< Previous20 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CARTONING AND SLEEVING commonality and the fact that the robotic process is fairly simple and not intuitive. In other words, there is no option for self-correction or error logging with these machines. For manufacturers wishing to eliminate human interaction with this process, this may cause issue as a certain level of oversight will still be required. A further disadvantage of this option is the fact that the specially customised automation means that the product must always be faced down so that the sleeve seals on the underside or the side of the package. This may not be well suited for certain products, such as beverages and liquid food. Whilst this is unlikely to compromise the integrity of the product, it may cause a messy appearance when opened. Given the importance of the appearance of food, this may cause manufacturers to reconsider this type of device. A new player has been introduced into the sleeve packaging arena - the sleever machine. This device introduces blank sleeves via a rotary vacuum erector, and then guides arranged around the container will wrap the sleeve tight to the product, and seal at the base with hot glue. This process means that products do not have to be introduced face down, and the guides will locate the edges of the product and wrap to that, rather than a pre- determined pattern via a computer. This is a more efficient process than the cartoning machine, as the sleeve will be tighter to each product, creating a tidy and appealing look. The strength of the seal also makes it less likely to slip off, meaning a better overall impression of the product for the customer. Research suggests that consumers are more likely to carry visually impressive packaging without a bag as social capital. This means that paying attention to small details could spell plenty of free marketing from impressed customers. Finally, using a sleever means that any product can be packaged on this machine as the guides wrap to the contours of the item. This means that it is suitable for multipacks, cylindrical items and single trays to name a few. These technological advancements in sleeve technology are good news for cartons too. Cartons are generally made of card or cardboard, which is usually a weaker material than plastic, and so requires reinforcement. Made of paper, cartons are fast becoming the packaging of choice for manufacturers wishing to pursue sustainability. A new carton product is taking over the industry, called cartonboard. It is a multilayer material, mostly consisting of three or more layers of cellulose fibre derived from wood. For a premium appearance, and to seal the material, the top layer is usually coated white with a pigment based on China clay or BAG SEALING MACHINES RM Sealers remain a leading British manufacturer and supplier of high quality Bag Sealing Machines, also known as Rotary Band Sealers and Impulse Sealers. Call 01442 843387 to speak to a member of our team SEALERS © www.rmsealers.co.uk 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:39 Page 3Food & Drink International 21 www.fdiforum.net CARTONING AND SLEEVING calcium carbonate. The layered nature of the material creates the strength that many often wish standard cardboard could provide. This makes it suitable for much heavier products, such as glass containers. The rise of cartonboard demonstrates the importance of continuing to invest in sustainable technologies, as they are now rivalling the appearance and efficacy of plastic packaging. In other words, packaging does not have to be plastic to be premium. In terms of sleeving, there are several advantages to the standard automatic carton sleeving machines. Their prevalence within the industry makes them relatively cheap to purchase and run, and their standard output means that the sleeves can be applied to many different products. However, they are best suited for certain (usually rectangular) packaging shapes, meaning that the sleeves may not be as tight on cylindrical items or multipacks. The variation of product output is likely to be the deciding factor as to whether manufacturers choose to invest. With cardboard being increasingly in demand for packaging, technological research within cartoning has increased and improved. This means that there is little reason not to pursue more sustainable packaging choices, which will benefit both consumer and manufacturer alike. BENCHTOP BAG SEALING MACHINE IMPULSE BAG SEALING MACHINE HORIZONTAL BAG SEALING MACHINE VERTICAL BAG SEALING MACHINE © stock.adobe.com/New Africa 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:39 Page 422 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING Speed and 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:41 Page 1Food & Drink International 23 www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING A ll the quality food production machines would be worth very little without an equally high standard of conveyance in between. It could even be said that the standard to which you hold your conveyers set the tone for the rest of the production line. These are simple yet effective tools - essentially no more than pipes or runners, transferring any raw or processed food from initial weighing and sorting of ingredients, all the way through to the pallets that will distribute the end product. But simplicity and efficiency should often be aligned with every machine in a food factory, handling basic processes for ease and speed of production until any given product leaves your control. Seeing how integral food conveyers are to almost every stage in production, it’s evident that quality is key. There are also multiple elements to consider here, namely hygiene, ergonomics, and the overall reliability of your tools. Many food conveyor manufacturers specialise in hygienic conveyors, which cover all bases in making cleaning and maintenance as easy as possible, with minimal cost to time, money and effort. New and useful features are always being conceived and added. Pick and choose between self-draining functions, makes that needn’t be dismantled for cleaning, and consideration of details such as sloped top control panels, including the use of stainless steel and other materials known for hygiene wherever possible. Another potentially troublesome aspect to look out for is the minimisation of crevices in the pipes, as these can become bacteria traps. As ever, the smoothest route is always the best when handling and transporting food products. Though attention to this many details can take time when first selecting your © stock.adobe.com/davit85 © stock.adobe.com/I Viewfinder For any food production factory keeping efficiency and hygiene in mind, conveyers are the best and only way of moving products between machines. Therefore, it’s imperative not just to know that all systems have an attached conveyor to enable speedy flow, but also to ensure that all your chosen elements are at a high standard of cleanliness. 24 Á 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:41 Page 224 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING conveyer system, choosing wisely will rule out many of the long-term concerns with food machinery. Optimal standards and guaranteed ease of cleanliness means that less time needs to be spent washing down equipment. Time waste is reduced even further when kit is self-cleaning to a certain degree, as with integrating as many smooth, sloped and self-draining surfaces as possible. Certain types of conveyors also eliminate contaminants by design, such as tubular drag conveyors for instance. Lessen those money worries while you’re at it, as keeping the cleaning time to a minimum lowers the sometimes weighty monetary cost of keeping a whole line of machines and conveyers clean. And of course, ticking off compliance with government standards of cleanliness from the outset leads to greater peace of mind for years to come. Nobody wants the stress of being brought up on the legality of their hygiene standards. But beyond that, your products will be protected from the need for recall, a disastrous scenario for any manufacturer, and which could also put the health of the general public at risk. Ergonomics come as standard in any conveyer, as they were invented to make food production easier and quicker. Before conveyers, all food and ingredients needed to be moved between machines by hand, which took a lot more labourers, and was more dangerous depending on the weight or temperature of the product. Any conveyor is going to free floor space, reduce the necessary number of workers, and ensure that staff aren’t doing any unnecessary heavy lifting or putting themselves at risk of injury. For health and efficiency reasons, the conveyors should be the elements doing as much of the lifting, shifting and rotating of products as possible. Workers shouldn’t have to move products for ease of access when they’re being carried by the conveyor belt, with tapered rollers, diverts and pushers ball transfers and other solutions available to ensure product is always being guided in an ideal direction. It’s the most considerate course of action to allow your workers a say in the factory floor layout they’ll be working in on an everyday basis. Keep them involved with the process of designing their work space, ensuring that there is ample room between aisles of machinery, and that all control panels and surfaces are in easy reach from at least two sides. Once you’re up and running, be open to feedback on how comfortable they feel using the machines and conveyers. In the long run, © stock.adobe.com/DedMityay 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:41 Page 3Food & Drink International 25 www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING workers who feel happy and listened to will run your factory and machines with care and attention, contributing all the more to a well-run production line. With your staff happy in their tasks, all that must be done is to ensure that product is moved between stages and levels as quickly and smoothly as possible. Here begins the fun part of choosing the safest, speediest route for your product and every involved ingredient. If they need to be carried down from a height, such as when ingredients come down from upper floors, get inclines involved in any creative way to maximise space and pace of transport. Your average incline is fine in factories with a good deal of room to manoeuvre, but for smaller spaces or more ingredients that require separation, spirals and chutes are ideal. Even here, whichever transport method you choose, ensure that worker health and safety is cared for. When depositing a load, a chute shouldn’t have to be reached into, or placed any higher or lower than necessary for a worker’s hands to be 30 inches from the ground. All conveyor heights should be meticulously considered, and potentially dangerous lifting removed wherever possible. This can be even more readily achieved with gravity conveyors, which can carry cases from storage to the desired production area, as long as loads are kept light enough for moving them onto the conveyor. After the finer details of cleanliness and ergonomics have been seen to, the good news is you’re then well on your way to an optimum of reliability. Reduction of the care needed for machines, thereby freeing up focus for worker health and job satisfaction, sees a factory that can be working around the clock without any unnecessary disruptions, breakages or stops for machinery cleaning. From here, the key thing to assess for future-proofed productivity is ease of maintenance for every conveyor. For all that conveyors are often minimalistic tools, selecting, installing and upkeep for these small elements isn’t easy. The process, like the tool itself, embodies the necessity of attention to the smallest detail in the running of a food production factory. But the most important matters for your attention are covered in the three key facets we’ve explored. As long as efforts towards hygiene, ergonomics and reliability are taken to the best of your ability as a responsible business owner, then the efficient function of your machines, and every part in between, will for the best part keep looking after themselves. © stock.adobe.com/paulacobleigh 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:41 Page 426 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS © stock.adobe.com/ Денис Бабушкин Moving things around Moving things around 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:43 Page 1Food & Drink International 27 www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS M ost medium and large scale manufacturers need to move products around during processing. Pumps are often the most convenient choice as they can be adapted to suit many different types of products (including solids) and do not take up a large amount of valuable floor space in warehouses. There are many factors to consider when choosing pumping systems, not least of all the viscosity of the product. Viscosity is a measurement of resistance to flow and considered the primary quality parameter in the production of many fluids, and it also influences the behaviour of the material during production and processing. This means that not all pumps will be well suited to your product, and an assessment of viscosity is essential prior to any investment in pumps. The processing and packaging element of the manufacturing chain is already the most efficient, causing around 4% of wastage according to research. Whilst this is a good record, every effort should be made to optimise operations wherever possible. Materials to be pumped tend to fall into two requirements, those which can be pumped and transported via pipes, and those which need to be conveyed with other mechanical systems. Generally speaking, the more viscose the material, the more it will fall into the latter category. However, many types of products can be used in pumps including powders, pastes, liquids, and solid particles suspended in liquids. This means that any pump needs to be specifically designed to produce and process the material in question. In particular, using pumps beyond their intended purpose is likely to damage product. This is especially important in the food industry, as high viscose items such as treacle, honey, custards, and creams often run on very fine margins or even at a loss. This could spell significant financial damage if large batches of product were to be damaged during processing. The main sign that you are using the incorrect pump for your product is change in viscosity, often causing fluids to become runny or separated. If solids are suspended within the material, such as fruit mixtures, pumps can damage the solid fraction or remove it entirely. This entirely compromises the concept of a product. So, which are the key factors to be assessed prior to choosing a pump? As mentioned, viscosity is the most important consideration. Alongside this, an accompanying particle size analysis should be undertaken, so that the pump will not be either too large or too small to process the material. Furthermore, the chemical composition is important to consider. The acidity levels will affect which materials can be used to make the pump and, as they The pumps and fluids industry is booming in no small part due to an increased push toward heightened automation. 28 Á 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:43 Page 228 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS are made to order, the most cost effective way to achieve the requirements is an important consideration. The temperature of the product as it is being processed should also be considered, as this will affect its physical properties. Finally, vapour pressure should be analysed, to prevent flashing (the product remains in vapour state) or cavitation (the formation of vapour bubbles within the product). These physical characteristics build a picture of how sensitive the fluid is, making it more or less likely to be damaged by the impeller of the pump. Physical properties can change post- exposure to high shear stresses, which may not be beneficial for all product types. Purchasing pumping systems for a specific purpose means that manufacturers can ensure that the pump meets required sanitisation standards. The most commonly used pumps in food and cosmetic production are rotary lobe, rotary piston, reciprocating positive displacement, progressing cavity, peristaltic hose, and air-operated double diaphragms. Here, we shall focus on rotary volumetric pumps, as they are some of the most versatile, but highlight the issues which arise when products are not well suited to them. Progressive cavity pumps consist of a helical rotor, which turns inside a helical stator, creating a honeycomb effect. This allows the material to spiral along the axis of the pump, from pump suction to pump discharge. These pumps do not pulsate and can handle high pressures of up to 24 bars. This makes them ideal for jobs which require a steady flow of liquid, at any viscosity. These pumps are designed to be used in the food sector, meaning that they will preserve the integrity of the product (especially dairy products such as milk, eggs, and yoghurts). The helical nature of the pump also makes it easy to clean without having to remove parts (known as Cleanable In Place) so that production does not have to be shut down. These pumps are also reversable, meaning that they can be adapted to suit production requirements. However, progressive cavity pumps are prone to chemical attack. This means that certain chemical compositions are incompatible with the materials used to create the pump, resulting in the chrome plating being worn away. This could compromise the sanitisation of the pump, as well as causing abrasion to the product. An alternative to these pumps is a reciprocating positive displacement pump. These are ideal for more delicate products with low viscosity, such as creamy foods or pharmaceutical items. However, they retain their high pressure to keep a consistent product flow. These pumps operate via an expanding cavity on the suction end of the pump, and a decreasing cavity on the discharge side. This allows for a natural flow of product, making it less likely to separate. Ultimately, installing a pumping system will generally positively impact product quality and efficiency of output. However, it is crucial that the correct pump is chosen for the products that it will process, as the wrong pump could damage the product or slow down the manufacturing process. Undertaking an analysis before purchasing is advised, paying particular attention to viscosity, chemical composition, and temperature. For example, high viscosity products are better suited to progressive cavity pumps, whereas low viscosity products may benefit from reciprocating positive displacement pumps. Understanding your product on a more intimate level has more general benefits too, as it may uncover other ways to improve your production processes. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:43 Page 3Food & Drink International 29 www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS © stock.adobe.com/9dreamstudio 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2022 14:43 Page 4Next >