Baking & Snack - April 2009 - 74

SEASONING SYSTEMS

the topping being dispensed."
Belt systems address the problem of depositing sticky, moist and
hard-to-flow materials at consistent
rates that would otherwise have to
be applied by hand. David Williams,
president, R&D Machine, Dallas,
TX, described current work on a
belt system using compression rollers to manage the depositing of seed
and vegetable pieces. Toasted onion
bits present another application best
suited to belt systems.
Mr. Searle noted that AXIS' new
patent-pending screen system, invented by company president Ty
Sarajian, lays down even accurate
patterns for dispensing materials
such as seasonings and cinnamon
sugar. "It began with a flour dusting
application," he noted.
Mr. Hotze reported that Burford
is developing dusting units that can
handle powdered sugar, cinnamon
sugar and corn meal, as well as flour.
"The new indexing feature now puts
seasonings and toppings only where
the product is," he continued.
"The typical flour duster is a relatively simple machine, but we added
the indexing and control technology
from our Smart Seeder system," said
Scott Clemons, senior electrical engineer, Burford Corp. "The difference

ᮣ To deposit veggie
and seed toppings,
this design combines
belt feeding with compression rollers.
R&D MACHINE

is the control system." A sensor picks
up the leading edge of the pan or row,
and programming releases toppings
only when product is present.
Electronic controls make a big
difference. "We improved the control system to increase the accuracy
of topping placement," Mr. Hotze
said. "The payoff to the customer is
savings in toppings."
"Some of the biggest pieces of the
puzzle (to improving accuracy and
economy) are the electronics - the
sensors, servo drives, PLCs and variable-speed drives," Mr. Tiefenthaler
said. "With today's electronics, you can
easily trace materials, check trending
and create a history."
TUMBLING TOGETHER.
Application of toppings to
snacks generally takes place
within revolving drums
where the finished products
tumble together with their
toppings to assure coverage
on all surfaces.
Methods used to introduce toppings into tumbling
systems were described by
Eric Doern, product line
manager, PPM Technologies, Newberg, OR. "The
ᮤ The brush inside this duster helps
release fine powders such as flour or
cinnamon sugar onto products passing below.
BURFORD CORP.

BAKING & SNACK / April 2009

powder applicator uses a screw auger
and rotary squirrel cage to dispense
powder out the length of a tube and
spread the product in air before applying to base product," he said. "The
scarf feeder uses a small vibratory
conveyor to apply an even curtain of
seasoning on the product. The electrostatic applicator puts an electric
charge on the seasoning, which then
attaches to product as it is attracted
to a metal drum. The liquid applicator uses a pump and nozzle system
to spray oil onto product. Our slurry
applicator uses a pump and nozzle
system to spray a mixture of powder
and oil onto the product."
To maximize flavor dispersion,
TNA engineered its new flavor dispersion system with a bias-cut feeder
isolated from the tumbler but synchronous with product infeed, according to Mr. Green. "We maximize
flavor coverage by ensuring a gentle
and effective tumbling motion and
controlled travel through the tumbler, which is isolated from the infeed
and, therefore, not compromised by
the feeder's motion," he explained.
Control feedback loops reduce the
volume of seasoning in comparison
with on-head seasoning systems.
Accumulation systems enable
steady flow to seasoning tumblers,
a method described by Clark Hicks,
national sales manager, product
handling group, Heat and Control, Dallas, TX, as "a buffer to keep

Baking & Snack - April 2009

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