Company: Unifiller Systems

Website: www.unifiller.com

Equipment Snapshot: Unifiller Systems is pleased to unveil its newest cake decorating system, the CakeStation, at this year’s IBA event.

With the bakery industry currently facing a shortage of skilled labour due to an aging workforce, fewer people entering the trade, and a lack of trained candidates, the CakeStation presents bakers with an easy solution.

This all-in-one system was designed specifically to address the needs of cake manufacturers looking to do more with their equipment.  Bakers will be able to deposit batters, assemble cakes, mid-fill, ice sides and the tops of cakes, and decorate with rosettes or borders—all on one machine.

According to Jason Du Toit, product manager at Unifiller Systems: “The CakeStation’s PLC touch screen control system with recipe storage will drastically reduce change over time compared to other similar machines in the market.” Featuring a manual touch-up setting that’s triggered at the touch of a button, the CakeStation has 4 programmable modes for decorating, mid-layer depositing, top and side icing, bordering and rosette head depositing.

Du Toit also adds “it’s a well-known fact that icing texture can change from batch to batch, but the CakeStation can repeatedly and consistently deposit icing regardless of product type, batch or deposit speed. Bakers can quickly finish cakes with a pre-determined amount of icing, limiting operator error ensuring consistent results every time.”

The CakeStation also features a swing-away servo controlled turn table and an automatic 0–4 inch lifting mechanism for greater icing accuracy. Capable of icing up to 7 cakes or 120 deposits per minute, the system’s portion accuracy helps to reduce product waste thereby lending itself to controlling raw ingredient costs.

The CakeStation includes a patented SV product valve, a 14 gallon conical hopper, and adjustable pins for finishing round cakes from 6 to 12 inches.  Its batter depositing capabilities include 6 programmable modes for depositing, spreading, multi-shot, multi-spread or continuous spreading. The CakeStation works as a stand-alone machine, however a height adjustable frame & slave-mode settings allow it to be configured into an automated system.

As with other Unifiller equipment, a food-safe design philosophy that focuses on the fewest parts to maintain and clean, means quick sanitization for maximum uptime. The CakeStation’s stainless steel, tool-free design makes maintenance, change-over, and disassembly quick and easy.