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Dough handling

PROCESSING

The BOTTOM LINE

  • Automation has been advancing rapidly
  • The tech can help alleviate labor challenges
  • Robots save humans from dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks

The snack and bakery product tastes of modern consumers are always evolving. While the public might be clamoring for gluten-free items now, for example, they might be more inclined to choose gluten-full items down the road.

As consumers’ products change, bakery technology like dough handling equipment typically is expected to change along with it. Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery recently touched base with technology providers to check in on what’s happening, and what’s coming, with dough handling.

Knead to know

Snack and bakery operations are demanding more of dough handling equipment than ever.

Jenni Spinner, Chief Editor

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Dough handling trends
Changes in demand, new product innovations, market conditions, and myriad other factors stand to impact dough handling equipment. According to Jamie Bobyk, marketing consultant, Apex Motion Control, automated technology is important and will only become more vital in the future.

“Aside from advances in traditional dough handling equipment—like rounders, molders, mixers, and dough conditioning that allow for optimum elasticity and extensibility, and the ability to handle gluten free, keto, and artisan style doughs—cobots in particular are becoming a popular choice for catching pre-risen dough balls from conveyors onto trays, as well as moving fully loaded oven ready pans to the conveyor on the way to the oven,” says Bobyk. “Cobots have proven to be more than capable workers that filled the gaps left by labor shortages.”

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Courtesy of Apex Motion Control

Nico Roesler, North American pretzel and snack equipment sales manager, Reading Bakery Systems, says automation is increasingly of interest to bakery producers when considering equipment needs.

“Operators are looking for automated solutions that provide flexibility and sanitary design,” he says. “We’re seeing increased interest in automation because it reduces the required labor in the dough handling part of the process. These jobs can be difficult for operators as they are usually dealing with large, heavy amounts of dough. Removing this type of work eliminates risk not only for product but also for people.”

Ken Hagedorn, vice president for the bakery sector, Handtmann, offers that reliability (already a perennial concern to producers) is becoming a more significant focus.

“The production pressures of the last few years have made reliability even more important. Our customers have been addressing the added risks with more focus on the timeliness, quality, and their control over maintenance,” he advises, adding that preventative maintenance programs can help producers keep a handle on their operation, and keep their equipment running smoothly.

Product trend impact
Bobyk points out that while new dough handling equipment is expected to take care of products that fit into a current trend (for example, gluten-free and keto items), it also must be up to handling products in line with the next trend.

“Generally speaking, new equipment is not designed for trends and fads,” he advises. “Existing equipment can be customized slightly to handle the small nuances in these non-traditional products.”

“We’re seeing increased interest in automation because it reduces the required labor in the dough handling part of the process.”

— Nico Roesler, North American pretzel and snack equipment sales manager, Reading Bakery Systems

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Roesler says that the particular product trends can create special demands upon a producer’s equipment, necessitating different parts and tech.

“Trending gluten free doughs require some special considerations when thinking about dough handling,” Roesler says. “First, in mixing, the doughs may require different paddle or mixing element configurations to create a homogenous dough; this can be accomplished through batch or continuous mixing. In batch mixing, a dough may have to rest for long periods before it gets processed and baked; This can create inconsistent finished product and can negatively impact sheeting and processing.”

“Continuous mixing, however, creates dough that is first in first out and the time it takes to be mixed, processed, and baked never changes,” Roesler continues. “This means the dough does not have a chance to dry out more than it should while it sits in a hopper. Instead, it can be continuously fed into an extruder or sheeting system to create consistent results from start to finish.”

Another trend impacting equipment is the need for large numbers of high-quality baked goods. “The continuing move to industrial-volume, artisan-quality products with premium inclusions puts big demands on equipment for gentle handling,” notes Hagedorn. “The ability of equipment maintain inclusion integrity is very important, not only to get the highest value out of costly ingredients, but also because of the importance of visual impressions with consumers.”

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Courtesy of Reading Bakery Systems

And, Bobyk adds, equipment manufacturers, much like producers, “must continually keep their finger on the pulse and often times, react to sudden consumer demands.”

Operational data
Roesler says collecting and analyzing operational data can help producers achieve and maintain consistent product and improve quality, particularly in continuous mixing applications.

“Gathering of data is a mainstay of continuous mixing,” he remarks. “While collected data can be used to ensure quality, in the case of continuous mixing the data can be used to make process intervention and corrections without the involvement of the operator.”

Hagedorn says in order for a bakery operation to succeed, dough-handling equipment (and other technology in a production environment) need to adapt rapidly, which can be made possible through integration of tech that facilitates advanced monitoring, control, and secure communication.

“At Handtmann, this adaptability is not a big leap but has been designed into our development processes for decades; our Handtmann R&D, engineering and manufacturing teams continuously design and implement a very wide range of adaptable digital solutions to better monitor parameters and control processes as standard equipment in our technologies,” he notes.

Hagedorn adds that keeping tabs on such data can help current equipment and the producers employing it “meet tomorrow’s challenges with regular software updates and system innovations.

Flexibility
Producers increasingly demand their equipment be able to handle different types of product, and adjust to changes yet to come. Roesler says equipment producers like Reading Bakery Systems are ready to deliver.

“RBS dough handling equipment is versatile and can handle any type of dough,” he comments. “Laytime conveyors allow dough to sit and ferment if required, or we can create automated dough trough systems for doughs that require many hours of fermentation. The mixer discharge conveyors can be used for multiple dough types and can transport dough to any downstream equipment.”

Bobyk remarks that the public’s hunger for new, different bakery items drives the need for innovative bakery technologies.

“As long as consumer demand is around, equipment manufacturers will keep developing new technologies to accommodate those needs,” he says.


Labor and automation
Labor shortages were a pressing issue before the pandemic; COVID-19 has made such concerns even more of a headache. According to Bobyk, workforce woes inevitably will continue, necessitating increased reliance on automation.

“Cobots will be the future production workers; the labor shortages will assure this,” Bobyk says. “Whether it be working alongside human workers or running the entire production line in a semi-autonomous fashion, seeing cobots through production facilities will become the norm.”

Bobyk concurs that labor challenges will worsen, adding that producers have to consider equipment and processes that will help them down the road.

“Ingredients costs will always fluctuate, real estate and utility costs will always fluctuate, and you can generally battle these by adjusting your prices, but if you do not have the work force to help make your products, it will be hard to keep the lights on.” SF&WB

Recently introduced at IBIE 2022 in Las Vegas, the Dough-Bot Stamper automatically stamps and cuts cookie dough as it travels down a conveyor with a multi-port head, then transfers the cookie dough shapes on to trays that travel to the oven to get baked. Small footprint, custom-designed die head, and ability to safely work alongside humans are a few of the features.

Cookie dough cutter, Stamper, Machine, Bot

Company:

Apex Motion Control

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

Spider 100v Product Loading with Bulk Feeding uses delta-style robots with vision to replace a traditional collate-and load-system. Suited for overwrapped baked products, the system eliminates race track collation and potential jam points, picking virtually any product count or configuration. With the integrated bulk feeder, it accepts product from bulk or work in process (WIP) singulating product before entering the robot. It handles cartons, cases, shelf-ready, and variety packs.

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Company:

BluePrint Automation

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

The CRX-25iA collaborative robot has a 25kg payload, one of the highest available. Easy to use, the cobot stops at the slightest contact with a person or object, powers with 120V and comes maintenance-free for eight years. The cobot’s speed is 1,000 mm/sec in collaborative mode and 2,000 mm/sec in high-speed mode, making it suitable for a variety of material handling and palletizing applications. It also provides through-arm cabling with optional vision and force sensing intelligence. In addition, the cobot is rated IP67 and offers optional food-grade grease.

White, Product, Boxes, Robotic arm, Palletizerr

Company:

FANUC America Corp.

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

Featuring a 30 kg payload and 1,700 mm maximum reach, the six-axis HC30PL human-collaborative robot facilitates safe and efficient fence-less palletizing, and other handling, packaging and logistical applications. It features standard food-grade grease and IP67 environmental rating, plug-and-play wrist connection and ISO 9409-1 tool flange, hand-guided teaching, and six-axis power and force limiting technology. The manipulator meets safety standards to ensure safe operation in close proximity to human workers.

Robotic arm, Box, Palletizer, Employee, Tablet

Company:

Yaskawa Motoman

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

mGripAI is an easy-to-integrate automation package that combines ultra-fast 3D vision and artificial intelligence technologies with IP69K-rated, soft grasping to give industrial robots the hand-eye coordination of humans. This enables the use of high-speed industrial robots to automate bulk picking processes throughout bakery, produce, and prepared foods operations.

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Company:

Soft Robotics

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

The TS2 HE four-axis SCARA pick-and-place robot features a new hygienic design for applications in humid environments that opens up a wide range of uses for SCARA (Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) robots in critical food processing environments where there is a high risk for contamination and bacteria development.

Pick-and-place robot, Robotic am, Equipment

Company:

Stäubli Robotics

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

The Peregrine's end-of-arm tooling gently picks up and loads packaged snack cakes and other baked goods into formed cartons. With a small footprint one-third the size of traditional top- and end-load cartoners, the Peregrine places carton forming, loading, and closing inline to save valuable floor space. The system's high-speed JLS TRAK and positive carton transport (PCT) system eliminate problematic handoffs and the need for any other conveyors to move cartons away from the former, to accumulate, or manage the loading process. Cartons are kept in-line, without turns—from forming to loading, all the way to robotic closing.

Cartoner, Robotic arm, Conveyor, Machinery

Company:

JLS Automation

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

The Robotiq Palletizing Solution allows users to create an automation program in three quick steps, lets products palletize themselves, and frees employees to perform higher-value tasks. Synchronized motion control of the cobot and seventh axis create efficient cycle times. With total compatibility between elements, users get a small footprint that fits existing floorplans.

Industrial interior, Robotic arm, Conveyor, Cartons

Company:

Robotiq, Lévis

Top Features:
• Module-based solution supply chain traceability
• Quality-control data
• Brand protection indicators
• Geo-localization
• Consumer engagement
• Batch traceability, single unit traceability, custom traceability
• Artificial intelligence
• Relationship with end user
• Enable blockchain communication

For more information, see the