Cutting Downtime

Two new features on the largest of Baker Perkins’ biscuit cream sandwiching machines reduce downtime and waste in high output operations.

Six-lane, high-speed sandwiching systems from Baker Perkins offer very high outputs, with up to 4,800 sandwiches per minute on some products. To achieve maximum levels of quality and efficiency at these speeds, a thorough understanding of the process and precision engineering of the equipment are necessary. As
the speed increases, accurately positioning the cream deposit on
the bottom biscuit, and then reliably placing the second biscuit on top, become more difficult.
To be accurately positioned, the bottom biscuit has to be located exactly in the middle of the lane, only achieved if the pusher pins are aligned. Over time if they are attached to separate chains that tend to stretch, alignment can move. Baker Perkins has now connected the chains through a solid plastic block in which both pins are carried.
Stable support is crucial to ensure that biscuits remain flat during their passage through the creaming machine: disturbing the position can lead to costly system shutdowns. An additional stability feature on the six-lane creamer involves replacing a solid platform under the magazine holding the top biscuits, with a forked platform that sits outside the pins to give much broader and more stable support.
Baker Perkins high-speed cream sandwiching machines are available in two- to six-lane versions. They are a key module in complete systems that can accept biscuits from the oven, and feed to the wrapping machine.