Accurate right down to the last tenth of a gram

Handtmann and Bizerba develop a new mince portioning line

Balingen 6. July 2012 – Handtmann and Bizerba have jointly developed a new mince portioning line. It comprises a vacuum filling machine, a portioning unit and a check weigher and makes it possible to reduce give-away, thanks to weight correction in real time. All mechanical and digital interfaces are optimally adapted to match one another.

"Meat and food manufacturers are facing rapid changes in the market and increasing cost pressure," explains Thomas Neher, Director of Sales and Marketing at Handtmann. Therefore, they need solutions in order to be able to set themselves apart from the competition. "For us it's a question of offering improved production processes and efficient and reliable lines." He explains that with complete feedback in real time, portioning lines with weight optimisation offer new ways to reduce costs and avoid expensive over-filling. This means that the manufacturer's return on investment is soon achieved.

Accurate portioning: complete feedback in real time

Together with the GMD 99-2 portioning unit, the vacuum filler VF 600 from Handtmann produces up to 120 portions of mince a minute. "The portions go to the dynamic Bizerba hygienic scales, CWP Neptune. It is designed in accordance with strict hygiene regulations, removes incorrect portions from production with a retraction belt and passes on the weight values to the company's IT system," says Dieter Conzelmann, Director of Industry Solutions at Bizerba.

In the ideal case – the "LineControl package" – two processes run in parallel: filling control is carried out by the Handtmann Communication Unit (HCU) software, which is optimised using historic data, and the recording of quality parameters is carried out my means of the Bizerba _statistics.BRAIN software, in order to provide quality control and process analysis. In the most simple case – the "Basic package" – the CWP Neptune corrects the filling machine in real time by means of direct feedback, meaning that portioning achieves a minimum standard deviation from the set target value. This tendency control regulates down to around one tenth of a gram. Such continual weight checks are important as the fat content and proportion of air in mince are never constant.

Neher explains a further special feature of plant control via HCU – the "ProcessControl package": "Many portioning systems need to adjust at the start of production, meaning that the first few portions are unusable. The program used by our portioning line immediately regulates itself to the weight values of the last production run, so that normally the weight is correct straight away." He explains that the ProcessControl package also allows for simultaneous control and regulation of several production lines on the basis of the HCU software, which runs on a central computer.

Save time and money: interfaces are adapted to suit one another

Handtmann and Bizerba have ensured that interfaces, software packages and device service match one another perfectly. This means that the customer doesn't need to worry about wasting time and money adapting the system when installing it. The line is really easy to start, by simply loading an item into the filling machine. Additional parameterisation on the scales is not needed. The operator can look after the item centrally on the PC and monitor and document several lines, ensuring optimum batch sequencing.

About Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH

Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG is specialised in the development of automation solutions for food processing and is one of the top companies worldwide in the manufacture of vacuum fillers and portioning systems. The company is present in over 90 countries through agencies and its own sales branches.

Thanks to optimum feeding, dynamic servo drive technology and well-structured inline grinder technology, the filling technology of the VF 600 generation provides the best conditions for high production performance. The interplay between the vane cell feed system, the integrated weight compensation and the control technology ensures unique, precise portioning performance.

About Bizerba:

Since 1866, Bizerba has been leading technological progress in weighing, labeling, information and food service systems. We are creating the future. Bizerba offers all its solutions from a single source: hardware and software, consulting, financing and services. We are active around the globe and present wherever you need us.

As market and technology leaders, we provide state-of-the-art, comprehensive solutions. Retail scales with multimedia databases, cash-point solutions and checkout scales, materials and store management systems, slicing and meat processing machines, labels and consumables, software-supported control scales, foreign body detectors, labeling systems as well as industry software for data flow – from goods receiving through to shipping. Bizerba’s consistently high quality is the result of systematic Global Quality Management. We are always a step ahead and with clear targets in the foreground, so that our customers can capitalize on the best available solutions today. Bizerba quality stands for technological leadership.

Bizerba is represented in over 120 countries around the world – with 41 partnership holdings in 23 countries and 54 representative offices. Company headquarters are located in Balingen, Germany, where we employ a staff of close to 3,000. Further production facilities are located in Messkirch and Bochum (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Mendrisio (Switzerland), Milan (Italy), Shanghai (China), Forest Hill (USA) and San Luis Potosi (Mexico).

If you have any questions, please contact:
Bizerba GmbH & Co. KG
Andreas Wegeleben
Director Marketing & Communication
PO Box 10 01 64, 72301 Balingen
Telephone: +49 7433 12-3300
Fax: +49 7433 12-53300
E-mail: andreas.wegeleben@bizerba.com

Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG
Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 10-12
88400 Biberach
Tel.: +49 7351 45-0
Fax: +49 7351 45-1501
E-mail: info.machines@handtmann.de

This release was published on openPR.