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amixon® large-scale mixers for baby food ensure the highest quality standards. Particle structures remain intact. - Part 1

The demand for industrially produced infant formula from dry milk products in industrialized and emerging countries is very high, as are the requirements for the quality and composition of the mixed powders used.

The production of infant nutrition involves great responsibility and the high-quality processing of powdered raw materials in process-safe facilities is of utmost importance. The food must be clean, safe and healthy, because the intestinal flora of newborns develops only in the first years of life. There is a parallel with drugs from the pharmaceutical industry: If trace elements or vitamins are under- or overdosed, this will harm the infant.

amixon®-mixers can be validated. It is known how the ideal mixing quality is established over the mixing time. Therefore, it is sufficient to take a sample at any point in the mixing chamber for analysis and as a reserve sample.

 

Read Part 2 here!

 

amixon® mixers guarantee the highest mixing quality.

Micro-components such as probiotics or prebiotics, minerals and trace elements such as zinc, copper, selenium or chromium must be mixed in precisely . At the same time, mixing plants are required that operate with the lowest possible energy input and preserve the particle structure of the raw materials. Our claim: Dust-free, fast dispersing, reliable wetting, fast dissolving and homogeneous baby food. In addition, amixon® guarantees fast residue-free emptying of the powder mixers and compliance with the highest hygienic standards.

Modern filling and packaging machines for the production of baby food process volume flows of 20 m³ per hour, which corresponds to approximately 10 tons per hour. Accordingly, functioning logistics concepts are required for the provision of the individual components involved, their metering and the suitable mixing technology. If several filling lines are fed simultaneously, precise powder mixers with a batch volume of 10 m³ - 15 m³ are required. Our solution: The amixon® vertical twin-shaft mixer HM.

The mixing vessel consists of two cylinders, one inside the other. In their center rotate two SinConvex® mixing tools which have a pitch of approximately 30 degrees and generate a three-dimensional flow within the mixed material. The screw belt width allows almost a quarter of the mixed material to flow per revolution. Along the periphery of the mixing vessel, the powder initially flows upwards in a spiral. Once there, it flows back down along the mixing shaft due to gravity. The mixing effect occurs three-dimensionally within the boundary regions between the two macroflows.

Thanks to the dead-space-free flow, technically ideal mixing grades are thus achieved after approximately 20 to 90 revolutions, which cannot be optimized in practice . The mixing process is particularly gentle and energy-efficient. The peripheral speed of the mixing tool is usually between 0.5 m/s to 3 m/s and is adjustable.

Due to the design of our powder mixers, and because the flow effect takes place independently of the degree of filling, ideal mixing qualities can already be achieved with a degree of filling of approx. 10-15 percent.

amixon® twin-shaft mixer HM 7000. Here, the technical area and the production area are completely separated from each other.

Feeding and discharge of the powder mixer: Uncomplicated and fast

The mixing unit is fed with the raw material components for baby food one after the other or simultaneously through one or more spouts above the mixing chamber. The mixer can be stationary - in case the industrial mixer, located on load cells, acts as a weigh feeder - or rotating, in case several batches are to be mixed without interruption. At the end of the mixing process, after approx. 1-4 minutes, a bottom valve without dead space opens and the mixed material flows down through a discharge nozzle of the powder mixer. This process is segregation-free and the size of the volume flow is predetermined by the dimensions of the closure fitting.


If a large batch is produced, there are two important user benefits to be named:

  1. Only one sample per batch is analyzed and reset.
  2. The mixer can feed several filling lines. Filling and production are decoupled from each other. While the filling lines are still working, the blending line can already undergo cleaning.

Vacuum and pressure resistant manufacturing of your mixing vessel

At the customer's request, the mixing vessel is designed to be vacuum and pressure resistant. Vacuum is present, for example, when the mixer is fed by means of suction pneumatics. In special cases, the mixing vessel is freed from atmospheric oxygen by applying a vacuum before charging. The mixing chamber is then flooded with nitrogen gas to atmospheric pressure. Only then is the mix poured in. To keep the atmospheric oxygen away from the mix, a slight nitrogen overpressure of e.g. 50 mbar is superimposed during mixing.

Depending on the application, feeding can also be performed pneumatically by means of pressure vessel conveying. In this case, it is necessary that the amixon® mixer is closed gas-tight during overpressure operation. The classic design elements such as shaft seal, bottom closure fitting and inspection door seal then become highly important.

amixon® supports different cleaning regimes!

Do you need to switch from allergen-containing to allergen-free infant formula? .... then cleaning must be done moist or wet!

Wet cleaning is performed with moistened disposable cloths and is done manually. Wet cleaning and drying can be fully automatic:

WaterDragon® realizes automatic wet cleaning and drying by applying rotating water jets to all parts in contact with the product.
Several WaterDragon® wet cleaning systems are permanently installed on the mixing tank. Large amixon® mixers have 3 pieces on top and 3 or 4 pieces on the side. In addition, there are 2 wet cleaning devices under the closing fitting of the mixer.
At the beginning of the cleaning process, all sealing plugs open. The wash lances with their rotating wash heads dip into the mixing chamber. The washing heads are then successively pressurized with washing water from top to bottom. Each rotating washing head has three nozzles. Each nozzle radiates in a different direction: to the front, to the side and to the rear. The water pressure is about 3.5 bar.

Just as important as cleaning is thorough drying.

The WaterDragon® wet cleaning system not only cleans excellently. After wet cleaning, large quantities of dry warm air can be blown into the mixing chamber. The opening of the WaterDragon® is dimensioned accordingly large. In this way, the WaterDragon® itself and all product-contacting surfaces of the mixer are dried quickly and thoroughly. The WaterDragon® then retracts the wash lance and seals the mixing chamber gas-tight.

Notice:
The wash nozzles are too small to introduce the required air volumes. Extremely high air pressure would have to be generated. This would result in a very fast rotation of the nozzle head with the consequence of the destruction of the nozzle head.

amixon® manufactures powder mixers in vacuum- and pressure-tight design.

At the customer's request, the mixing vessel is designed to be vacuum and pressure resistant. Vacuum is present, for example, when the mixer is fed by means of suction pneumatics. In special cases, the mixing vessel is freed from atmospheric oxygen by applying a vacuum before charging. The mixing chamber is then flooded with nitrogen gas to atmospheric pressure. Only then is the mix poured in. To keep the atmospheric oxygen away from the mix, a slight nitrogen overpressure of e.g. 50 mbar is superimposed during mixing.

Depending on the application, feeding can also be performed pneumatically by means of pressure vessel conveying. In this case, it is necessary that the amixon® mixer is closed gas-tight during overpressure operation. The classic design elements such as shaft seal, bottom closure fitting and inspection door seal then become highly important.

OptiKleen® stands for the highest hygiene standards for inspection doors

The inspection door is cut out of the container in a conical shape. A groove is milled into the reveal of the door. In this groove there is an O-ring for sealing. This design principle represents the highest standard of hygiene. The seal is very close to the mix. This results in virtually no dead spaces (unmixed zones). An OptiKleen® inspection port is permanently gas-tight and enables a long service life of the O-ring.

40 years of know-how in mixing technology for baby food

Would you like to learn more about your benefits with amixon® mixing technology? Then contact us and we will convince you with demonstrations of elegant mixing processes. amixon has excellent demonstration machines on a 400-liter scale in Germany, the USA, China, Japan, India, Thailand and South Korea.

Take advantage of our know-how. The engineers at amixon® are passionate about taking care of even the smallest details. This results in customized solutions that are precisely tailored to your needs.

 

 

DosiFlap®

is a dead-space free closing valve for amixon® powder mixers. DosiFlap® was developed to fill mixed goods dust-free, fast, hygienically and weight-controlled into big bags or bulk containers.

Every new purchase is preceded by a thorough test


Mixing machines have a long service life. This makes it all the more important to be equipped for the challenges of the future.

Convince yourself of the ideally gentle mixing process. Various sizes are available as test mixers. amixon® guarantees ideal mixing qualities. amixon® mixers are designed in an exemplary hygienic manner.

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