Enrobing Machine Carousel Substitution for Coating Contamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enrobing machines face challenges in efficiently switching between different coating materials without contamination, leading to increased complexity, downtime, and risk of biological contamination, especially when handling multiple materials.
Innovation Solution
The enrobing machine design allows for easy substitution of coating delivery and conveyor groups without interrupting the production cycle, using a carousel system with separate basins and conveyors for each material, enabling quick cleaning and minimizing machine bulk by washing components outside the line.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a washing operation is implemented to clean residual coating material, then contamination between lots is prevented, but device complexity increases and productive cycle time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enrobing machine is divided into separate functional groups (coating delivery group, conveyor group, basin) that can be independently removed and replaced. This segmentation allows complete replacement of contaminated components without washing, reducing structural complexity while preventing contamination between different coating materials.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of washing and recovering residual coating material, the patent implements a system where the coating delivery group, conveyor group, and basin are completely removed and replaced with clean components. This approach eliminates the need for washing infrastructure while ensuring no contamination between lots.
2Reliability
If a washing operation is implemented to clean residual coating material, then contamination between lots is prevented, but productive cycle time decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Clean coating delivery groups, conveyor groups, and basins are prepared in advance before needed. When a coating material change is required, the used components are simply removed and pre-prepared clean components are installed, eliminating the need for time-consuming washing and drying operations during the production cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements complete replacement of contaminated components rather than washing and recovering them. This allows the machine to quickly switch between coating materials by simply removing and installing new components, maintaining high productivity while preventing contamination.
3Reliability
If washing operation is implemented, then coating material contamination is reduced, but traces of coating material are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of washing and discarding contaminated coating material, the system uses complete replacement of components. The residual coating material in the basin and on components is simply removed by discarding the components themselves, which prevents contamination of the next coating material while avoiding the waste associated with washing and fluid disposal.
4Reliability
If washing operation is implemented, then coating material contamination is prevented, but biological contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system eliminates wet washing operations that create biological contamination risks by implementing complete replacement of dry components. The coating delivery group, conveyor group, and basin are removed and replaced with clean components, avoiding the humid environment that promotes biological contamination while still preventing coating material contamination.
5Reliability
If multiple coating materials are handled with separate treating units, then contamination is prevented, but device complexity and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing separate static treating units for each coating material, the patent implements dynamic replacement of the coating delivery group, conveyor group, and basin. This allows a single machine to switch between multiple coating materials by dynamically removing and installing different components, reducing overall machine bulk while maintaining the ability to handle multiple materials separately.
Data Source
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AI summary
An enrobing machine (10) including: - a delivery group (12) to deliver a flow of coating material onto the products (P) to be enrobed, - a conveyor group (14) with an open structure to advance the products (P) to be enrobed through the flow of coating material, and - at least one basin (16) to collect the coating material which falls underneath the conveyor group (14). A carousel-like structure (16) including multiple basins (16a, 16b, 16c) is provided; by rotating the carousel-like structure (16) it is possible to bring a basin (162a, 162b, 162c) usable for collecting a respective coating material, in correspondence to the conveyor group (14). The delivery group (12) and the conveyor group (14) are mounted on the machine (10) in a removable way so to allow the substitution of a group (12, 14) used with a first coating material with a group (12', 14') usable with a second coating material different from the first coating material. Alternatively, respective conveyor groups (14, 14', 14'') for advancing the products (P) to be enrobed are associated with the plurality of basins (16a, 16b, 16c), so that the selective rotation of the carousel-like structure (16) determines the substitution of a conveyor group (14) used with a first coating material with a conveyor group (14') usable with a second coating material, different from the first coating material.