30/09/2026
Capsule Filling Machine: Match Output to Real Demand
One thing we notice when people first start looking at a capsule filling machine: almost everyone opens with "which brand?" and almost nobody opens with "how many capsules do I actually need per shift?"
Then the numbers start to bite. A herbal powder operation filling by hand or on a tabletop semi-automatic setup might only need a few thousand capsules a day. A supplement brand shipping into retail needs tens of thousands. A contract manufacturer running multi-shift production is somewhere else entirely.
So the "best machine" question doesn't really have one answer. This category is built around output.
Starting small — a lab, a compounding pharmacy, a first pilot batch? The CFM-200C automatic hard capsule filling machine runs at 200 capsules per minute with 2 die bores. It's a real automatic unit, just sized for small-batch production, and it handles powder or pellets.
One level up, the NJP series covers 200 / 400 / 800 / 1,200 capsules per minute, with 2, 3, 7 or 9 die bores depending on the model.
Once you're filling for a distributor or an export order, the double-row machines come in. CFM-3500 / CFM-3500B runs at 3,500 capsules per minute — roughly 210,000 per hour — across 24 die bores in a 12-station double-row design. CFM-7500 goes up to 7,500 capsules per minute, with 52 die bores arranged in four rows on a 12-station rotary table.
A few things stay the same whichever size you land on: dosing accuracy of ±3%, five-stage tamping, a stated finished-product rate of over 99%, and an operating sequence that covers automatic capsule separation, dosing, filling, rejection, locking and cleaning. Capsule sizing runs from 00 # to 5 #, plus safety capsules A through E, and all of it is built to GMP standards with stainless steel product-contact parts.
Where do we fit in? We're Shanghai Tablet Press Mechanical Components Co., Ltd. (TPCF), based in Songjiang District, Shanghai. Our facility covers 15,000 m², we have 260 staff including 15 R&D engineers, annual production capacity of around 1,500 sets, and we deliver roughly 80–120 machines a month. Capsule filling machines sit alongside our tablet presses and tooling — on one pharmaceutical production project we delivered 30 automatic capsule filling machines.
Honest takeaway: before you compare prices, write down three things — target capsules per shift, the capsule sizes you'll run, and whether you'll ever need pellets or tablets in the same capsule. Those three answers narrow the shortlist far faster than any spec sheet.
If you're in the middle of this decision right now, which part is fuzziest for you — output sizing, or how your powder behaves on the dosing station?
