In the confectionery industry, especially for bakery products, molding, leavening and fermentation chambers as well as oven control are of paramount importance. The environmental conditions can be fully automated, with complete and instantaneous control of parameters such as temperature, humidity, to obtain the desired product.
Not only the products, but also the packaging has to be flexible for market needs and changing consumer tastes. New needs require flexible machine design and control over the packaging area. Controlling the programming of packaging machines guarantees shorter format changeover times and better interaction, meeting new production requirements. Flexible and adaptable automation allows you to change the size of the package according to changes in demand. Automated solutions – robots – provide systematic safety to protect employees working in different areas of production lines, including packaging.
Industrial automation essentially also includes the use of robotic devices to support production activities, such as high-performance manipulators, palletizers and depalletizers, locking systems for filling machines, self-learning multi-format production lines, i.e. with fast and automated format changes. -Above all, everything is interconnected and connected to the Internet. There are machines, for example, capable of storing products with buffer capacity to cope with downstream line stoppages and continue production without interruption on the upstream line. Storage can also be carried out at temperature if the products in question require conditioning.
In addition, the unloading phase from the oven can be automated with high precision, in terms of speed and repeatability, thanks to robots that place products in an orderly and precise manner to make packaging easier and faster. There are machines on the market that can handle smaller and smaller packages with different diameters, heights and weights, materials and closures.
Customization is one of the possibilities of automation. The dexterity of modern robotic machines is driven by the development of arms that are increasingly adaptable, precise and sensitive. The confectionery industry is one of the most automated branches of the food industry. Automation can be found in the preparation of raw materials, in the mixing of ingredients, in the storage of liquids and semi-finished products in tanks that control quantities by weight or level while maintaining the correct storage temperature.
Volute and volumetric pumps, scales and liter counters ensure compliance with programmed recipes, continuously powered machines provide cutting, decorating and filling, while proofers and automated ovens ensure perfect rising and baking. The packaging, transportation, and finished product handling departments are highly automated.
The same applies to the chocolate industry, which boasts highly specialized and automatic machines such as a chocolate glazing machine, cooling tunnels, melting tanks, tempering machines, and dosing machines. The transportation of confectionery products from one machine to another is carried out automatically by means of modular conveyors, chains or roller belts, multi-pass taps, levelers, elevators, belt or roller bends, roller conveyors, pick-up trucks, etc. Storage of products at a controlled temperature, where required, is also automated thanks to ambient temperature and humidity control and monitoring systems.