Baking & Snack - June 2005 - 55

PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

sponges. The majority of equipment manufacturers have
moved from Freon to water-chilled or glycol-jacketed
cooling systems over the years to meet environmental
control regulations.
"Because Freon cooling is generally more efficient
than glycol or chilled water, you have to make up the
difference in the design of your bowl," said the director
of product marketing at one equipment manufacturer.
"We've just come out with a new bowl specifically designed to maximize the performance based on the cooling properties." The bowl is made with thicker steel in the
jacket and the jacket configuration.
The company also recently expanded its cooling
procedures with a breaker bar cooling system and an
optional chilled agitator. "This gives more chilled surface
area for the dough to ride on, which will result in a colder
dough," he said.
Another Midwestern company is focused on refrigeration for its mixers. "We can refrigerate every piece of the
bowl," said the international sales manager. The manufacturer's refrigeration systems include a refrigerated
jacket, bowl ends and breaker bar, as well as refrigerated
agitator bars. "Essentially, there is no area in the bowl that
isn't refrigerated."
A European-based company said its high-quality vertical mixers use less energy for mixing so they help keep
temperatures down. "With our vertical mixers, the mix
time is reduced to about half that of a horizontal. Thus,
the temperatures are kept down, and our bowls don't
have to be chilled," said the president of the company's
North American division.
CLEAN UP. Sanitation is a major concern w
eries, especially those that produce baked
foods containing allergens. Equipment
manufacturers have redesigned mixers
to simplify sanitation and cut down
changeover time. From all-stainless-steel
construction to open frames to removable bowls to special cleaning cycles,
bakeries will find that new designs in
mixing equipment simplify sanitation
and maintenance.
Allergens and quick product changeover prompted a midwestern manufacturer to design an automated sanitation
system for its mixer. The international
sales manager at the company said it has a
number of different options to simplify sa

ᮣ Offset tilt bowl mixers have a modified frame specifically
designed for automation. The 140° tilt allows troughs or
pumps to fit underneath the mixer.
AMF BAKERY SYSTEMS

58 / BAKING & SNACK / June 2005

tion. "One of the main things in deveopment now is
an automated bowl cleaning cycle," he said. The system
uses spray heads that drop down inside of the bowl. The
agitator acts just like a washing machine. The cycle is
programmed through an AC variable frequency drive
to incorporate the automation of the spray head along
with the agitator.
"Ease of sanitation is becoming critical for bakeries
that are running products with allergens," he said. "The
automated cleaning cycle will provide fast changeover for
allergen-containing products (under an hour) and will
save our customers a lot of time."
One manufacturer recently expanded its open-frame
line of mixers to include high-speed roller bar designs.
The tubular frame provides easy access for sanitation,
and the direct-drive motor and gearbox mount directly
to the frame, so there is no chain or belt involved.
An eastern equipment supplier said its equipment is
designed with polished stainless steel and easy access
doors to meet ANSI-BISSC regulations. Although sanitation is a big concern, the company ensures that its mixers
are also safe. We want to provide our customers with very
sanitary machines, but also very safe machines," the director of product marketing said. "So, the mixers are not
open frame, and there's a certain amount of guarding to
make it safe, but still have access for ease of sanitation."
While manufacturers are engineering ways to make
sanitation simpler, many new mixers also include many
user-friendly and safety-oriented features. A representative from a European-based manufacturer said the mixing head on its planetary mixers is designed to raise and

Baking & Snack - June 2005

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