BELTS & CONVEYORS
“Closed systems, such as tubular drag cable conveyors and
pneumatic units can effectively seal off product from the outside environment and any potential contamination from that source”
Bob Owen, Director of Product Performance at Cablevey, says that the primary reasons to specify a tubular drag cable conveyor solution would include improved power use, safety, product preservation, product quality, and production uptime.
“One food processor that used almonds in its recipe was only able to sell its product for 40 cents a pound if the almonds were damaged. The same product sold for $4 a pound if the almonds were whole and undamaged,” says Bob. “The processor chose to use a tubular cable conveyor which minimised product damage and optimised the sales price.” “As energy prices continue to rise, confectioners are also paying more attention to reducing the power required to convey their products. The motors needed to convey products can vary greatly in power consumption,” notes Bob. At the high end of conveying solutions for ingredients or products that could easily spill off a regular conveyor are pneumatic conveyors, which utilise air to move product at high velocity through an enclosed line by creating air pressure above or below the atmospheric level. Pneumatic conveyors generally require very power-hungry motors that run fans, blowers, and rotary valves. At the mid-range of power consumption are belt conveyors and bucket elevators. In a typical conveyor belt system, a belt forms a closed loop and stretches across two or more pulleys with a drive pulley that enables it to rotate continually. Bucket elevators move material using buckets attached to a rotating belt or chain. The buckets pick up material, move it to an endpoint, discharge material, and return to the starting point to pick up a new load. At the low end of power consumption are tubular drag cable conveyors, which would usually use a much lower powered motor to move a comparable volume. Bob went on to explain that open systems, such as bucket elevators and belts can also have drawbacks in terms of the potential for contamination. “With either type of system, any product that is left uncovered can potentially expose it to contaminants and moisture in the surrounding environment,” he says. “Open systems also allow product spillage onto the plant floor, which can present a slip and
18 Kennedy’s Confection August/September 2022
fall hazard if not promptly addressed. “Closed systems, such as tubular drag cable conveyors and pneumatic units can effectively seal off product from the outside environment and any potential contamination from that source. The enclosed nature of the systems ensures that no dust escapes into the environment.” We have already discussed the importance of designing a conveying line for easy cleaning and maintenance and Bob also touched on the issue of cleanability. “Bucket elevators are particularly difficult to clean in preparation for production line changeovers. Each bucket must be removed and cleaned inside and out to remove any accumulated residue. Belt conveyors are usually cleaned with scrapers, but this can still leave product residue that must be removed with a more thorough method. “With closed conveyors, cleaning can also be problematic, however. Pneumatic conveyors can still be relatively time consuming to clean and sanitise if any manual procedures are involved. Tubular drag cable conveyor systems generally offer more options for dry and wet tube conveyor cleaning, including brush boxes, urethane wipers, air knives, inline sponges, inline bristle brushes, and multi-step, essentially automated Clean-In-Place (CIP) wet cleaning. The use of more automated forms of cleaning like inline wipers, sponges, and air knives or CIP wet cleaning can result in hours of additional production uptime after every product change, compared to conventional manual methods,” concludes Bob.
As we have found, there are a wide variety of belt and conveying options available for use in confectionery applications – we have only covered some of them within this article. The key, however, is to ensure that the belt specifier fully understands all the requirements expected of the belt as well the products that it may be conveying and the processes that will be undertaken on the product on its journey around the factory. There is no one-size-fits-all solution so do shop around – ask questions of your supplier and most importantly ensure that hygiene and ease-of- cleaning cleaning are taken into account in any conveying solution you may commission.
KennedysConfection.com
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