Buttering Process Control via Beater Drive Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing butter-making processes face challenges in maintaining consistent quality due to varying cream properties and process parameters, leading to inefficiencies and manual adjustments, which are slow to react to changes in cream supply and temperature.
Innovation Solution
The butter-making process is controlled by calculating the drive power of the beater shaft based on cream fat content, inlet temperature, and feed quantity, allowing for proactive adjustments and reducing the need for manual monitoring and temperature control, enabling automatic adaptation to changing conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual monitoring and adjustment of beater speed is used, then operational flexibility is maintained, but production efficiency decreases and quality consistency is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically monitors cream properties and adjusts beater speed without manual intervention. The system serves itself by using sensors to detect cream parameters and the controller to autonomously modify process settings, eliminating the need for continuous manual monitoring while maintaining optimal butter quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements closed-loop feedback by continuously measuring cream properties (fat content, temperature, flow rate) and using this information to automatically adjust beater speed. The feedback mechanism ensures that the beater speed is constantly optimized based on real-time cream conditions, improving both efficiency and quality consistency.
2Productivity
If beater speed is increased to compensate for low fat content, then butter formation speed increases, but energy consumption increases and butter quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the beater speed parameter based on measured cream properties. When cream fat content is low, the system doesn't simply increase speed uniformly; instead, it adjusts speed in combination with other parameters such as temperature and residence time, optimizing the overall process to achieve acceptable butter formation rates without excessive energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The beater speed is made dynamic rather than static, allowing continuous adjustment based on real-time cream conditions. The system adapts the speed profile throughout the churning process, using higher speeds only when necessary and maintaining lower speeds when cream properties allow, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining productivity.
3Reliability
If multiple process parameters are controlled manually, then quality can be maintained, but operational complexity increases and response time to changes decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed to handle multiple process parameters (beater speed, temperature, flow rate) through a single integrated controller. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate control mechanisms, reducing operational complexity while maintaining the ability to control all critical parameters for consistent butter quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of cream properties upon entry and pre-adjusts process parameters before churning begins. By anticipating the required adjustments based on initial cream measurements, the system reduces the complexity of continuous manual adjustments while ensuring quality consistency from the start of the process.
4Adaptability or versatility
If constant beater speed is used, then equipment simplicity is maintained, but adaptation to varying cream properties is impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from constant to dynamic beater speed control, where speed varies continuously based on measured cream properties. This dynamic adjustment mechanism, while more complex than constant speed, provides the necessary adaptability to handle variations in fat content, temperature, and flow rate, ensuring optimal churning conditions for each batch.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the beater speed parameter in response to detected variations in cream properties. By linking speed adjustments to measurable cream characteristics, the system achieves adaptability without requiring complex mechanical modifications, using instead intelligent control algorithms that modify operational parameters based on real-time data.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2c
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AI summary
The invention describes a method for producing butter in a buttering machine which has at least one inlet (1), a buttering cylinder (2) with a beater (3) which is operated with a drive power by means of a beater drive (12), and an outlet, and supplied cream is separated into butter grains and buttermilk in the buttering cylinder (2), characterized in that a. at least one characteristic value of the cream or the produced butter is measured or predefined, b. an actual value of the current drive power of the beater (3) is detected, and c. a setpoint value for the drive power of the beater (3) is determined as a function of the characteristic value which was measured or predefined in step a., and the beater drive (12) is adjusted to this setpoint value.