When purchasing a new commercial blender, food processors need something more than just a one-size-fits-all machine.
They need a blending system that meets their process and product needs while also working in tandem with surrounding equipment. The new system should help the processor improve efficiency, safety and quality in the available footprint.
Let’s take a look at the components of food blending system solutions and how EnSight can help processors choose the right one for them.
Blender Systems
To feed the blender, most processors rely on dumpers, which can move large amounts of products at once to fill up the large-capacity blender. For most, the dumper will deposit product directly into the blender. But, if the processor is running multiple blenders at once, the dumper might deposit its load onto a conveyor system. In that case, the conveyor would likely have diverters to push product into the correct blender.
After the dumper and/or feeding dumper comes the center of the system-the blender itself.
The blender design depends on the processes and products used. For example, if a company wants to cook the product, they will need a blender that can be heated and features scrapers to prevent burn-on.
EnSight Solutions does not offer blenders with cooking features, but we can support customers who want to cool their product while it’s blending.
Cooling in a commercial food processing blender is accomplished by pumping CO2 or Nitrogen gas into the product to rapidly cool while blending is underway. CO2 used to be the main gas used for this process, but it has become harder to find and therefore more expensive. Many companies are switching over to Nitrogen instead, which produces the same results but at a lower cost. In addition, many new processors are starting their production with Nitrogen and not even bothering with CO2.
Whichever gas is used, the blender will still need injectors to pump the gas into the product, as well as vents to allow it to escape after blending. Both will be the same regardless of the gas used, but companies who want to switch will encounter high costs to change out their large-capacity holding tanks and other necessary components.
Blenders can also be designed to pull a vacuum, where when activated, the system will pull the air out of the blender interior. This is often used for whole proteins, e.g., turkey breasts. The process pulls membranes apart to help the product absorb ingredients better.
EnSight Solutions vacuum blenders will pull a full vacuum, which means there is no air left inside the blender.
Discharging the blended product is the final step in the process. The product is vented into a cart or trough or onto another conveyor for the next phase of the production process.
Designing a Solution
At EnSight Solutions, our team works very closely with processors to design food blending system solutions that meets their process, product and facility needs. Whether the processor is seeking a full system with a loader and discharge components and accompanying machines/containers, or just the blender itself, our team takes a lot of factors into account for the final solution.
One of the first topics we’ll discuss is the facility footprint. This will heavily influence the size of the final system. In addition to just floor space, our team considers ceiling heights because dumpers and the blender in-feeds are tall. Ceiling height is mainly an issue in older plants that were built smaller. Newer processing facilities are usually built with consideration for taller equipment.
If the ceiling is too short, some plants will build a dog house, which involves cutting out their drop ceiling to gain more vertical space. If that is not a possibility, our team has a lot of experience molding the geometry of solutions to fit those space constraints. One common solution is to make the blender shorter and wider. Another is to employ a smaller column dumper that deposits product onto a conveyor to feed the blender.
After the footprint, it’s helpful to start at the end of the process. We need to know what the blender will be discharging product into, including the height. This will affect the height of the discharge port on the blender, which impacts the rest of the design.
The blender itself will also be designed based on the capacity the processor needs and the product they will be blending. Are they blending ground meat? Whole protein? Do they need to cool the product during blending? Often, the processors have on-site engineers who know the answers to these questions, which helps us design the blender with the features it needs, like Nitrogen injectors or a vacuum.
We’ll also discuss the system controls. Touchscreen controls come standard on a stainless steel enclosure with EnSight blenders. We can attach the control box to the blender or ship it unattached. By ordering it remote from the blender unit, processors can mount the control on a wall or platform to meet their system needs.
In addition to controlling the blender, we can provide inputs so processors can tie in other machines to the controls and direct the dumper, blender and more from one convenient location. We can also program the controls with recipes, making it easy for team members to control the system with little training. There are also several safety features we can build into the controls to mitigate product loss and enhance safety. A couple examples include setting the controls so the blender won’t run if the lid is open or including a sensor so the discharge won’t open if a vat isn’t locked into place.
We can also help the processor tie in the blender system they choose with their existing equipment, as well as design the new solution to fit the existing equipment. For example, if a dumper is already in place, we can size the new blender to meet its dump height.
The dumper will be designed to fit the facility’s footprint, as stated earlier. Our team will also take into consideration process speeds, blender capacity (ensuring the dumper will properly fill the blender) and product.
Ready to Purchase Food Blending System Solutions?
At EnSight Solutions, we offer a variety of blenders to meet your processing needs. Whether you just want to perfectly blend your product or cool it as well, we can help you with a blending solution that also enhances efficiency and safety. To learn more about our food blending system solutions, please contact our sales consultants.
