Queso & Cheese Dip Filling Machine
A servo-driven queso filling machine that portions warm cheese dip, diced chile and chorizo into 2-32 oz cups at up to 30 cups per minute, then heat-seals tamper-evident lids.
The SDH-R is a fully automatic queso filling machine engineered for warm, high-viscosity cheese dip that thickens as it cools. A servo-driven volumetric piston meters 50 g to 500 g at ±0.5% accuracy and carries diced green chile, jalapeño and chorizo through large-bore valving without shredding the particulate. Roll-film membrane sealing lays a tamper-evident weld on every cup, and optional MAP nitrogen flush pushes refrigerated shelf life from 7-10 days to 30-45+ days. Designed and built in Calgary, Alberta by Alter Pack, and CE, FDA and UL certified - see the full SDH-R specification.
Why the SDH-R Excels at Queso & Cheese Dip
Handles Warm, Thickening Queso
Cheese dip is filled warm and stiffens as it cools, so fill temperature and viscosity live in the PLC recipe. Servo piston control holds ±0.5% weights across the whole hot-fill window.
Large-Bore Valving for Particulates
Diced green chile, jalapeño, chorizo and roasted corn pass whole through wide-bore nozzles and piston chambers, so nacho cheese and queso fundido keep their texture instead of being sheared into paste.
Tamper-Evident Seal, Less Skinning
Roll-film membrane sealing with independently controlled temperature, pressure and dwell closes the cup immediately after filling, limiting surface skinning and evaporation. Optional MAP nitrogen flush takes refrigerated shelf life to 30-45+ days.
CIP Built for Cheese Fat Residue
Melted cheese fats film every wetted surface. Food-grade 304 stainless construction, CIP clean-in-place circuits and tool-free strip-down let crews flush and verify the product path between queso, salsa con queso and allergen-bearing recipes.
Why Queso Demands a Purpose-Built Cheese Dip Filling Machine
Queso behaves unlike any other dip on a packaging line. It leaves the kettle hot and thin, then builds viscosity every minute it sits in the hopper, so a cheese dip filling machine has to hold portion weight across a moving rheology curve rather than a single set point. The SDH-R answers that with a servo-driven volumetric piston: fill volume, piston speed and dwell are stored per recipe on the PLC and HMI, so the same 4 oz cup weighs the same at the start of a run and forty minutes later.
The second challenge is what is suspended in the sauce. Diced green chile, jalapeño, chorizo crumble and roasted corn all bridge in narrow valving. Large-bore nozzles and a generous piston chamber move product as a plug instead of forcing it through a restriction, which protects both the particulate and the fill weight.
Fill temperature belongs in the recipe
Hot-fill queso and refrigerated queso are two different jobs. Hot-filled product needs a seal applied fast enough to trap headspace steam before a skin forms; chilled product is thicker and usually wants a wider nozzle and a slower discharge stroke. Because seal temperature, pressure and dwell are individually controlled on the SDH-R, both profiles can be saved and recalled inside a changeover of roughly 15 minutes.
- Fill range: 50 g to 500 g at ±0.5% fill-weight accuracy
- Throughput: up to 30 cups/min dry cycle; 18-25 CPM typical with warm queso
- Cups: 4, 8, 10 and 16 oz standard; 2-32 oz custom in round, square or rectangular formats
- Sealing: roll-film membrane heat seal, with optional pre-cut lid and optional snap-on lid
If your line also runs chunky tomato products, the same dosing platform is documented on our salsa filling application page, and every machine is built and supported in Calgary, Alberta by Alter Pack.
How the Automatic Cheese Dip Filling Machine Runs Every Cup
The SDH-R is a rotary machine, so each cup passes a sequence of fixed stations while the turret indexes. That geometry is what makes an automatic cheese dip filling machine repeatable: every function gets its own dwell time instead of competing for a single dosing head.
Station by station
A pneumatic cup denester drops one cup per pocket from the stack, singulating 4 oz foodservice portion cups as reliably as 32 oz tubs. The cup then indexes to the filling stations, where up to three fillers can run in one pass - base queso, a drizzle of chile oil or salsa roja, and a garnish of chorizo or cotija - building a layered retail cup without a second handling step. Membrane film is drawn from the roll, cut and welded under independently controlled temperature, pressure and dwell to give a tamper-evident seal. Where the pack calls for it, an optional pre-cut lid or snap-on lid is applied, and an optional MAP nitrogen flush displaces headspace oxygen before sealing.
Cheese sauce is unforgiving about seal-flange contamination. Any product dragged onto the rim prevents the film bonding and shows up as leakers in the cold chain. Nozzle cut-off geometry and a controlled piston retract are tuned during commissioning so the shot breaks cleanly above the cup, and that setting is stored with the rest of the recipe.
Throughput you can plan a shift around
Rated at up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle, a warm queso line realistically settles at 18-25 CPM depending on fill weight, cup diameter and whether nitrogen flushing is active. Those are the numbers to build a production plan on, not the headline figure. The same servo dosing core drives our dip filling and sealing machine and our hummus filling machine, so a plant running several dip categories keeps one operator skill set and one spare-parts list.
Cup Formats, Portion Sizes & Shelf Life for Queso Packaging
Foodservice drives most queso volume, and it is a portion-cup business: 2, 3 and 4 oz single-serve cups riding alongside a stadium tray, a burrito bowl or a chip basket. A queso packaging machine that cannot denest and seal small, shallow cups cleanly is of little use in that market. The SDH-R handles 4, 8, 10 and 16 oz as standard and 2-32 oz as a custom tooling option, in round, square and rectangular geometries. A pneumatic cup denester singulates each format from the stack, and the same servo dosing head covers the whole range without a change of filler.
- 2-4 oz: single-serve foodservice queso and nacho cheese portion cups
- 8-10 oz: retail grab-and-go cheese dip and deli cups
- 16 oz: club-store and family queso tubs
- Up to 32 oz: catering, concession and commissary packs
Shelf life and the oxygen problem
Refrigerated cheese dip typically holds 7-10 days. Adding the optional MAP nitrogen flush displaces headspace oxygen at the seal station and moves that window to 30-45+ days, which is the difference between a regional direct-store-delivery route and a national retail programme. It also slows the surface skinning and colour drift that make a queso cup look tired on shelf well before it is unsafe.
Hot-fill programmes lean on the seal itself as part of the preservation strategy, relying on a tamper-evident membrane weld and rapid chill-down. Because the SDH-R controls seal temperature, pressure and dwell independently, a hot-fill profile and a MAP-refrigerated profile can live side by side as saved recipes on the HMI, recalled by an operator rather than re-dialled by a technician. Full format, tooling and options detail is listed on the SDH-R product page, including the compact 44 x 52 in footprint.
CIP Cleaning, Changeover & Support for Your Nacho Cheese Filling Machine
Cheese fat is the reason sanitation dominates the equipment conversation. Emulsified cheddar and queso blanco leave a film on every wetted surface, and residual fat that survives a wash is both a dairy allergen carry-over risk and a rancidity risk on the next run. The SDH-R is built from food-grade 304 stainless steel with CIP clean-in-place circuits, so hoppers, pistons and manifolds can be flushed in place before a tool-free strip-down for inspection and swabbing.
Changeover between recipes
Product changes on a nacho cheese filling machine are rarely just a recipe swap - you are moving between allergen profiles, particulate sizes and cup diameters at the same time. Stored PLC recipes bring back fill volume, piston speed, seal temperature, pressure and dwell instantly, and mechanical changeover targets under roughly 15 minutes. Practically, that is what lets a co-packer run queso in the morning and a chunky salsa or a plant-based dip in the afternoon.
- Food-grade 304 stainless steel across all product-contact surfaces
- CIP clean-in-place plus tool-free strip-down for visual verification
- PLC and HMI recipe storage; changeover in under approximately 15 minutes
- Compact 44 x 52 in footprint for tight commissary and co-pack floors
Certification, warranty and service
The SDH-R is CE, FDA and UL certified, designed and built in Calgary, Alberta by Alter Pack, and covered by a 12-month warranty with service centres in Alberta, New Jersey and California. Pricing starts at $45,000 USD, with delivery in 8-12 weeks. Machines are commissioned with your own cup, film and sauce so the recipe is proven before it reaches your floor. To size a machine against your cup format, fill weight, particulate load and shift schedule, talk to our queso filling machine engineers and send a sample of your sauce for trial.
Certified, Food-Grade Engineering Behind Every Queso & Cheese Dip Filling Machine
CE, FDA & UL Certified
Every SDH-R ships with CE (European conformity), FDA (US food-contact) and UL (electrical safety) documentation - the paperwork your auditor, insurer and electrical authority ask to see.
Food-Grade 304 Stainless Steel
All product-contact surfaces are food-grade 304 stainless with CIP clean-in-place and tool-free strip-down, built for HACCP and BRCGS-audited facilities.
Servo-Driven Precision
A closed-loop servo volumetric piston holds +/-0.5% fill-weight accuracy across the full 50-500 g range, protecting net-content compliance and cutting product give-away.
Made in Calgary by Alter Pack
Designed and built in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Alter Pack, with a 12-month warranty and North American service centres in Alberta, New Jersey and California.
SDH-R Queso & Cheese Dip Filling Machine - Full Specifications
Complete specification for the SDH-R automatic rotary cup filling, sealing and cupping machine.
| Specification | SDH-R |
|---|---|
| Throughput | Up to 30 cups per minute (dry cycle) |
| Real-world output | 18-25 cups/min depending on product, cup size & options |
| Fill range | 50 g - 500 g (2 oz - 17 oz) |
| Fill-weight accuracy | +/-0.5% (servo-driven volumetric piston) |
| Standard cup sizes | 4 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz, 16 oz |
| Custom cup sizes | 2 oz - 32 oz with matching tooling |
| Cup shapes | Round, square, rectangular |
| Sealing | Roll-film membrane heat seal (tamper-evident) |
| Lidding options | Pre-cut lid | snap-on lid (pick-and-place) |
| Shelf-life option | MAP nitrogen flush - 7-10 days to 30-45+ days refrigerated |
| Filler stations | Up to 3 (base + drizzle + garnish in one pass) |
| Construction | Food-grade 304 stainless steel |
| Cleaning | CIP clean-in-place + tool-free strip-down |
| Controls | PLC + HMI with recipe storage & diagnostics |
| Changeover | Under ~15 minutes between SKUs |
| Certifications | CE, FDA, UL |
| Footprint | 44 x 52 in (1,100.5 x 1,315.5 mm) |
| Height | 65.6 in |
| Origin | Made in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Alter Pack |
| Warranty | 12 months |
| Delivery | 8-12 weeks from order confirmation |
| Starting price | From $45,000 USD |
The SDH-R Queso & Cheese Dip Filling Machine
Products It Fills
Available In These Markets
How the SDH-R Fills & Seals Queso & Cheese Dip
Fully automatic from empty cup to sealed, retail-ready product - no manual labour
Cup Denesting
Empty cups are automatically separated from a nested stack and placed into the rotary table carriers. The pneumatic denester handles round, square, and rectangular cups from 2oz to 32oz.
Servo-Driven Filling
The volumetric piston filler draws a precise dose and dispenses it into the cup. Servo control adjusts stroke length and speed per recipe, maintaining plus/minus 0.5% fill-weight accuracy. The PLC stores recipes for quick changeovers.
Membrane Heat Sealing
Roll-stock film is drawn across the filled cup and heat-sealed to create a tamper-evident, airtight membrane. Sealing temperature, pressure, and dwell time are individually controlled to match your film and cup materials.
Snap-On Lid (Optional)
A pick-and-place mechanism applies a consumer-friendly snap-on lid over the membrane seal - a two-barrier system providing tamper evidence and reclosability for grocery retail and foodservice.
MAP Nitrogen Flush (Optional)
Modified Atmosphere Packaging replaces headspace oxygen with food-grade nitrogen immediately before sealing, typically extending refrigerated shelf life from 7-10 days to 30-45+ days.
Queso & Cheese Dip Filling Machine - Frequently Asked Questions
The SDH-R automatic cheese dip filling machine starts at $45,000 USD. Final price depends on the number of filler stations, cup tooling, MAP nitrogen flush and lidding options. Delivery runs 8-12 weeks from order, and every machine ships CE, FDA and UL certified with a 12-month warranty.
Rated speed is up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle. With warm queso, real-world output typically lands between 18 and 25 cups per minute depending on fill weight, cup diameter, particulate load and whether nitrogen flushing is running. We size expectations against your actual product during specification.
Yes. Large-bore nozzles and a generous piston chamber move particulate-loaded cheese dip as a plug rather than forcing it through a restriction, so diced green chile, jalapeño and chorizo crumble arrive intact. Very large or fibrous inclusions should be sampled during specification so nozzle diameter is tooled correctly.
Refrigerated cheese dip generally holds 7-10 days sealed with the standard tamper-evident membrane. Adding the optional MAP nitrogen flush displaces headspace oxygen and extends that to 30-45+ days, slowing surface skinning and colour drift. Actual shelf life still depends on your formulation, acidity, cold chain and validation testing.
Cheese fats leave residue on every wetted surface, so the SDH-R uses food-grade 304 stainless steel with CIP clean-in-place circuits followed by a tool-free strip-down for visual verification. That matters for dairy allergen control when the same line also runs salsa, hummus or plant-based dips later in the shift.
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