading as we cover the most significant drawbacks or challenges of manual cleaning, how automated cleaning for cannabis oil filling works, ways to implement it into your operations, and beyond.
The Challenges of Manual Cleaning in Vape Cartridge Filling
To best understand the solutions for vape cartridge filling machine cleaning, you need to become more familiar with the challenges associated with manual cleaning if you aren’t already. Before getting into how clean-in-place automatic vape cartridge machines work, let’s first cover the top challenges related to cleaning equipment yourself.
Inconsistent Cleaning Results
Consistency with automated vape-filling machines is crucial for operators seeking to build customer loyalty and retention. Just one negative experience with your brand can cause customers never to return to purchase again. Offering a consistent, quality 510 cart or all-in-one device is of utmost importance to ensure long-term success, and automated cleaning for cannabis oil filling can help.
When manually cleaning, it’s common to experience inconsistent or varying results depending on the employee operating the machines, the oil you’re filling, and other factors. This inconsistency can leave behind residual oils or cleaning agents that affect the quality and taste of subsequent fills, potentially compromising product consistency and brand reputation.
Streamlining and automating the process guarantees the same results each time, resulting in a higher-quality product and more efficient methods.
Downtime & Production Delays
Viscosity changes in concentrates aren’t the only challenge causing bottlenecks for vape cartridge filling. The time it takes to manually clean the equipment between batches also adds to delays in the process. Automated vape cartridge cleaning systems can take as little time as 10 minutes to complete the process. In comparison, manual processes could take double or triple the time.
Breaking down filling equipment for manual cleaning requires careful disassembling of multiple components, thorough cleaning of each part, and precise reassembly to ensure proper operation. This process not only extends production downtime but also increases the risk of equipment damage or improper reassembly, which can lead to malfunctions and further delays.
Simply put a task that should take minutes with clean-in-place automatic vape cartridge machines can stretch into hours when factoring in the complete breakdown, cleaning, and setup cycle required for manual processes.
Labor Costs & Human Error
Every minute spent cleaning a vape filling machine is money lost when you could be using automated cleaning systems. Manually cleaning systems require dedicated staff and training time to be completed successfully. This increases operational costs and overtime while opening up the possibilities for human error.
Depending on your employees’ skill, time, or individual efforts, they can miss hard-to-reach areas, use incorrect cleaning solutions, or fail to follow proper procedures consistently. These mistakes can lead to cross-contamination between batches, equipment damage, or product quality issues—all of which result in additional expenses through wasted product, repairs, and potential recalls.
Compliance Risks
In the cannabis industry, everything operators do, from seed to sale, is highly regulated. That means maintaining detailed cleaning lots and demonstrating consistent sanitation procedures is essential for passing inspections and maintaining licenses.
In general, it’s difficult to standardize and document cleaning protocols with manual cleaning processes, which can potentially put operations at risk during audits. Advanced equipment with automated vape cartridge cleaning systems will often be equipped with the technology to output reports and logs of operation, including when the machines were cleaned.
Manufacturers may struggle to prove their adherence to state-mandated cleaning and safety requirements without automated systems, which could further cost operations in downtime due to violations, fines, or fees.
What Are Automated Cleaning Systems?
Whether you’re seeking a fully automated or semi-automated machine, ensuring either piece of equipment has automated cleaning for cannabis oil filling is key for overall efficiency and success. Automated cleaning systems are just what they sound like. They’re pre-programmed processes that work to clean the internal parts of a vape cartridge filling machine.
They’re designed to reach all the nooks and crannies of the machine and clear out various types of viscosities that are associated with cannabis concentrates, with as little human input as possible. For instance, the Jet Fueler clean-in-place procedure and Vape-Jet clean-in-place procedures empower operators to simply add alcohol, and with a few clicks, the machine is operational again in less than ten minutes.
Advantages of Automated Cleaning for Vape Cartridge Filling
Now that you know the challenges associated with manual cleaning and how automated vape cartridge cleaning systems work, let’s review all the advantages your operation can benefit from when making the switch.
- Increased Efficiency & Reduced Downtime
As we mentioned earlier, when implementing clean-in-place systems, your facility can avoid the process it takes to disassemble equipment and manually scrub its inner parts. This significantly reduces the amount of downtime associated with the process to as little as 10 minutes with the most advanced equipment.
By eliminating bottlenecks, facilities can maximize throughput, allowing for more batches per shift while reducing labor costs associated with manual cleaning procedures.
- Improved Product Quality & Consistency
Ensuring your systems are precise, with repeatable results, is crucial in producing a consistent, quality product. Automated cleaning systems help deliver these advantages by thoroughly cleaning all equipment surfaces and components in every batch run.
By eliminating variations in manual cleaning techniques, these systems also prevent cross-contamination between batches, further helping to maintain consistent product quality. The standardized cleaning process removes all residual oils and cleaning agents, preserving the intended flavor profile and ensuring every cartridge meets the brand’s standards.
Versatility in semi-automatic filling machines or automatic filling machines can also lend to facilities expanding their number of SKUs with the ability to switch between concentrate or product types seamlessly.
- Compliance & Safety in Cannabis Vape Production
In cannabis, it’s not just about putting out a product that customers will return to buy. It’s about putting out a product that’ll pass testing and staying in compliance with procedures. Clean-in-place systems often provide detailed documentation of each bath run, including cleaning cycle information such as duration, temperature, and solutions used.
This not only provides peace of mind during inspections or audits, but more importantly, automated cleaning systems can also increase your facility’s safety. Clean-in-place automatic vape cartridge machines reduce worker exposure to cleaning chemicals and eliminate the risk of improper equipment reassembly, creating a safer production environment while ensuring consistent adherence to safety protocols.
Implementing an Automated Cleaning System in Your Vape Production With Vape-Jet
Implementing an automated cleaning system into your vape production doesn’t have to be a heavy lift. While the initial investment for clean-in-place automatic vape cartridge machines like Vape-Jet may seem significant, the machine’s advantages help reduce labor costs immediately (up to 90%), and operators often see an ROI in just 65 days.
Vape-Jet is widely considered the best THC vape cartridge filling machine cleaning-wise, operational-wise, and support-wise. The machine allows operators to seamlessly fill 5,000 and 10,000 vape cartridges and all-in-one devices per shift, with the lowest labor inputs and operating temperatures of any machine on the market—and one of the best vape cartridge cleaning systems available today.
Gain the consistency with automated vape-filling machines you need to succeed with Vape-Jet.
Vape-Jet Cleaning Procedure
Of course, not all vape cartridge cleaning systems can be treated equally. The Vape-Jet’s Clean-in-Place procedure is highly regarded as one of the most advanced systems on the market today, making the cleaning process simple and quick. The internal cleaning wizard requires just 200 ml of alcohol and goes to work cleaning and drying the machine, ready for a new batch with just a few clicks.
The entire process, from start to finish, takes less than 10 minutes and is nearly entirely automated. Ready to transform the way your operation works (and cleans)? Put the Vape-Jet 4.0 automated clean-in-place system to work for you. Browse our FAQs for any other questions you may have before getting started, or contact our team to learn how to empower your efficiency now.
