Syntegon advertorial
The gentle journey into the biscuit and cookie tray
Syntegon explains the process of minimising product loss during biscuit processing with automated solutions
Once biscuits and cookies come out of the oven, their journey ahead to the primary packaging machine holds a number of challenges. The longer the transportation belt, the less likely the sensitive products will make it to their destination safe and sound. Along the way, biscuits and cookies can accumulate and break or crumble. However, manufacturers can counteract product loss by investing in automated solutions that put gentle handling first.
Automated solutions have been on the rise in the baking industry for good reason: By automating handling processes along their packaging lines, manufacturers are able to increase their output and minimise contamination risks at the same time. The higher the degree of automation in a packaging line, the smaller the number of points of contact between operators and product and less potential for contamination. Additionally, automated solutions work uninterruptedly at a much higher speed than their human counterparts and can take repetitive and monotonous tasks off operators’ hands. By relieving them from tiring manual handling tasks, manufacturers allow their operators to focus on more complex processes and tasks such as format changes, cleaning, and supervision of the line.
“Automated solutions work uninterruptedly at a much higher speed than their human counterparts and can take repetitive and monotonous tasks off operators’ hands”
10 Kennedy’s Bakery Production August/September 2023
Aided by integrated camera-based vision control systems, robots relia- blly detect various products in random order on the production belt.
No way around gentle handling However, it does not matter how smooth an automated handling and packaging line runs, and how perfectly the cookies leave the oven, if only broken pieces and crumbs make it to the packaging machine. Gentle handling along the entire line is essential to safely transport sensitive products all the way into their tray or slug pack – and uphold highest quality standards.
When deciding to implement gentle handling solutions, manufacturers can opt for or even combine two technologies to ensure a gentle transfer from the oven to the packaging machine: pick-and-place technology or conveyor systems. Each of them is suitable for different tasks along the packaging
line: Conveyor belt systems are often the
technology of choice for distributing the product stream from the oven onto packaging legs. Pick-and-place solutions on the other hand are ideal for placing sensitive products from the transportation belt right into the primary or secondary packaging machine or onto the infeed belt of flow wrappers. Both technologies can handle a variety of different products and formats and are therefore a reliable option for contract manufacturers, who need to perform frequent product and format changes while keeping downtimes low.
Distributing biscuits mechanical stress
Once the cookies and biscuits have been baked in the oven, they cool down on the cooling conveyor. Only then do they enter the packaging process via a conveyor belt. Straight out of the oven, the products are prone to breaking and crumble easily. Syntegon’s newest discharge station Distribution Continuous Slide (DCS) is a conveyor system that puts gentle handling first and reduces mechanical stress to a minimum. The modular discharge system consists of one or more stations that can be arranged one behind the other. Each is equipped with belt slides and runs entirely without format parts. The fragile cookies are neither dropped nor pushed but simply slide over its belts. This format-free
bakeryproduction.co.uk and cookies with minimal
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