Food Grade Screw Conveyors to Distribute Ingredients for Bread Making Process

General Description

REPCO World provides the food industry with products and services that enhance wheat flour, milled rice, corn meal, grits, baked goods, breakfast cereals and other processed foods. Food enrichment, or fortification is the addition of micronutrients to a food to increase the content of vitamins and minerals, improving nutritional quality. REPCO manufactures many different combinations of concentrated premixes that are added to food during processing.

As part of a project for blending various grain products and micronutrients, REPCO had a conveying application that required a customized solution and short lead time. Four identical screw conveyors were needed that could convey a variety of different ingredients and be able to discharge into four sperate small bins in order to distribute the ingredients evenly.

Design Parameters

1. Product Type: Malted Barley, Flour, and Wheat Starch
2. Material Density: 35-50 Lbs. per Cubic Foot
3. Capacity: 86 Cubic Feet per Hour

KWS Advantages

REPCO contacted KWS after the layout for the overall ingredient distribution area was already set. Working with a 2D drawing supplied by REPCO, KWS recreated the layout in 3D in order to fit the four conveyors into a tight fitting area. Each support, inlet and discharge location were critical in order to be able to fit the conveyors into place. KWS supplied various general arrangement drawings and 3D models to help REPCO pinpoint the exact location of each key feature and to account for any possible interferences.

Special Features

The conveyors were constructed from 304 stainless steel and polished to 150-grit finish on all product contact surfaces to ensure food grade standards were met. A special food grade UHMW hanger bearing was supplied due to the long spanning length of the conveyors. An air-purged anodized aluminum seal eliminated any leakage at the tail shaft which helps keep the surrounding area clean. Each conveyor also needed four inlet points of varying sizes in order to accommodate intakes from various product sources. Short spanning covers were also used in key locations to help with maintenance for wash down and cleanout. Each of the four discharges for all four conveyors were designed to attach to REPCO’s custom slide gates.