Bakery automation | mixers and dividers

Production of baked goods involves a sequence of operations starting with dough mixing and continuing through the baking and packaging processes. Demands for improving efficiency and capacity has led to the installation of totally integrated production systems.

Mixers Improving dough quality

Mixing of the dough is probably the most important event in the bakery, it is where the creative process begins, and is where the quality of the final product is significantly affected by the mixing methodology. Control of mixer speeds and energy directly relates to the dough structure properties.

Utilising Mitsubishi Electric’s advanced variable speed drives has had proven results in improving the quality of the dough from the mixer. Energy during the mixing process can be continuously monitored and fed back into the efficiency and quality metrics.

Recipe and batch control are used for reproducing consistent mixes. Accurate weighing and ingredient management are vital to repeatable product quality. Information such as mix time, energy used and time under vacuum (for Campden Process applications) are recorded as part of Mitsubishi’s overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) reporting. Track and Trace techniques can also be applied at this stage to provide each batch with a unique ID which can be transferred to the downstream parts of production as it moves through the process.

The control system needs to be able to manage the above requirements whilst maintaining the flexibility of batch size and other adjustments of the mix. Mitsubishi’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) and visualisation technologies allow local operator feedback and fine tune adjustment when needed.

Monitor energy usage

The profile of the mix is managed through the control system enabling it to be synchronised into the rest of the production process. It is often important to be able to delay the mix or hold it in a low speed mode before the unload, this requires energy monitoring so the dough is not over mixed and discarded as waste.

Due to the nature of the process, safety systems need to be integrated into the overall control strategy. This can be done by using Mitsubishi’s innovative safety solutions. Applications have included CC-Link and other open networks that form the basis of the main I/O control strategy as well as allowing direct control and monitoring of the motor drives. This has enabled energy usage to be easily monitored across the plant.

Dough handling

Careful handling of the dough at the dividing stage is imperative so that there is no damage to the dough structure. Maintaining quality, whilst improving performance are key objectives at this stage of the process.

Variable speed drives and servo control technologies provide accurate scaling of the dough and the flexibility to adjust output weights during production. Accurate servo positioning provides easy repeatable product changeover capability, reducing changeover downtime and improving performance. Controlling the force exerted on the dough is extremely sensitive using servo systems and ensures the divider maintains the dough quality. This can also help with savings on ingredients such as yeast and flour improvers, thus reducing manufacturing costs and improving yield.

Monitor KPIs

Information such as dough weight per piece, variance trends from target weight, with weight totals are collected and passed to a secure database for management reporting and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The information can then be used as part of a lean manufacturing or six-sigma continual process improvement philosophy. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of dough weight and variance can be monitored closely and the plant automatically adjusted to reduce waste.

Open networking

Interfacing to check weighing systems can be done easily with the open networking connectivity of Mitsubishi controllers. Mitsubishi has developed its core technology so that each device can communicate with other devices on the network including other manufacturers products. This overcomes the issue of integrating different manufacturers equipment between each part of the process.

See article High performance automation in bakery production

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