Drives and controls for industrial food mixers

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Nov 16, 2000

Millitec Systems, one of the six big players in industrial size food mixing machines use IMO Jaguar Cub inverter drives which offer the degree of torque necessary to ensure smooth, constant movement

Millitec Systems, one of the six big players in industrial size food mixing machines make no less than 4 different sizes ranging from 150 litre bowl capacity to a mighty 1,200 litre capacity.

The company's best selling model is their 300 litre unit which finds its way into a whole host of applications, particularly the food filling markets such as sandwich fillings, curry fillings, pastry fillings, etc.

Generally the mixers are around 1.85 metres height to the top of the bowl.

Millitec units are designed to be slow-speed mixers with most operations being undertaken at around 20rpm.

Maximum speed is around 50rpm and minimum speed around 5rpm.

Critically, low operating speeds enable ingredients to be mixed without putting energy into them, which means no damage is caused to the foodstuffs, ie.

meat and vegetables.

Unlike some manufacturers, Millitec products are all vertical bowl units rather than horizontal bowl units which tend to suffer from food adhesion to the side of the bowl, particularly when working with fine, wet substances such as spices, etc.

Moreover, the entire Millitec range has a two-blade array and an operating configuration where the bowl remains stationary while the blades - being powered from the same source - move at the same speed in a clockwise direction inside.

The main blade is for mixing and is specifically designed to rotate or 'tumble' the food in the bowl to ensure maximum mixing efficiency.

The second blade is manufactured from UHMPE (Ultra High Mass Polyethylene) shaped to mimic the bowl profile and 'wipes' food from the sides as it goes round.

This makes final cleaning a lot easier and improves the quality of the mix as all ingredients fuse together in the correct ratios.

The 300 litre volume bowl is usually only filled to approximately 2/3 capacity.

In the case of chicken pieces, this would equate to about 250kg weight.

The bowls are all top fed, usually through an ingredient hopper located on the floor above or by means of a food industry standard 'Euro-bin', depending on client requirements.

If a Euro-bin is used, the mixers come with an electric lift facility which raises the Euro-bin and empties the contents into the mixer before placing the bin back on the floor.

Once loaded, the machine's mixing cycle is started.

When finished the bowl gently tilts forward until it deposits its contents back into the Euro-bin.

The mixers are almost entirely constructed from stainless steel while the Euro-bins can be stainless steel or UHMPE plastic.

After scouring the market and testing products from many suppliers, Millitec decided upon products from IMO Precision Controls Limited for its multiple drives and controllers on its entire range.

As Parminder Singh Panesar (IMO) explains, "IMO offer a unique combination of technically the highest quality products, at excellent pricing with superb and unparalled service.

And, we challenge anyone to offer a range as vast and complete as ours.

We offer an exclusive 3-year warranty on all electronic based IC components and a unique 5-year warranty on the Jaguar Inverters.

This is our seal of approval as well as confidence to our customers when they use IMO products".

The market trends are certainly towards vendor reduction.

Millitec, like so many of IMO customers, were offered an excellent solution tailor made for them.

The main drive is to the mixing and wiping blades while the secondary drive takes the bowl from its vertical alignment to an horizontal alignment and back again.

The mixers use IMO Jaguar Cub inverter drives which offer the degree of torque necessary to ensure smooth, constant movement even at full load and low speed.

IMO controllers ensure the correct speed is maintained for all functions.

Millitec's Ben Horlock takes up the story: "Quality, price and impressive delivery times were all factors in our selecting IMO equipment.

They offer us superb service and frequently send in one of their technical people to help find the solutions to problems as and when they arise.

In addition to control gear and inverter drives, IMO supply all the IP65 protected switches necessary for each mixer.

These include a key-switch which prevents the machine being used without authorised personnel (Key-holders) being present, plus an emergency stop switch plus raise/lower tipping switching plus stop/start switches.".