Description

The system covers every production step, from storage to conveying, from dosing and weighing to mixing the final filling. It is a complete system solution. High efficiency, easy operation, simple cleaning and an outstanding cost/benefit ratio are among its many advantages.

Varying material characteristics

The components  (liquid and solid ingredients, f.ex. milk powder, sugar, vegetable oils and flavourings) distinguish themselves in terms of their characteristics, such as their flow characteristics, stickiness and shape. Their handling represented a great challenge for the bulk materials technology to be used.

Dried, cooled conveying air

For processing solids, there are two combined intake stations that can be loaded with big-bags or bags. A built-in control screening machine keeps unwanted foreign objects out of production. Pneumatic pressure conveyor systems take each component into one of 12 day silos that can hold four cubic metres.

The conveying air itself is conditioned. It is dried and cooled. In this way, the air humidity and temperature are precisely tuned to the material characteristics. This provides a stable component behaviour. For example, the milk powder doesn’t melt, and the sugar doesn’t start to stick.

Twice performance through weighing postbins

From the day silos, dosing screw conveyors precisely move the batch components into three weighing bins, from which they go to the respective weighing postbin. As the complete batch is being emptied at once, the weighing bins are immediately available for the next weighing process. That means that dosing efficiency is doubled.

Solid and liquid components become finished filling

Once finished and weighed, the batches are moved pneumatically to the dissolver mixer. However, before the mixing process gets started, the remaining liquid components and flavourings are added. These are discharged from external silos, IBCs and barrels through heatable pipes and pump bodies to several fluid dosing devices, from which they go directly to the dissolver mixer. For components that are only added in small quantities, there are micro-dosing devices that can measure them out precisely to a few gram. Once the batch is complete, the solid and liquid components become a pasty, pumpable mass that is stored in 15-cubic-meter storage tanks and from there is transported to production.

High flexibility for pure taste

The production system can make up to 4,500 kg of wafer filling per hour. Besides its efficiency, the system is impressive for its  flexibility: It daily produces fillings of a wide array of types and recipes, but due to the high quality standards, flavours must be completely prevented from contaminating with each other. Whether it’s hazelnut, strawberry, lemon or vanilla: All fillings must convince with their purity of taste, which means the most stringent requirements for hygiene and ease of cleaning must be met. For that reason, the day silos are designed to be round, and the air is dried and cooled, so that no residues remain. Moreover, the whole system is made of stainless steel AISI 304.

Seamless traceability

The system — including dosing and weighing — is guided by a programmable-logic-controller (PLC) and visualization. This ensures seamless traceability of all components. The system itself meets the HACCP and IFS standards and is designed in compliance with ATEX / VEXAT