Baking & Snack - October 2017 - 86

MIXERS

president and CEO, Koenig Bakery Systems. "A gear
wheel is sturdier and can withstand the need for higher
power. If there is condensation on the outside of the mixing bowl due to the specific climate conditions such as
high humidity and a cold bowl, the friction wheel might
slide. To avoid this, gear wheels should be used."
From a processing perspective, one helpful tip involves possibly extending the mix time by a minute or
two to boost the batch size on existing mixers. "If you're
mixing a 450-lb dough and peaking over the amp level,
how do you get to 500-lb batches? Easy. Slow down,"
Mr. Morabito advised. "You can then knock down your

Establishing the correct skill set
An ounce of preventive maintenance requires a ton of training, but that investment upfront could eliminate a lot of
downtime in the long run.
Fortunately, providing the necessary knowledge to operate and maintain equipment properly can be done by
either the baking company or OEMs during commissioning of the equipment and a few months afterward, according to Bob Peck, vice-president of engineering, E.T. Oakes.
"Understanding how the machine operates and the function
of the major components will all help to reduce malfunction
or breakdown," he said.
During the start-up of the equipment, VMI provides extensive training for the operators so they totally understand the
daily use, including the requisites and the performance of
the machine. "This is about understanding the machine's operating principles and knowing how to read and understand
a fault when a problem occurs," said Terry Bartsch, president
and CEO, VMI America, LLC. "Pressing a button to operate
the machine is not enough; operators should understand
how it works and make the right first level diagnosis. When a
customer has a limited maintenance team, we offer customized training that is specific to the situation."
Harald Burgstaller, international sales manager, WP
Kemper, said the company uses its Blue Box Manual that
guides the operator with 3-D illustrations through the complete mixer and helps the operator easily solve errors. This
manual includes information on spare parts and instructions
for preventive maintenance.
Overall, preventive maintenance is intrinsically tied to
proper operation, added Donald Smith, director of biscuit,
cookie and cracker engineering, Reading Bakery Systems.
"Operators should be extensively trained on the controls,
the loading and unloading of the dough troughs, the locking
sequence of the dough troughs into the spindle mixer, and
the sounds that a mixer will make if a problem is coming," he
said. "This can involve classroom training and online training."

86 Baking & Snack October 2017 / www.bakingandsnack.com

amp draw and mix out a larger dough without killing the
mixer. The slower RPM, in most cases, also lends itself to
proper mixing. And this speed reduction can easily be
achieved by resetting the high-speed RPM on the VFD."

Sizing up the mixer
Just like when buying a new vehicle, give the mixer a test
drive, especially if the equipment company has an R&D
center. "Go there and make your products on their mixer,"
Mr. Warren said. "No. 1, to make sure the mixer is suited
for your products, but more importantly, so that the vendor fully understands your needs before you purchase it."
Factory acceptance tests (FATs) have become an increasingly common practice for determining the style
and size of mixer during the decision-making process. A
good rule of thumb: Test the smallest and largest batches
as well as the softest and stiffest doughs. "When we do
FATs, we want your extremes," Mr. Morabito said. "Give
me your largest, heaviest, driest dough and your lightest,
smallest one, and I can help you design a mixer. Let's run
a 1,000-lb bagel dough, and in the same mixer, a 300-lb,
yeast-raised bun dough. If we can hit the targets on both
sides, we should be able to hit everything in the middle."
Mr. ten Hooven suggested making a list of theoretical
questions that considers all imaginable, potential factors
that might come into play for rolling out new products.
"Is the new product and production capacity suitable for
the machinery?" he queried. "Can the pump and seals
handle the new product? Is it a warm or cold process?
Is the viscosity known? Are the motors strong enough?
What recipe details are available? For aeration, what is
the incoming and outgoing density?"
For spindle mixers, consider the weight of the batch
per cubic foot as well as the amount of dough that can
fit into a mixer per hour, according to Donald Smith, director of biscuit, cookie and cracker engineering at RBS.
"Get as much ingredient information as possible about
your new products," he said.
In addition to anticipating future capacity and power
requirements, Mr. Peck recommended that bakers explore increases in the viscosity threshold for continuous
and slurry mixers. If needed in the future, clean-in-place
systems should be discussed during the design phase.
Continuous mixers contain metering devices that
control each individual ingredient so as not to allow
any variations within the present parameter set-points,
noted Stephen Marquardt, sales director, food, Zeppelin
Systems USA. Such controls that focus on consistency
make them much more automated than other types of
mixers. However, bakers also may need more advanced
planning, preparation and programming when rolling
out new products.
"When using a continuous mixer, you have dedicated

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