Matching the transfer to the type of product ultimately ensures smooth movement down the line.
One significant transfer consideration is size … of the transfer as well as the product. “The smaller the product, the smaller the transfer needs to be,” Ms. Alcalde said. And with small, single-serve products becoming ever more popular, size matters more than ever.
“We are working on a line that makes pies smaller than the mini pie; I nicknamed it the ‘micro pie,’ ” Mr. Harrington said, describing a fried pie that is 2 ¼ by 1 ¼ in. “You have to line these things up to get proper transfers and orientation because the smaller the pieces, the faster they come.”
While small gaps are of huge importance, there are actually times when a larger gap might actually be necessary. “Think about with a coating such as chocolate or a glaze,” said Kate Nadeau, MK North America. “If a baker is trying to collect and return it, there has to be some space in order to get between the belts.”
When it comes to transfer gaps, Ms. Nadeau cautioned that the size of the gap is going to be subjective. “If you’re talking about cookies that are an inch in diameter and being covered in chocolate, you’re talking about small pulleys that can transfer them on both sides,” she said. “So that ‘significant’ gap might not be an inch or even a half-inch, but it’s more noticeable than if you were simply trying to make a smooth transition.”
In some cases, that gap just has to be bridged with an extra roller to help avoid product jams. “We have customers who will use a live roller — a small, stainless steel shaft that fits between the transfers — and attach a small motor to it,” Mr. Milner suggested. “The rotating roller acts as a buffer and eliminates the gap resulting in a smoother transfer between the conveyors.”
Additionally, MK North America offers an auxiliary idler roller that essentially acts as a nose bar when the gap between the pulleys is too big. The bar is sized so that when product gets pushed off the belt, the idler roller spins under and supports the piece as it goes by. “It offers less friction than if you place something like a dead plate between the conveyors,” Ms. Nadeau said.
Baking can be a messy and often chaotic business. The more a baker can streamline the operation, the more productive, efficient and profitable it will be.
Find resources for conveyors by visiting www.esourcebaking.com. Browse by category under Equipment, and click on Store/Handle for listings.
