Portion Cup Filling Machine for Sauces, Dressings and Dips
Fill sauces, dressings, dips and condiments into pre-formed portion cups from 2 oz up, then seal and snap-lid them in one rotary pass, with ±0.5% servo piston accuracy and up to 30 cups per minute.
A portion cup filling machine doses a measured amount of sauce, dressing, dip or condiment into a small pre-formed cup, then seals it. Hummus Pack's SDH-R is a rotary portion cup filling machine that fills 50–500 g at ±0.5% accuracy, runs up to 30 cups per minute (18–25 real-world), and closes cups with a tamper-evident membrane seal plus an optional snap-on lid. 2 oz cups sit at the low end of its range.
- Output
- Up to 30 cups/min (18–25 real-world)
- Fill range
- 50 g – 500 g (approx. 2 oz – 17 oz)
- Fill accuracy
- ±0.5% (servo-driven volumetric piston)
- Cup sizes
- 4, 8, 10, 16 oz standard; custom 2–32 oz with tooling
- Changeover
- Under ~15 minutes, recipes stored on the HMI
- Closing
- Roll-film membrane seal; optional snap-on plastic lid
- Price
- From $45,000 USD (single-filler configuration)
What a Portion Cup Filling Machine Does on a Sauce and Dressing Line
A portion cup filling machine takes empty pre-formed cups, doses a fixed weight of sauce, dressing or dip into each one, and seals them for cold distribution to meal-kit assemblers, foodservice distributors and retail. Our SDH-R automatic rotary cup filling, sealing and lidding machine does this on a single indexing turret, from denesting through filling, sealing and optional snap-on lidding.
Small cups are a demanding format. A 2 g overfill means little in a 16 oz tub, but in a 2 oz sauce cup it is several percent of the product, repeated on every cup. Narrow flanges mean a single drip on the sealing surface can cause a leaker. The SDH-R answers both problems with ±0.5% servo piston dosing and drip-free nozzles, and its rotary cup filling machine layout fits every station into a 44 × 52 in (1,100.5 × 1,315.5 mm) footprint.
How the SDH-R Fills and Closes a Portion Cup, Station by Station
Each cup makes one pass around the turret. Stations that a portion program does not need are simply disabled in the recipe.
- Cup loading: a pneumatic denester places a pre-formed round, square or rectangular cup.
- Base fill: the servo-driven volumetric piston doses the dressing, sauce or dip.
- Second and third fill (optional): a peristaltic pump, garnish filler or vibration filler adds oil, liquid spice, seeds, herbs or a spice blend.
- Sealing: membrane film cut from a roll is heat-sealed to the flange.
- Nitrogen MAP flushing (optional): for oxidation-sensitive products.
- Lidding (optional): a plastic lid is placed by pick-and-place and snapped on.
- Discharge: cups exit to a conveyor, with optional labeling, variable data coding and a weight checker with a feedback loop.
Portion Cup Uses: Meal Kits, Foodservice, Grab-and-Go and Snack Packs
Portion cups appear in very different businesses, but they share three needs: consistent portions, a clean tamper-evident seal and frequent recipe changes. Typical programs we configure a portion cup filling machine for include:
- Meal-kit sauces and glazes, often in several flavors per week
- Salad dressing cups for grab-and-go salads, deli counters and catering trays
- Hummus and guacamole snack cups in 2–4 oz sizes, sometimes with an oil drizzle or spice garnish
- Aioli and mayonnaise-based dips for QSR and fast-casual burger and fries programs
- Salsa minis for taco kits and foodservice
- Dipping sauce cups for takeout, catering and airline meal trays
For product-specific handling, see our hummus filling machine page on paste behavior and oil separation, the aioli filling machine page on shear-sensitive emulsions, and our dip filling and sealing machine overview for larger retail tubs.
2 oz Portion Cups and the 50 g Minimum: Where the SDH-R Fits
Portion cups are where buyers most often over-assume, so we are precise here. The SDH-R's standard fill range is 50 g to 500 g, roughly 2 oz to 17 oz. Standard tooling covers 4, 8, 10 and 16 oz cups, and custom change parts extend that from 2 oz to 32 oz. A 2 oz portion cup therefore sits at the low end of the range, not the middle.
Souffle cup filling machine applications at 2 oz
A 2 oz souffle cup holds about 59 ml brim-full. Filled to a working level below the flange, a product with a density near water lands close to the 50 g floor. Dense products such as hummus sit comfortably above it; aerated or oil-heavy dressings sit closer to the edge. We confirm the target weight with your actual product and cup before quoting, so send both through our quote request form.
Fills below 50 g, including most 1 oz and 1.5 oz condiment cups, are outside the SDH-R's standard range. If most of your volume is in those sizes, a dedicated small-portion line is the better machine, and we will tell you so.
Get a configured SDH-R quote for your productSend your product, cup size and target cups per minute — we reply within 24 hours.
Request a quoteSauce Cup Filling Machine Options: Piston for Thick, Peristaltic for Thin
The biggest configuration decision for a sauce cup filling machine is how each product is dosed, because one portion line may run everything from a water-thin vinaigrette to a stiff hummus.
Servo-driven volumetric piston (standard)
The standard filler handles liquids and pastes. Because the piston stroke is servo-controlled, fill volume, speed and acceleration are recipe settings rather than mechanical adjustments. This is the filler behind the ±0.5% accuracy figure and the right choice for hummus, guacamole, aioli, thick sauces and chunky salsa. A slower, smoother stroke also avoids whipping air into, or breaking, a mayonnaise-style emulsion.
Peristaltic pump (optional)
Thin liquids such as vinaigrettes, oil-based dressings and liquid spices can be dosed with the optional peristaltic pump. The product touches only the inside of the tube, which simplifies sanitation and allergen changeovers. The ±0.5% figure applies to the servo piston; peristaltic dosing accuracy depends on the product and target weight, and our engineering team confirms it during quoting.
Watch-outs with dressings
- Separation: vinaigrettes split when they stand, so the first cups after a pause can run oil-heavy. Keep product agitated upstream and minimize standing time in the hopper.
- Shear: creamy emulsions such as ranch-style dressings can thin or break at high piston speeds.
- Fill temperature: the SDH-R targets fresh, refrigerated products filled at a pumpable temperature; hot-fill sauces are reviewed with our engineering team first.
Drip-Free Nozzles That Keep Portion Cup Flanges Clean
A portion cup flange is a narrow ring, and the heat seal needs it clean and dry all the way around. A tail of sauce after the dose, or a string of cheese dip, becomes a channel through the seal and a leaker in the shipper. The SDH-R prevents this with:
- Cut-off nozzle: a positive shut-off that stops flow cleanly at the end of the dose, for pastes and thick sauces.
- Suck-back nozzle: draws product back into the nozzle at the end of the stroke so thinner sauces do not drip while the turret indexes.
- Large-bore valving: passes particulates such as herbs, shredded cucumber and nut pieces without bridging.
For chunky salsa, particle size decides the valving, and we review it against a sample; the salsa filling machine page covers chunk handling and liquid weeping in more detail.
Dip Cup Filling Machine Setup by Product: Filler and Nozzle Matrix
Use this as a starting point for configuring the SDH-R as a dip cup filling machine or dressing filler. Final selection is confirmed against your recipe, viscosity and particle size.
Portion cup products matched to SDH-R filler and nozzle options
| Portion product | Product behavior | Filler | Nozzle / valving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinaigrette, oil-based dressing | Thin; separates on standing | Peristaltic pump (optional) or servo piston | Suck-back nozzle when piston-dosed |
| Creamy dressing (ranch style) | Shear-sensitive emulsion | Servo piston, moderate stroke | Suck-back nozzle |
| Smooth sauce (barbecue, glaze) | Medium to thick; can string | Servo piston | Cut-off or suck-back nozzle |
| Aioli, mayonnaise-based dip | Thick emulsion; can aerate | Servo piston, smooth stroke | Cut-off nozzle |
| Hummus, bean dip | Stiff paste; oil can separate | Servo piston | Cut-off nozzle |
| Guacamole | Thick; oxidizes; may have chunks | Servo piston; MAP optional | Large-bore valving |
| Chunky salsa | Particulates plus weeping liquid | Servo piston | Large-bore valving |
| Oil drizzle, liquid spice | Thin; small dose on a base | Peristaltic pump (second or third station) | Confirmed per product |
| Seeds, herbs, spice blend | Dry pieces or powder | Garnish or vibration filler (optional) | Not applicable |
Where one cup carries two or three components, such as hummus with an oil drizzle and paprika, the SDH-R runs up to three fillers in one pass; see our article on multi-component filling for layered dips.
Condiment Cup Filling and Sealing Machine Closures: Seal and Snap Lid
The SDH-R heat-seals each cup with membrane film cut from a roll, or applies pre-die-cut lids. The seal is tamper-evident, which matters to foodservice and meal-kit customers who need confidence that a sauce cup was not opened between plant and plate.
Seal temperature, pressure and dwell time must suit the film and cup together. Settings that seal a 16 oz tub well can over- or under-seal a thin-walled 2 oz cup, so they belong in each SKU's recipe. A clean flange is the other half of seal integrity.
Optional snap-on lid and nitrogen MAP
An optional station places a plastic lid by pick-and-place and snaps it over the seal, protecting the seal in transit and letting the customer reclose the cup. For guacamole and fresh herb sauces, optional nitrogen flushing reduces residual oxygen to 0.3–0.4%, which can extend refrigerated shelf life from roughly 7–10 days to 30–45 days or more, depending on the product. Our MAP cup filler and cup filling and sealing machine pages cover both options in depth.
Running Many SKUs on One Dressing Cup Filling Machine
Portion lines rarely run one product all day; a meal-kit producer may fill several sauces in a single shift. On the SDH-R portion cup filling machine, the PLC and HMI store recipes, so fill volume, stroke settings, seal parameters and station selections are recalled rather than re-entered, and changeover between SKUs takes under about 15 minutes:
- Run out the current product and remove contact parts with the tool-free strip-down.
- Clean and sanitize, or run the optional CIP system.
- Fit cup change parts and the nozzle if the cup or product type changes.
- Recall the next recipe on the HMI and load product and film.
- Check first-off weights and seals, then release production.
That figure covers the mechanical and recipe change; a full allergen wash-down adds time set by your plant's validated sanitation procedure.
Allergen sequencing on portion cup lines
Portion programs often mix allergens: sesame in tahini sauces, egg in aioli, milk in ranch and queso. Sesame became the ninth major US food allergen on January 1, 2023, under the FASTER Act, which amended FALCPA. Plants operating under FDA FSMA Preventive Controls (21 CFR Part 117), HACCP, BRCGS, SQF or Canada's SFCR typically run allergen-free products first and validate cleaning between allergen groups. The SDH-R's food-grade 304 stainless steel, FDA-compliant food-contact materials and tool-free strip-down are designed to support those programs.
When a High-Speed Multi-Lane Portion Line Is the Better Choice
The SDH-R is a single-turret machine rated up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle, with 18–25 typical in production. It suits meal-kit producers, regional foodservice suppliers, grab-and-go programs and dip makers adding a snack-cup SKU. It is the wrong portion cup filling machine for:
- Very high single-SKU volume, such as national QSR condiment programs that need far more than 30 cups per minute; a multi-lane inline portion line is built for that.
- Cups under 2 oz or fills under 50 g.
- Form-fill-seal packs: the SDH-R fills pre-formed cups and does not thermoform them.
- Shelf-stable or frozen products: it is not aseptic or retort, and it targets fresh, refrigerated cups.
A rough check: at 20 cups per minute, eight hours of run time yields about 9,600 cups. If your total demand across SKUs fits the shifts you can run at that rate, a rotary machine with fast changeover usually wins on cost and floor space. If one SKU alone needs several machines' output, compare an inline cup filling machine using our guide to rotary vs inline filling machines.
Portion Cup Filling Machine Price, Lead Time and Quote
The SDH-R starts from $45,000 USD in its single-filler configuration. Price scales with additional fillers, nitrogen MAP, labeling integration, custom tooling such as 2 oz cup change parts, and other options; our cup filling and sealing machine cost guide explains the drivers. Machines are designed and built in Calgary, Alberta, with delivery 8–12 weeks from order confirmation, a 12-month warranty, and support from our Alberta, New Jersey and California service centers.
To quote, send each product, cup size and material, target fill weight, target cups per minute and the options you want. We may reach out to learn more about the application, and we typically reply within about 24 hours. Request a portion cup filling machine quote or call +1 (888) 922-7271.
Portion Cup Filling Machine — Frequently Asked Questions
The Hummus Pack SDH-R portion cup filling machine starts from $45,000 USD in its single-filler configuration. Price rises with additional fillers such as a peristaltic pump for dressings, nitrogen MAP, labeling integration, custom tooling such as 2 oz cup change parts, and other options. Delivery is 8–12 weeks from order confirmation, and each machine carries a 12-month warranty.
The SDH-R's standard fill range is 50 g to 500 g, so 2 oz portion cups sit at the low end of its range and need custom change parts; standard tooling covers 4, 8, 10 and 16 oz cups. Fills below 50 g, including most 1 oz and 1.5 oz condiment cups, are outside the standard range. Hummus Pack confirms target weights with your product before quoting.
The SDH-R rotary cup filling, sealing and lidding machine is rated up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle, with 18–25 cups per minute typical in production depending on product, cup size, fill weight and options. At 20 cups per minute, eight hours of run time yields about 9,600 portion cups. Higher single-SKU volumes suit a multi-lane inline line.
With its standard servo-driven volumetric piston filler, the SDH-R holds fill-weight accuracy of ±0.5%. That matters on small portion cups, where a gram or two of overfill is a large share of each cup. An optional weight checker with a feedback loop verifies weights after filling. Accuracy for thin dressings dosed by the optional peristaltic pump is confirmed per product.
Yes. The SDH-R's servo piston filler handles liquids and pastes, from creamy dressings to hummus and aioli, and an optional peristaltic pump suits thin vinaigrettes and oil-based dressings. Up to three fillers run in one pass, recipes are stored on the HMI, and changeover between SKUs takes under about 15 minutes, plus any allergen wash-down your sanitation procedure requires.
The SDH-R keeps portion cup flanges clean with a cut-off nozzle that positively stops flow at the end of each dose for pastes and thick sauces, and a suck-back nozzle that draws product back so thinner sauces do not drip while the turret indexes. Large-bore valving passes particulates such as herbs and nut pieces without bridging.
Yes. The SDH-R heat-seals each portion cup with membrane film cut from a roll, giving a tamper-evident closure, or applies pre-die-cut lids. An optional station then places a plastic lid by pick-and-place and snaps it on over the seal, protecting the seal in transit and making the cup reclosable after opening.
Yes, for oxidation-sensitive products such as guacamole. The SDH-R's optional nitrogen MAP system reduces residual oxygen in the cup to 0.3–0.4%, which can extend refrigerated shelf life from roughly 7–10 days to 30–45 days or more, depending on the product. The SDH-R is built for fresh, refrigerated cups; it is not an aseptic or retort system.
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