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Processed bulk materials: Dried fruit
Preparation of dried fruit recipes
This production line involves the installation of a feeding and mixing system for dried fruits. The various dried fruits are packed in bags, boxes and super sacks.
The bulk bags are unloaded above two weighed buffer hoppers designed for mobility by mounting them on caster wheels.
The bulk bags are lifted and positioned above the hoppers using an electric hoist and a hoist iron (handling cross). Once the big bag is placed above the hopper, the materials can be emptied out. The dried fruits are then transferred to a main belt conveyor which is used to convey and elevate dried fruits to their unloading point: a batch mixer. This type of mechanical conveyor is a "gentle" conveying system, and preserves the integrity for the materials being transferred. The 50 lbs. bags are manually unpacked above a 3rd hopper which also feeds the main belt conveyor.
The boxes are manually opened and emptied by an operator, and the dried fruits are placed on a second elevator conveyor and then crumbled before being gravity fed to the main belt conveyor. The lumpy dried fruit passes through a granulator which helps break a part the lumps, before being fed onto the conveyor.
The GR35 granulator facilitates the flow of the product by deagglomerating the dried fruits via the rotating action of the shaft drive paddles that force the product to pass through a sizing grid.
Under each of the 3 hoppers, a vibrating feeder supplies the belt conveyor for conveyance to the mixer. Above the mixer inlet, a discharge chute is used to channel and soften the fall of the fruit into the industrial mixer.
The paddle mixer provides a uniform product from the different dried fruits sources and whose characteristics can be very different. The blends are carried out in successive batches.
A platform supports the industrial mixer and provides access to the hatch and motorization of the gentle paddle mixer.
Once the different fruits have been mixed, they are packed into a bulk bag using a Flowmatic®01 big bag filling system.
It is fitted with a chute pipe with baffles to soften the fall of dried fruit inside the bulk bag. At the beginning of the cycle, the bulk bag is raised by means of a hydraulic cylinder to keep it in an upright position, as well as to keep the drop height to a minimum between the outlet of the filling head and the bottom of the bulk bag. In order to obtain an autonomous filling, a microwave sensor is installed on the structure. The complete bulk bag filling system is implemented on four load cells allowing the control of the upstream dosing equipment. A PLC allows the entire process to be controlled automatically.
