Servo is precise; pneumatic is simple
Servo drives give repeatable pull length, faster recipe change, and tighter bag sizing. Pneumatic is mechanically simpler and cheaper to fix with parts you already stock. Neither is ‘better’, they fit different plants.
Uptime depends on your air, not the motor
Pneumatic performance lives or dies on clean, dry, stable air at the right pressure. Many plants lose more runtime to a soggy compressor than to any drive. If your air is marginal, servo removes one variable and pays for itself in fewer jams.
Recipe change is where servo earns it
Switching bag lengths on servo is a number on a screen. On pneumatic it is mechanical adjustment, test runs, and scrap. If you run many SKUs, servo’s changeover speed is the uptime gain, not the speed gain.
Spares and skills on your floor
Servo needs someone who reads a fault code, not just a wrench. Pneumatic needs someone who can rebuild a cylinder. Match the drive to the mechanic you actually have at night, not the one in the supplier’s demo video. Our team trains your operators on both during commissioning.
Our recommendation by case
Single SKU, stable air, cost-first: pneumatic is honest. Multi-SKU, tight tolerances, limited maintenance skill: servo. Most export lines we ship now run servo on the pull and seal, pneumatic only on minor actuators, to balance cost and changeover. See the builds in our machine range.
Tell us your SKU count and air supply quality, and we will spec the drive mix that keeps your line running, not the one that looks best on paper.