Baking & Snack - August 2006 - 64

PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

MAKING

IT UP

From dough ball dividing through pan indexing,
makeup systems benefit from better controls, more flexible
drive options and increasingly 'dough friendly' engineering.
BY LAURIE GORTON
ore than 20 years ago, extrusion dividers
changed dough makeup methods for soft buns
and pan breads. Today, the technology continues to advance, most recently with the application of servo motors, precision machine control, recipe
management and process integration. Engineers also seek
to simplify design of these machines to trim changeover
time and maintenance complexity - both high-profile
issues in the baking industry.
Yet this work also takes into account the technology's
primary function: to turn large masses of dough into
individual pieces ready for final proofing. "In makeup,
you walk a fine line between the use of highly controlled
technologies and the art of baking," said the director of
marketing and international sales for an East Coast bakery equipment manufacturer. "The method has to be
compatible with the dough."

IMPROVED CONTROL. Dough makeup, like other bakery processes, benefits from the big improvements in machine controls now available. Several of the bakery equipment manufacturers interviewed for this article cited the
advantages provided by automated recipe management
and electronically linked systems.
To automate makeup to fit within larger plant control systems, recipe management is essential, according
to the director of marketing and international sales.

68 / BAKING & SNACK / August 2006

When the makeup line is fully sequenced from divider
to rounder and takeaway conveyor, a single push of
one button by the operator sets the process in motion.
While the convenience to the operator is obvious, what
sometimes escapes recognition are the significant savings. "Electronic controls replace previous mechanical,
pneumatic and hydraulic mechanisms that have higher
maintenance costs," he said. "Advances in electronics allow very specific, precise control over speed and timing,
including the action of rotary cut-off knives, zig-zag
transfers and indexing of pans."
Bakers recognize the important of recipe management
for the consistent setup performance and product quality
it affords, continued the director of marketing and international sales. "Many customers now have detailed recipe
management on bread and bun makeup."
Clean-in-place (CIP) methods are improving throughout the food processing industry, and bakery is no exception. Equipment designers are working to make machinery easier to clean. Recent improvements described by
the vice-president of parts and services for an East Coast
bakery equipment manufacturer have reduced the quantity of water needed to run CIP on his company's makeup
equipment. Another change allows closer examination of
the divider's manifold. "Prior to this 'quick clean' manifold, it was not possible to inspect its interior of without
disassembling the machine," he said.

Baking & Snack - August 2006

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