New Processing Equipment: December 2023
U.S. consumers continue to crave tortillas, keeping equipment makers serving tortilla producers busy. Check out the equipment in the following slideshow for the latest releases in tortilla production, as well as other aspects of snack and bakery production technology.
Ashworth Brothers
Ashworth Brothers has rolled out the SmartOven Monitoring System, an electronic monitoring device for tortilla ovens and others that remotely tracks performance in key metrics over time, plot trend graphs, finding inconsistencies or irregularities that indicate when a belt is beginning to go astray.
Jonathan Lasecki, director of engineering, says users of the system, unveiled at the iba show in Munich, Germany, “can fix errors or problems that occur prior to a down day that’s unplanned,” enabling them “to do predictive maintenance rather than preventive maintenance, and plan ahead of time to correct [problems], instead of in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon when you’re on a production run for your biggest customer.”
The oven sensors connect to the bakery’s system, and data is transmitted directly to relevant staff through cell phone, laptop, or tablet, providing monitoring of multiple ovens in the same factory, or in multiple facilities, Lasecki says. “There may be a corporate maintenance manager in one state, who can monitor all plants around the country and get a good overview of how the equipment is running,” he says.
AM Manufacturing
AM Manufacturing’s Flying Head Tortilla Continuous Press, according to president Mark Van Drunen, is patented and “somewhat unique to the industry,” producing as much as 3,000 dozen tortillas per hour depending on size. The continuously moving press head travels horizontally and vertically while the belt continues to move forward rather than stopping and starting, boosting speed and keeping dough balls from sliding around on the belt.
After the press itself, the line eliminates the need for a reciprocating belt in front of the oven to create a continuous pattern of tortillas, which is normally necessary to prevent gaps going into the oven because the press belt kept having to stop and start. And the press features a time-saving one dough-ball loader that works on all of the patterns, rather than having to change out the loader when switching from, say, 3x3 to 4x4, Van Drunen says.
KPM Analytics
KPM Analytics has announced the TheiaVu E-Series Offline Vision Inspection System, specifically designed for bakery applications. The TheiaVu E-Series is a standalone vision inspection system that collects measurements of unique features of many types of baked goods, such as buns, rolls, English muffins, doughnuts, cookies, and more. The system provides fast, accurate, and consistent measurements of size, shape, color, and toppings, to define and evaluate final product quality. The all-encompassing tool offers a broad range of data for quality assurance and product development. Bakeries can also inspect products before and after baking to validate the product performance and ensure customer specifications are met.
“With over 20 years in the baking industry, we recognize the need for simple, objective measurement tools that help bakeries collect important product feature measurements,” states Andrea Bertuolo, managing director of Inspection Systems at KPM Analytics. “The TheiaVu E-Series incorporates our extensive experience in both offline and inline vision systems, as well as the latest technology advancements, to support bakeries in their development of innovative, recognizable product features while ensuring final product quality.”
Marion
Thanks to manufacturing improvements to its standard plated paddle agitator, Marion reportedly can speed up lead times on its popular 30-inch diameter and smaller-sized horizontal mixers. With these improvements, customers can expect a two-week reduction in lead times and up to 10% savings on the purchase price.
“Businesses in industrial processing rely on innovation and efficiency to stay competitive,” said Seth Vance, CEO of Advanced Material Processing, Marion’s parent company. “Our new paddle design makes it easier for our customers to accelerate the development cycle and swiftly refine their process so they can bring high-quality products to market faster and maintain their edge in an ever-evolving landscape.”
The new plated paddle agitators are manufactured with the paddle and arm sections cut from a single piece of stainless steel, reducing welding requirements and offering operators low-maintenance cleanability.
Motion Controls Robotics
Motion Controls Robotics' new collaborative, end-of-line palletizer can be used with multiple lines without extended downtime or setup costs. The station contains two pallet stations for different product/orders or case size. The low initial investment of these robotic systems makes it easy for any company to add a new system, and experience a quick return on investment.
The BA Palletizer features a FANUC CRX-25iA collaborative robot. These compact palletizing stations save floorspace and are easy to install and program. Area scanners allow full-speed palletizing without additional barriers and upon detecting operators the station slows/stops to keep operators safe as they approach or replace full pallets. Being portable to other locations in the facility is easy, with fork pockets and leveling pads integrated into the base for easy transportation and setup.