Industrial mixers are essential to the processing of many different foods. Whether a manufacturer is reconstituting, mixing ingredients, or batching recipes, food manufacturers need versatile equipment to meet production goals.
Food-grade mixers are engineered to meet the requirements of various food safety regulations. They can mix dry or liquid materials with or without heating.
Material
Industrial mixers can mix a wide range of materials. They are used in many industries during the manufacturing and processing phases. They can be adapted to handle both dry friable, and liquid products.
Industrial mixer for food blending may come in various designs for mixing applications, including agitators and continuous mixers. They can be based on the tank or portable designs with standardized containers like 5-gallon pails and IBC totes.
The equipment requires regular maintenance to keep operating optimally. Any decrease in performance should be investigated and appropriate action taken, such as replacement of parts. Excessive noise indicates that the machine needs to be replaced, as it can lead to psychological and physical stress in employees. Some culprits of excessive noise include insufficient lubrication and loose foundation bolts.
Speed
With a suitable industrial mixer, you can break apart lumps in dry ingredients like flour and knead them into consistent mixtures for the batter. At the other end of the spectrum, a homogenizer mixes liquids to a cellular level.
Updating your industrial food mixer for higher output or specialized processing is a good idea as your production grows over time. If it shows signs of aging that will affect overall performance, consider replacing it as soon as possible.
Depending on the application, you may opt for batch or continuous mixing solutions. Digital enhancements can improve the overall performance of the mixer and integrate it with other equipment in your manufacturing process. This helps you comply with food safety regulations.
Container
Whether it’s food, pharmaceutical, everyday chemical, or cosmetic industries, mixing ingredients and agitation is a necessary process that significantly affects final product quality. Poor mixing can cause craters, air voids, fish eyes, slurry or paste-like consistency, softening at elevated temperatures, and other undesirable side effects.
Industrial mixers can be updated to improve performance and eliminate or reduce costly errors. Often the main culprit of these errors is simple and easy to fix, such as excess noise from worn or broken components.
Solids
When dispersing powdered additives or mixing ingredients within liquids, versatility is vital. The lost value from poor mixing is worth billions of dollars annually across all process industries. This includes wasted income from corrections and reworks, prolonged cycle times, and unrevealed full functionality of mixture components.
One of the biggest reasons processors upgrade their mixing and blending equipment is to increase capacities and ensure a homogenous blend in quick and efficient order. Homogenizers are ideal for providing this, as they use technology that forces the mix through a narrow space at high pressure to blend materials down to the cellular level finely.
In addition, several industrial mixer models for food blending include dry blending devices, paste mixing designs, and high-shear models for emulsification or particle size reduction. This versatility allows processors to choose the best mixer for their particular needs and application, even if they are not experts in mixer selection.
Liquids
Industrial mixers are often loud, causing excessive noise that can disrupt the production environment and create psychological and physical stress for employees. This is a sign that the machine has reached the end of its lifespan and should be replaced to reduce the frequency of noisy operation.
This versatile machine can create instant soups and sauces from complex recipes requiring liquid consistency. It can also compound mixes before sending them into high-pressure extruders. This allows for a shorter mixing cycle and reduced batching times. It also requires less power and provides greater energy efficiency than a conventional mixer.
