Motors Help Baking Equipment Reduce Factory Downtime

These motors don’t have crevices where bacterial build-up can start. They are steam and/or waterproof for cleaning-in-place and other demanding washdown regimes. This is particularly important because when plant personnel take a pressure hose and clean the machine, they don’t care if it’s a motor, a cable, or a drive, they just want it clean according to industry standards. There is no way of efficiently washing a machine.

Specially engineered stainless steel motors also don’t have a need for paint that could flake into the food, hold in moisture, and hide corrosion. They are of “Totally Enclosed, Not Ventilated” design, which means that they do not have a fan and fan cover, which are both difficult to clean and could be the breeding space for bacteria. When selecting a motor upgrade in this industry, it’s important to check that the motor is USDA and FDA approved, BISSC Certified, or a motor with IP55 and IP69 Certified enclosure protection.

Improving workers’ safety. “The Business Case for Investment in Safety,” a report issued two years ago by the National Safety Council, suggests each $1 invested in injury prevention results in savings of $2-6. Most of the ROI is in the form of avoidance of indirect costs, such as downtime, training a replacement worker, higher insurance premiums, and attorney fees. But two in five CFOs surveyed indicated the greatest benefit from safety programs comes in the form of increased productivity.

Building a safety culture is a proactive approach that can lead to production improvements that may be hard to quantify but contribute even more to a manufacturer’s bottom line. When determining what equipment to purchase, worker safety should be a critical factor to reduce unplanned process interruptions, improve efficiency, and keep production processes free from accidents.

Equipment that includes upgraded motors with integrated emergency stop features can make a dramatic difference in reducing plant downtime and improving worker safety.

An Example of Motors in Action

Reading Bakery Systems, Robesonia, Pa., is a manufacturer of bakery equipment. In 2001, then-120-year-old bakery equipment OEM Thomas L. Green, a partner in the biscuit, cookie, and cracker industry, merged with Reading Bakery Systems.

The Thomas L. Green Vertical Spindle Mixer from Reading is designed to help customers meet the challenges when processing fermented or unfermented cracker dough, biscuit dough, and other two-stage or proofed-dough products. The Vertical Spindle Mixer allows the dough to be mixed twice and remain in the same trough throughout the process. After the first mixing stage, the dough rests in the trough and can then be repositioned beneath the spindles and remixed with the final ingredients.

Reading recently redesigned this equipment. Two years ago, the company began installing new 40HP-60HP premium efficiency, inverter duty, severe duty brake motors with shaft grounding rings into each Vertical Spindle Mixer to meet end-users’ demand for improved equipment safety. These motors have an integrated braking system for emergency shutoff and are 94.5 percent efficient, meeting government premium efficiency mandates. 

The motors are manufactured with full cast iron and epoxy paint for severe duty and protection from washdown conditions and cleaning agents. The Max Guard insulation system is an industry standard in protecting the motor windings from inverter-generated spikes. The shaft ground rings safeguard the motor bearing from premature failure that is commonly caused by shaft currents generated from adjustable frequency drives. Thermostats are installed in the motor windings to protect against over temperature conditions if the motors operate too long at low speed. The thermostats will shut down the drive to further protect the motor from damaging the windings.

Conclusion

Today’s high-speed automated bakeries and snack manufacturing plants rely upon innovative and operator-safe equipment. Two challenges bakers and snack manufacturers face are maintaining their equipment to prevent potential downtime and designing equipment to facilitate cleaning and sanitation. The installation of heavy-duty, food-grade motors with safety features is key to meeting these issues.