WDS
Automated starch moisture measurement systems for mogul plants
For many years the plants of the Mogul series have been popular among confectionery manufacturers and accordingly, they are frequently used. On the one hand this is due to the high quality standards, on the other hand, to the great flexibility regarding the variety of products and coordination of individual production requirements.
For many years the plants of the Mogul series have been popular among confectionery manufacturers and accordingly, they are frequently used. On the one hand this is due to the high quality standards, on the other hand, to the great flexibility regarding the variety of products and coordination of individual production requirements.
Since Winkler and Dünnebier Süßwarenmaschinen GmbH, based in Rengsdorf, Germany, is known for continuous development of their machine technologies, also the new update within the Mogul series will be interesting: WDS announces to introduce a new, production-ready system for automated starch moisture measurement to the market within the coming months. The system can be integrated into new Mogul plants or retrofitted in older ones.
The WDS Mogul plants are designed for the manufacture of all starch moulded products such as jelly and gum (on pectin, gum arabic, gelatine, agar-agar or carrageenan basis) as well as liquorice, fondant, cream, marshmallow foam and similar items. Furthermore, the equipment is suitable for depositing liqueur.
The consistency and texture of the starch is an important factor for consistently good production results. Beside the starch temperature, one key parameter is the moisture content. It influences, among others, the respective masses in the drying process and is jointly responsible for the quality of the final product.
The new automatic measurement system provides accurate measurement data during production which can be used, if required, for control purposes of the WDS starch drying, so that the moisture content of the starch is corrected accordingly. In addition, the data will be stored and used for a continuous monitoring – the resulting traceability in turn is an important factor in quality assurance.
During initial operation of the measuring system or after a product change with basic changes in starch properties, a manual calibration is performed first by sampling and recording the actual moisture value in the calibration table of the system. This process is actively supported by the system.
In current production, the WDS starch moisture measurement is carried out automatically and contact-free via the infrared measurement principle. Thereby the infrared rays on the starch surface are reflected differently depending on the moisture content, which leads to different measurement wavelengths. Then the reflected rays are analysed within the control unit and re-calculated to a precise moisture content.
As WDS announces the measuring unit will soon be available in two versions: In the standard device without ATEX, the aluminum case with transmitting and receiving unit is mounted above the open starch tray transport behind the stamping unit. In the ATEX version (ATEX Zone 22) the control unit is located zone-free outside the plant or in an ATEX housing from which an optical fiber is passed over the starch tray.
As standard, the WDS control unit is connected to the plant control, where the signals are evaluated in protected software modules. Then the moisture value is displayed in the plant visualisation and can be used as needed for control purposes of the WDS starch drying unit. In older plants without PLC or in plants of other manufacturers, the new WDS measurement system can also be supplied with its own evaluation unit.
According to Winkler and Dünnebier the system is already fully suitable for series production and is currently undergoing intensive testing. It will be available during the second quarter of 2015 and will be offered as an extension for WDS Mogul plants.
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