While food processing equipment can often be used for a variety of products, the whelk presents a unique set of problems, principally through its shape, and this means dedicated machines and designers.
While food processing equipment can often be used for a variety of products, the whelk presents a unique set of problems, principally through its shape, and this means dedicated machines and designers.
Peter Campbell, director of Polar Systems, says the company’s whelk processing machine is designed and constructed to BS5500Category1 and can process some 1800kg of cooked whelks per hour, based on a five-minute cycle. The whelk crushing unit eliminates the labour intensive operation of meat and shell separation by using the combination of a gradual crushing and shell reduction action coupled with a series of high pressure water jets.
Its double-head crushing unit is supplied with an integral high pressure pump and discharge vibrator. Material passes into a continuous salt solution separator where the meat floats clear of the sinking shells. The meat then passes through cleaning tiers where it is subjected to light abrasion and high pressure water sprays. Finally, a fines removal and sizing vibrator eliminates the need to hand pick even the smallest debris. It has enabled the company to break into the huge European market.
This attention to design detail applies to Polar Systems’ other shellfish processing machines. Its all-stainless steel 45degree autoclaves have very few moving parts that can be affected by the very harsh and abrasive products processed. The vessels can be supplied individually or gang mounted and are computer controlled to cope with a wide range of product cooking parameters.
Campbell says the successful processing of shellfish meat is dependant upon the quality of the initial cooking process, both in the ability to reach the desired cook temperature rapidly, and to maintain a controlled and stable product temperature throughout the product load. The two main processes are continuous atmospheric and semi-continuous pressure.
The company’s continuous atmospheric cooking units can be tailored to customer’s needs and can be fuelled with oil, gas or live steam injection. The semi-continuous pressure cooker is a very controllable and compact high capacity unit but it requires a supply of steam from a separate steam generating plant.
Greek delicacies
On the other side of Europe, Elin has been established in Greece since 1968 and offers a range of specialist machines for the bread and confectionary processing industries. This includes equipment to produce the delicate pastry leaf. It has developed the Lahmajoun fully automatic production line for the continuous flow production of Yufka and Baklava pastry leaf. This features a special feeding head for dough with a zero stress system, PLC control and a digital touch screen. Remnant dough is automatically returned to the start of the process.
Speed is 2500piecesperhour with a base of 27cmdiameter and the machine produces very thin pastry leaf, up to 120microns thick, comparable to handmade versions in both texture and taste. It also layers and folds pastry as required.
Automation has become a standard feature on food processing equipment. Now the technology is being developed further by Inbis, which has developed a sandwich assembly and packaging line. Roy Barton, consultancy manager, says many opportunities for automation exist within the food and drink industries with the aims of improving efficiency, enhancing hygiene standards and improving working conditions. But unsuccessful automation can have a damaging effect on confidence in investment.
The volume sandwich industry has grown rapidly in recent years but continues to use traditional production methods. Inbis has been addressing the situation with a grant from the government department of the environment, food and rural affairs and with the collaboration of the universities of Bath and Salford, Northern Foods and Marks and Spencer.
The challenge comes from the complex issues handing soft products, of variable size, moving at high speed and Barton says the first move was to establish a methodology that would define the problems properly at the outset of the project. This called on the company’s expertise in aerospace and defence projects. Then came the technical risk reduction in designing the motion control component of the development. This was based on a computerised virtual model of the machine developed by Bath University.
The whole project was delivered in less than 18months and Barton says the methodology is widely applicable for other automation development projects.
Teatime
Electron Systems specialises in blending machinery for dry ingredients such as tea. Projects range from modifying existing machinery to complete turnkey projects and the auxiliary plant supplied includes baggers, conveyors, case openers, metal detectors, hoppers and dust extractors.
The company’s range combines an established drum design with modern computer control systems. Its blending plant can handle dry ingredients such as powders, tea and seeds up to twotonnesperbatch. Features include built-in weighing, options on filling and emptying methods, variable drum speed and bi-directional rotation. The machine can be integrated into automatic production lines so high throughput can be achieved together with minimum manning.
Filling and emptying is via a common port on the side of the drum. For capacities above one tonne both sides of the drum are fed simultaneously. The drum has a variable speed drive to give smooth operation and the correct rotational speed for particular ingredients. The drive is also bi-directional, the reverse direction being used during the emptying cycle.
Drums are fitted with an advanced vane design, which gives thorough mixing combined with minimum damage to the ingredients. It also enables efficient emptying. The whole batch can be discharged or the built-in weighing facility can be used to fill individual bags or sacks as required.
The sealed inlet system and enclosed design make the machine easy to clean and hygienic. When required, units can be supplied with all stainless steel parts in contact with the product. All machines are heavy duty for continuous operation.
The operator interface is a computer control panel with a colour touch screen. The computer communicates with the machine PLC and has a network port to integrate the machine with the plant network. Computer control of the blending machine allows particular blends to be precisely controlled.
