FEA neck standards, crimp control & fragrance contact
What has to be right before a jaw closes on the neck.
A fragrance pump does not screw on. Its aluminum ferrule is rolled down over the bead of an FEA neck by a crimping jaw, which locks the pump, the gasket and the bottle into one assembly. That decision is made at filling, cannot be undone without destroying the bottle, and is why fragrance necks are a standard of their own.
FEA is a neck family, not a diameter
The fragrance industry works to FEA sizes, where the number is the neck and the ferrule runs slightly wider: FEA 13 takes a 14.3 mm ferrule, FEA 15 a 16.3 mm, FEA 18 a 19.2 mm and FEA 20 a 21 mm. Quoting a bottle as a 15 mm neck without the FEA reference leaves the bead profile undefined, and it is the bead that the crimp actually grips.
Crimp force is set on glass, then audited
The jaw must roll the aluminum tight enough that the gasket seals against the bead but not so tight that it stresses the glass shoulder. Set too light, the pump loosens and the fragrance evaporates over months; set too hard, bottles crack in the machine or, worse, weeks later in a warehouse. The setting is proved on the actual bottle and re-checked whenever the glass changes.
The gasket is the only barrier in the joint
Between ferrule and glass sits a single gasket, usually silicone or polyethylene, occasionally rubber. It carries the whole sealing duty against an alcoholic solution that is aggressive to elastomers over a two-year shelf life. Silicone is the usual choice for high-alcohol formulas; PE costs less and is common on lighter concentrations. It is the first component to review when a fragrance loses top notes.
Cut the dip tube to the bottle, not to the pump
The tube is supplied long and trimmed at assembly so it reaches the lowest point of the base without bowing against it. Too short and the last few milliliters never spray, which customers notice and complain about; too long and the tube curls, restricting flow. Soft PE tubing follows a curved base better, while rigid PP holds its line in a tall straight bottle.
Match the actuator to how the fragrance is worn
Output per stroke and spray pattern decide whether the product lands as a fine cloud or a wet spot. A finer mist flatters an eau de toilette worn liberally; a heavier stroke suits a concentrated parfum applied to pulse points. Since the actuator also carries the shape and finish the customer touches first, its selection is as much a design decision as a technical one.
Plan the assembly step into the schedule
Crimping requires a machine, tooling matched to the ferrule size and a trained operator, so it usually sits with the filler rather than the brand. Small runs are hand-crimped at a bench, which is slower and more variable. Either way the pump becomes part of the bottle at that moment, so any rework means scrapping filled units rather than changing a cap.
