Baking & Snack - November 2018 - 86

MIXING

eliminating the need for an operator to decide to stop
the mixer. The system records the dough temperature,
time and amps so operators can evaluate the profile
historically or in real time. This allows them to notice any changes in the dough caused by deviations in
flour or environment. Operators can even program
the system to respond to certain parameters and set
an alarm to alert them if something is out of spec.

It is more money up front
to put in more automation
than to simply purchase
a new batch mixer.

A variable-frequency
drive on a mixer can
track how hard a mixer
is working and pinpoint
the moment the dough
is fully developed.
Topos Mondial

"One concern old-school bakers have about automation is that no one is going to be looking at the dough
before processing it," Mr. McGhie said. "They know
when the dough is good, and if it's not good at the mixer, then it's going to be bad all the way down the line.
Having some way to monitor the dough quality as it
comes out of the mixer is very important."
WP Bakery Group's Kemper Kronos Digital also enables operators to simply push a button for an optimal
mix. The machine adapts itself to a product's process parameters based on sensor measurements. "We are scanning in real-time factors like temperature, torque of the
motor and resistance of the dough, along with all other
important parameters to get to the result required by the
bakery," said Patricia Kennedy, president and CEO, WP
Bakery Group USA.
Another way to improve the efficiency at the mixer
and cut down on mixing times is to pair the batch mix-

86 Baking & Snack November 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

er with a pre-hydration system. For example, Zeppelin
and WP Bakery Group partnered to pair Zeppelin's
DymoMix pre-hydration system with the WP Kemper
Kronos bowl mixing system. "You pre-hydrate all of the
ingredients via the DymoMix feeding the kneader, and
all the operator has to do is press one button, and the
machine will stop itself at the ideal point to reach the
optimal dough development," Ms. Kennedy said. This
enables bakers to reduce mixing times by up to 50%.

Seamless integration
Today's automation extends outside the mixer to the
machine's integration into the processes around it.
Connecting the mixer to the ingredient handling system
and downstream dough processing streamlines a production line.
"Automation typically provides better scaling accuracy for dry and liquid major, minor and micro-ingredients additions; keeps the batching process on a tighter
timeline than is usually possible with manual processes;
and provides a higher level of traceability for management of the bakery," Mr. Cross said.
This level of automation requires a lot of software and
sensors so the individual machines can work together
and with the operators to ensure everything is running
smoothly. Ingredients must be added automatically and
accurately to the mixing bowl. Dough must be properly
developed and then transferred downstream.
PLCs, control software and sensors help automated
production lines reach their full potential. Zeppelin's
PRISMA control suite enables bakers to run at any level of
automation desired. The system can perform batch management, ingredient tracking and interface with the ERP/
MES systems.

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - November 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - November 2018