Baking & Snack - July 2016 - 76

DIVIDERS

The divider offers bakers
control over their raw
material costs. Through
accurate portioning,
bakers can cut down on
waste and improve yield.
Reiser

cost pressures with automatic weight control and automatically controls the dividing processes even with the
most complex and dynamic doughs," Mr. Zelaya said.
Handtmann's Networking 4.0 HCU software monitors
key production functions so that divider performance
can be optimized. It also provides operators with a continuous production overview and a comprehensive production planning tool.
Baker Perkins records data about pressure and parameters for individual dough pieces, allowing the system to
show historical trends even on a shift-by-shift basis. "If
you're having divider stoppages, there's enough data for
you to understand why that might be," said Rob Francis,
chief bakery engineer, Baker Perkins. "You've got all the
historical data for plant efficiency purposes."
Looking at the data surrounding a scaling problem
can be instrumental in revealing the root cause. "We
have seen clear data that shows the same divider running 0.5% accuracy on day shifts but 2% on night shifts,"
Mr. Campbell said. "We went in, did training for the
night shift and solved the problem. The night shift operators were simply not running the machine correctly."
AMF is currently developing a system called
AMFConnect, which will collect operating parameters
from the divider and track uptime and downtime. The
system will time stamp operator changes and line stoppages and include diagnostic codes for the stoppages.
The system will also be able to generate data reports to
analyze performance vs. machine settings.

Protecting quality
Dough can take a beating when it goes under the knife,
and product quality becomes a concern for bakers, particularly those who make open-cell bread and rolls. "In artisan-style products, the dough is alive," Mr. Giacoio said.
"It's ever-changing. From the beginning of a batch to its
end, that dough is beginning to gas out, and the specific
gravity of the dough does not remain constant."
From a mechanical standpoint, it's important that the
divider treat the dough in a gentle fashion to maintain the

76 Baking & Snack July 2016 / www.bakingandsnack.com

structure created in the mixer and during fermentation.
Tolerances between ram, knife and pistons must be
very tight, according to Mr. Francis. This is necessary to
maintain the dough's volume while pushing it through
the divider and to minimize any losses of air or dough via
clearances in the ram-and-knife assembly.
The trick is to choose the right construction materials
to maintain those tight tolerances throughout the life of
the divider. "Your main chamber should be made from a
hard, durable material, and the ram, knife and pistons you
ought to make from materials that are softer. That way,
you avoid aggressive friction action from the different
components," Mr. Francis said.
Balancing machining stress with gentle handling of
doughs yet maintaining portion accuracy is tricky. To
achieve that balance, Baker Perkins applies the correct amount of pressure on the ram as it fills the divider
pockets with dough. Simple things like changing the sequence of knife, ram and pocket to improve the efficiency
of dough movement as well as implementing electronic
servo technology help dough move through the divider
without shearing. "The dough shouldn't go around sharp
corners that cause high levels of shear in the divider," Mr.
Francis said. "You want to shear the dough in the mixer,
not in the divider." With these advances, Baker Perkins
has seen 15 to 20% reduced cell losses in doughs portioned by its ram-and-knife dividers.
Consistent dough handling helps maintain dough rheology, which in turn helps maintain accuracy through
the batch. If the rheology remains the same, so will the
weights. "The most consistent dough handling occurs
when it is moved gently with reduced stress and minimal
temperature rise within a batch and from dough batch
to batch," Mr. Zelaya said. Hantmann's VF 600 B divider
maintains the dough's characteristics with its gentle handling. The company's vane-cell technology reduces product stress and brings dough along a shorter travel path,
minimizing the opportunities for stress.
Rheon's V4 stress-free dividers are gentle enough to be
used on high-absorption artisan breads and laminated

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Baking & Snack - July 2016

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