Less is more. That theme characterizes horizontal mixers with open-frame designs. They feature fewer steel panels and more open areas to ease sanitation.

An open-frame roller bar mixer recently introduced by AMF Bakery Systems includes a conventional drive system and bowl tilt that does not need hydraulics. “The result is an efficient, safe, stable, easy-to-operate and clean mixer,” said Bruce Campbell, executive product manage, dough processing systems.

A hybrid of open-frame and enclosed-frame designs is available from Shaffer Mixers. The mixer features a direct drive that helps to keep the area under the bowl open. The entire tilt system, including the hydraulic cylinder and power unit, is protected by a water-tight enclosure. “This means that bakeries do not have to perform sanitation on the hydraulic components and, in fact, should not have to open the enclosure unless they are doing maintenance procedures,” observed Terry Bartsh, the company’s vice-president of sales.

Heavy-duty, open-framed three-roller-bar horizontal mixers from Topos Mondial feature capacities ranging from 400 to 800 lb per batch. The open-frame offers a sanitary design for easy cleaning and maintenance, noted Damian Morabito, the company’s president. The main agitator is driven by a hollow-shaft direct-drive gear motor with variable-frequency or two-speed drive options.

“We also designed our open-frame mixer with a removable stainless steel cover over the main drive gear motor and the hydraulic package on the side of the mixer,” he said. “The cover can be easily removed without the use of tools to gain full access for cleaning and maintenance.”