Aluminum coffee capsule production on a C-Type or H-Type press runs 45 to 80 tons of forming force through 1- to 6-cavity tooling. Depending on machine class, one press turns food-grade foil into 50 to 300 finished capsules a minute. The specifications that decide output and seal quality break down like this:
| Production parameter | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Press tonnage | 45–80 T (C-Type) · 63–80 T (H-Type) |
| Cavities per stroke | 1–5 (C-Type) · up to 6 (H-Type) |
| Output — linear / rotary | 50–100 / up to 300 capsules per minute |
| Body foil / lid foil | 0.07–0.12 mm / 0.03–0.04 mm |
| Rim tolerance / ovality | ±0.02 mm / <0.15 mm |
| Heat-seal lacquer | 180–200 °C at 0.2–0.4 s dwell |
| Quality gate | 100% vision, AQL 0.25 on critical defects |
Rated speed and shift speed are not the same number. An eight-hour run averages 60 to 75% of the nameplate maximum once changeovers and foil splices are counted against it.
Rim geometry is where seal integrity is won or lost. Hold the tolerance and a capsule survives the 9 to 19 bar a brewing head applies; miss it and capsules jam in automated destacking or leak in the cup.
Format changeover then decides how many SKUs one line can serve. A well-tooled line swaps between Nespresso, K-Cup, and Dolce Gusto formats in under 30 minutes. That range lets one machine run a Nespresso OriginalLine capsule — 37 mm flange, 29 mm tall — alongside a private-label format, with no second press.
