Sanitary tubular cable conveyer moves material while leaving minimal waste
The Flexi-Disc sanitary tubular cable conveyer for fragile bulk foods allows rapid system washdown between production runs. It moves bulk material using high-strength, one-piece polymer discs affixed to polymer-coated 304 or 316 stainless steel cable, which slide within smooth stainless steel tubing, moving fragile products gently and dust-free. The discs evacuate the conveyor tubing of material when a conveying cycle is finished, almost eliminating wasted product. Material clinging to the cable and disc assembly can be removed continually during operation by either stiff bristles or a residual return chute that dislodges material and returns it to the product stream. Flexicon Corp.; Bethlehem, Pa.; 888-353-9426; www.flexicon.com
Laser coding for Kwik Lok closures
The Kwik Lok 912 eSolarMark Fiber is a laser-coding system for Kwik Lok closures, the result of joint development between Kwik Lok and Matthews Marking Systems. The laser printing system allows you to add permanent text, dates, times, serial numbers, 2D codes and graphics at a rate of up to 120 closures per minute. It maximizes marketing efforts at a low cost of ownership. It’s a clean, eco-friendly coding system that consumes low power and eliminates the need for ink and solvents. It’s also easy to use with a convenient touchscreen, message design software and multiple languages. Simply connect it to your ERP, MRP or SAP system for automated data download. Kwik Lok; Union Gap, Wash.; 800-688-5945; kwiklok.com
Fully automated snack cake line designed for high-speed production
This snack cake line was designed for high-speed production and reduced labor needs. It comprises multi-row indexing conveyor, automatic tray denester, spray release agent applicator, roll-away batter depositor and dual moist streusel depositors. Automatic tray placement eliminates added labor requirements. The spray release agent’s accurate and targeted application helps to improve product quality and de-panning efficiency. The batter depositor offers ease of setup, operation, sanitation and maintenance and was designed specifically to ensure long-lasting accuracy. The system also targets moist streusel or dry toppings onto the snack cake batter and spreads the toppings onto the cake. Hinds-Bock Corp.; Bothell, Wash.; 877-292-5715; www.hinds-bock.com
Inclined agitation protects ingredients
Growing demand for products that feature fresh-cut or “home style” ingredients has created new challenges for food manufacturers. As production scales, it becomes more difficult to efficiently maintain product integrity for vegetables, fruit, meat chunks and other ingredients that must stay intact. By combining a hemispherical-bottom kettle with the company’s innovative inclined agitator, food processors can solve this challenge and produce consistent batch-to-batch quality that can scale efficiently, even for products that rely on solid ingredients. Inclined agitators are available in both single-motion and double-motion, as well as varying degrees of inclination. Lee Industries; Philipsburg, Pa.; 814-342-0461; leeind.com
On-demand label printer function at high speeds
The LP-100R on-demand label printer is stand-alone, high-speed unit that eliminates the need to inventory distinct labels for each product. It offers high resolution and print wear resistance on a variety of substrates to help maximize label quality and permanence. Featuring UV curing, the drop-on-demand (DOD) device can print linear bar codes, serialized 2D data matrix bar codes and human-readable codes, as well as high-impact visual graphics in full color or black-and-white at speeds as high as 4,700 in./min. The printer is CE-marked and UL-certified. Weiler Labeling Systems; Moorestown, N.J.; 856-273-3377; www.weilerls.com
High-speed dispersers feature two-hand safety controls
These high-speed dispersers feature two-hand safety controls for raising and lowering the mixing head. The two-hand system requires two push buttons to be pressed and maintained to allow the hydraulic lift’s operation, ensuring the operator’s hands are clear from contact with moving parts. These dispensers are used primarily to incorporate powders into liquid. Running at tip speeds as high as approximately 5,000 ft./min., the dispenser’s open disc blade generates vigorous flow and a characteristic vortex into which dry ingredients are added for quick wet-out. This mixer can handle product viscosities as great as 50,000 centipoise. Charles Ross & Son Co.; Hauppauge, N.Y.; 800-243-0500; www.mixers.com
Precise, consistent snack food seasoning coverage
The FastBack Revolution On-Machine Seasoning (OMS) system provides consistent coverage and simplifies snack food seasoning. Brand consistency is a key to long-term success, so variability of seasoning coverage can be a problem in snack food manufacturing. This unit combines the superior seasoning performance of the patented dynamic AccuFlavor Tumble Drum, the efficiency of the Modular Dust Collection System, and the advanced FastBack Model 260E-G3 into one compact, cost-efficient, standalone unit designed to overcome seasoning challenges at the weigher. Heat and Control; Hayward, Calif.; 510-259 0500; www.heatandcontrol.com
Flow switch monitor
Users, specifiers and designers of industrial-grade ovens and furnaces will find the FS10i Flow Switch Monitor provides a ruggedized, ultra-reliable ventilation air flow switch in compliance with the requirements of the NFPA Standard 86 for Ovens and Furnaces. The dual function FS10i is particularly useful in air flow safety-related applications because of its superior low flow detection and repeatability, no moving parts reliability and SIL 2 compliant integrity. The FS10i provides both a relay output for low flow trip point detection and a continuous 4-20mA flow monitoring output. The trip point and user settable functions are easily user set in the field under actual operating conditions using simple, tactile feedback buttons. The switch operates over a wide flow range from 0.25 FPS to 400 SFPS [0,076 MPS to 122 MPS] and is designed for simple insertion into 0.5-inch (13mm) or larger diameter venting pipes and square ducts. Fluid Components International; San Marcos, Calif.; 760-744-6950; www.fluidcomponents.com
Bulk bag unloading systems
Reduce dust in bulk bag unloaders with the company’s line of bulk bag unloading systems available with integral dust containment. The dust containment system provides operator access to the bag spout for connecting a new full bag or disconnecting an empty bag, within a dust containment box. Operator access to a positive shutoff valve to turn flow from the bag on and off as needed is provided within the dust containment box. This iris type valve allows the operator to connect a new full bag and untie its spout without an immediate flow of material from the bulk bag. Once the operator is ready and a new bag is connected, the operator slowly opens the valve manually until it is full open. The same process is performed in reverse when the bag is empty. Significant dust can be present when the bag is “empty” if the operator does not account for residual material left in the bag at the empty condition. If the spout is left open, dust can easily escape during removal or when compressed for disposal or recycling. Sterling Systems & Controls Inc.; Sterling, Ill.; 815-625-0852; www.sterlingcontrols.com
Four-min. video addresses boiler safety
A new four-minute video addresses a range of safety concerns for industrial steam boilers, from the potential for catastrophic explosion to everyday safety issues that can result in injury, loss of work, increased downtime, higher insurance costs and related productivity shortfalls. While day-to-day safety issues may not get the same media coverage as an explosion, they are front and center when it comes to people who work with, and around, industrial steam boilers, the vendor says. The video, explains why some boilers may be safer than others based on the laws of physics, as well as a boiler’s physical design. Miura America Co.; Rockmart, Ga.; 800-666-2182; www.miuraboiler.com
Bulk product to single-file
An unpackaged pet food product recently required a custom solution: a settling, singulation and orientation conveyor. Settling or vibrating conveyors are used to gently shift product. In this case, vibration assists in separation of individual pieces for single-filing prior to a right angle transfer that feeds a customer supplied wrapper. This particular section of the conveyor line uses gentle vibration to settle and VFDs to control speeds throughout the process. The pet food product then is orientated and singulated at rates of 180-200 parts per minute. The vendor also provided a separate wrapped, packaged product conveyor for individually wrapped pet food products, along with a separate full case conveyor for a manual hand pack area. Multi-Conveyor LLC; Winneconne, Wis.; 800-236-7960; www.multi-conveyor.com
Automate piping bag filling
The Piping Bag Station is a compact and portable machine designed specifically to address the needs of instore bakeries, commissaries and manufacturers looking to increase cake decorator efficiency while speeding up production rates. Its user-friendly design requires minimal training, even for entry-level operators. Cake decorators can easily and hygienically trigger the filling of a piping bag. By connecting the pastry bag directly to the outlet of the machine and pushing down on the switch, operators can fill pastry bags in seconds with minimal effort or strain. It’s capable of filling up to 10 pastry bags a minute, pumping from any pail or bowl of pre-whipped icing. It includes a design that mixes and softens icings prior to filling bags. Less human effort to mix and pump icing leads to less exposure to human contamination. Unifiller; Delta, British Columbia; 604-940-2233; www.unifiller.com
