The shortest way to efficiency in proofing, cooling, freezing, or baking is sometimes a spiral.
Spiral technology is by design a minimum footprint construction. It has developed to support core processes in baking facilities, from cooling to deep-freezing, product handling to baking. The compact design is only one of the benefits it brings, as it is both an efficient and reliable solution for fully continuous production systems.
Today’s technology from Tecnopool allows an industrial bakery line to be designed and to operate completely based on spiral technology for all essential thermal processes, from final proofing to deep freezing. There are numerous advantages to this; Paolo Gonella, industrial lines business developer at Tecnopool, prioritizes the reduction of automation applied on the line, the linearity of the process and energy efficiency.
Flexible at its core
While it might not be immediately apparent, spirals interestingly have the flexibility for virtually infinite layout configurations. “Tailor-made configurations are essential when referring to a system integration/overhaul, with belt widths ranging from 250mm to 1,500mm,” Gonella explains. Among the latest improvements featured on Tecnopool’s spiral technology, he points out the external drive system, operating via a driveshaft on the outside of the tower, with a separate drive wheel on each stage. The interior of the tower itself is empty, which allows better airflow. This layout “also makes an outstanding level of hygiene possible,” he underlines. Since the entire area is completely accessible, it can be cleaned in its entirety, either manually or automatically.
Spirals are also a great choice in terms of processing times and energy use. Thanks to tier-to-tier drive technology incorporated in Tecnopool spirals, without a cage-like drum spiral, a small motor is located together with the drive shaft either at floor level or at the top, on the uppermost stage. This system does not need a tensioning device at the entry or exit, which not only enables gains in energy efficiency but also extends the lifetime of the belt and lowers maintenance requirements.
For proofing, climate flexible and precise conditions can be reached by fine-tuning temperature and humidity. Tecnopool’s solution achieves this thanks to the dedicated design of its Air Treatment Unit. “The challenge is to achieve such a result with uniform conditions, avoiding air stratification (different air conditions) inside the proofing room; this allows a gentle process for the product, just as correct proofing should be,” Gonella tells us. The proofer, too, can flexibly be customized, considering multi-level parameters: “3D humidity and temperature controls grant an optimal climate inside the cabinet and help the customer to handle even the most sensitive product,” he adds. Tecnopool offers a choice of two different Air Treatment Logic solutions: a Centralized Air Treatment Unit or a precise Zone Management System that assures full control on every area of the proofing cabinet.
For spiral coolers and freezers, Tecnopool aims to reduce the product’s dehydration to a minimum and optimize the temperature and dwell time of the process for each product, all calculated with internal software backed by 40 years of experience. Maintaining consistent parameters throughout extended production cycles is not without challenges, especially for deep freezing, which requires a precise airflow inside the unit, to limit the formation of frost inside the freezing room; sequential defrosting is performed to allow a single evaporator to remove the frost in a single unit while the freezer is working, Tecnopool’s specialist explains.
For baking in a spiral oven, Tecnopool outlines multiple benefits:
+ Temperature regulation in individual temperature zones is very precise, with a+/-2 °C variation;
+ Higher production capacities can be reached on the same bakery footprint;
+ Equal baking conditions in the baking chamber both length- and width-wise (thanks to special counterflow heat exchangers);
+ More accurate and flexible baking temperature regulation, eventually in every single baking deck, both by deck length and height, allowing the baker to completely adapt the baking regime to the product being baked, be it bread, pastry or tin bread.
Thermal oil is used as a heating source. The enhanced baking performance of this layout led Tecnopool to conclude the future of food is in a spiral oven. The heat radiation system allows manufacturers to work at lower temperatures compared to other traditional systems, which considerably lowers consumption, when baking either on a belt or in a pan.
Entirely continuous, efficient systems
Recent improvements brought to the Alco-food-machines’ Proofer ASG and Spiral Freezer ASK include main drive monitoring, and direct-drive conveying systems for even smoother running and lower belt tensioning. Optionally, all spiral systems can be equipped with 4.0 IoT systems, meeting the market’s long-term demand. In addition, “Proofing systems now available with several different humidification/moistening systems, including: steam humidification, ultrasonic humidification, and compressed air humidification with osmosis,” Marco Alteweier, specialist in spiral systems at alco, tells us. Two major factors contribute to the efficiency of this technology, alco highlights:
1. Enhanced heat exchanger surfaces and
2. Continuously monitoring and optimizing energy consumption
To optimize operations with these spirals, energy savings can be achieved through their efficient drives (IE4 and IE5), which are ideally adjusted to each process by individually setting up the engine speed, the specialist explains.
To ensure process consistency, alco systems have a self- monitoring system. If one parameter (e.g. temperature or moisture) drops below or exceeds the given parameter range, due to high fluctuations during production, the system immediately reacts to these changes and keeps everything in balance. “If, due to very extreme conditions, this ‘balancing act’ cannot be achieved during a very specific time frame, the system sends out an alert to all connected devices,” the specialist explains.
The Proofer ASG can be customized for different process timings, temperatures and heating methods, and humidification methods including water purification. Different diameters of the drum, different belt widths and belt lengths can be provided in all alco spiral systems. Double-spiral systems for same-height infeed and outlet are a requested configuration. Several climate channels around the spiral tower/s ensure homogenous, gentle ventilation and humidification of the proofer. Every climate channel is continuously adjusted. Several sensors inside the climate channel give readings continuously, to ensure the desired climate. “That way, you can create different climate zones (temperature, humidity, etc.), if requested, and control them individually, as needed,” illustrates Alteweier.
The Spiral Freezer ASK is also equipped with a recipe management system and can be used with a specific energy- optimized setting for parameters including timings, air temperature and speed. Humidity is preserved by horizontal airflow on every level of the spiral system and energy optimized with speed-regulated ventilators. Moreover, the air is led through a wide heat exchanger to minimize temperature differences.
Sustainability is reflected in the design of alco’s spirals: the company recommends using warm water or brine systems, which can sustainably heat the proofer via waste heat from refrigeration cycles or the oven heat exchanger. The specialist recommends humidifying air using ultrasound, which is a very efficient option for saving energy.
