What Are Vape Pens?
Electronic cigarettes— i.e., e-cigarettes or e-cigs—were originally created to simulate smoking a cigarette without the smoke. They are designed to heat loaded materials—typically in oil or other liquid forms—to produce an inhalable vapor. Over the past decade, e-cigarettes have rapidly evolved into devices used to consume non-nicotine-based materials, such as cannabis or flavored oils. Vape pens are the latest iteration of the electronic cigarette, featuring a smaller and more streamlined design that is easier to carry and use.
Anatomy of Vape Pens
While vape pens may vary in design from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model, they generally share the same basic anatomy. The key components of a vape pen are the mouthpiece, tank or cartridge, atomizer, power button or sensor, and battery.
Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece is the component through which the user draws the vaporized material out of the pen and into their lungs. They are generally removable and replaceable to facilitate the maintenance of sanitary use conditions. Various mouthpiece shapes and sizes have been developed to regulate and optimize the draw speed and volume.
Tank or Cartridge
The tank or cartridge is the component that contains the pre-vaporized material. While the terms are often used interchangeably, they actually refer to distinct material storage components. Tanks require you to fill them with your own materials before use, while cartridges come prefilled and can be replaced or refilled when empty.
Atomizer
The atomizer is the component that heats the oil. It consists of a heating element within a steel or ceramic housing and is located inside of the cartridge or tank. As the heating element heats up, it heats the material inside of the cartridge or tank, forcing it to form into small vapor droplets that can be inhaled.
Power Button and Sensor
Some vape pens are activated by inhalation—i.e., they automatically turn on whenever the user inhales on the mouthpiece. However, some have a power button, which prompts the atomizer to vaporize the vaping material when it is pressed a specific number of times (typically five). This design helps to prevent the vape pen from activating accidentally and wasting product. Some advanced models are designed to connect to a mobile device for enhanced control.
Battery
The battery supplies the power needed to operate the atomizer. It can be replaceable or rechargeable, depending on the design of the vape hardware.
How to Fill Vape Pens
While vape pens are available with prefilled cartridges or refillable tanks, many consumers opt for the former due to its convenience. Unfortunately, choosing cartridges over tanks inherently results in more waste as cartridges are generally designed to be removed and replaced after they are emptied. One waste reduction solution is investing in refillable cartridges and refilling them once they are empty. The steps for this process are as follows:
- Unscrewing and removing the mouthpiece
- Injecting the cartridge with replacement product
- Replacing and screwing the mouthpiece back on
The growing awareness of sustainability among vape pen users has opened up the market for companies who offer cartridge filling/refilling products or services. Vape filling machines facilitate the filling of new vape pen cartridges and the refilling of emptied vape pen cartridges, resulting in faster filling speeds compared to manual methods.
Vape Filling Solutions at Credence Filling Systems
At Credence Filling Systems, we supply cartridge filling and capping systems to the vaping market. Our innovative products are engineered to meet the highest standards, resulting in superior performance in cartridge filling and capping operations. They allow customers to fill 600 to 2,000 cartridges per hour with a fill accuracy rate of 99%.
To learn more about our vape filling and capping solutions and how they can benefit your cartridge filling operations, contact our experts today.