Abstract: A sealant applicator for dispensing sealant material under pressure from a nozzle onto a succession of can lids which are advanced into alignment with the sealant applicator nozzle includes a needle valve which is positively driven in a forward and reverse direction to open and close the nozzle under the control of a pair of solenoids arranged in back-to-back relation and an adjustable limit stop member to regulate the amount of sealant applied to each can lid. One or more sealant applicators may be mounted for rotation in synchronism with a rotatable chuck table and are program-controlled to control the amount of sealant applied to each lid.