Case Study: Potato Chip Production Needs Accurate Flavor Measuring
A food product facility that has a focus on flavored potato chips specializes in short runs of chips. They typically produce 1,000 packs of any one flavor before switching to another. It doesn’t have a dedicated line for each flavor and desperately needed a process for accurate flavor measuring.
The Problem: No Way for Accurate Flavor Measuring
The feeders that were currently being used are continually being cleaned, stripped down, and refilled to accommodate the different chip runs. Dosing feeders in this environment must be able to handle any flavoring, no matter the consistency. This means anything from free-flowing salt, to cohesive paprika, to sticky cheese. If you feed too much or too little (or no flavor at all if they get bridged) you have wasted a batch of product and created a dissatisfied customer.
The Solution: Acrison Self-Emptying Auger & Meter
Acrison recommended using the all-stainless-steel Model 170-00. It’s a volumetric feeder with a small footprint, suitable for low feed rates, and ideal for quick product changeovers. Its flat-bottom feed chamber incorporates a slow-speed horizontally rotating conditioning agitator, directly below which and offset to one side is the metering auger. This design makes it particularly suitable for feeding flavors with poor flow characteristics. The secondary discharge port enables total and rapid cleanout, essential when quick and frequent product changeovers are required.
The Result:
“The metering performance is crucial as the chips’ flavor is totally dependent on the feeder,” said Stanny Laevers, managing director at the plant. “Because our business consists of short runs, our feeding equipment needs to be extremely versatile and always accurate to within 0.5%. It’s a tall order for a feeder – but the Acrison feeder does the job nicely!”
Do you have a similar production line in your facility? Are you struggling for consistency? Fill out the form below to contact Apex today! We work directly with Acrison to find a solution for your most challenging application.
