Integrated Continuous Mixing System Cuts Energy Use and Stabilizes Compound Mass Viscosity
Batch mixing inconsistencies and high energy costs plague compound mass production. A recently released continuous system stabilizes quality and slashes operational footprint by integrating mixing and refining into a single, modular unit.
Industrial compound production often struggles with viscosity fluctuations inherent to batch processing.
The CompactMix from Bühler Group moves away from traditional batch constraints, offering a continuous processing solution for fat masses, fillings, and coatings.
This system integrates the mixing and kneading stages into one unit, directly feeding the refining process.
It targets the specific rheological needs of high-fat suspensions used in biscuit and cake applications.
Technical Mechanisms
- Shear Control: The twin-shaft mixer applies specific mechanical shear to homogenize fat and dry ingredients, ensuring consistent particle distribution before refining.
- Thermal Regulation: Integrated tempering jackets maintain precise mass temperatures, preventing premature crystallization or fat separation during the kneading phase.
- Gravimetric Dosing: High-precision feeding units control ingredient ratios in real-time; this eliminates the variance seen in manual or batch-based weighing.
- Sanitary Design: The simplified geometry reduces retention spots, enabling faster changeovers between recipes without cross-contamination risks.
Operational Impact
Switching to continuous mixing stabilizes downstream enrobing or depositing performance. You get a constant viscosity, which means less give-away on coatings and fewer machine stops for adjustments.
The compact footprint frees up valuable floor space in crowded plants. Furthermore, the inline process reduces energy consumption compared to cycling heavy batch mixers. It effectively decouples production volume from tank capacity limitations.
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