~ Oesignedwith fl iglu to move mads up a I'I!rtiGll ndine, this homogeneous thennoplastic flat belt is positive driven. ",.,.'"

CONVEYOR BELTING

Conveyor belt designs continue to evolve and provide processors the most efficient means to transport products. BY SHANE WHITAKER

Conveyors and conveyor belts play nn important role in an auromated bakery. They are essential to mo~ing products

from one processing area to the next. After ingredients have been mixed to­gether. conveyor belts generally become the highways and byways on \\ilich the products transfer from one process to another and then to packaging without being handled by laborers.

&lkeries usc a widenssortment of dif· ferent belt types from fabric to pLlstic to steel to hybrids, and these can include open-mesh or band belts. There is belt­ing for ovens and cooling. transferring and f'lckaging. Belting manuf.lctut­ers continue to improve the designs of their S}'Sterns to increase throughputs; sa\'e costs by reducing labor. downtime and energy consumption; and assist witll sanitation and maintemnce. Bak­ers "'\Ilt long-lasting. economical belts, according to Michad G.llvanauskas, business de\'elopment manager. bakery. Habasit America, Suwanee. GA. Proces­sors desire belts thar fearure modt~ar construction thar aUoy,~ for fast instal­lation and repairs, as "dI as trouble-free products y,ith designs that ,,;thstand long production cycles, he said.

~terrber 2009 I BAKING & SMCX

CONVEYOR BELTING

~ With 7())i open area for increased airflow. this belt uses include cooling. proofrlg. baking and reclaiming. WII( 'nr coOf~'"

NEW RELEASES. The latest introductions from Ash· worth Bros. , [nc., Winchester, VA. include the Omni· Pro stainless steel and Advantage plastic spi ral belts, both

engi neered to maximize throughput and minimize life·

cycle costs. according to Joe Lasecki. the company's chief engineer. O mni· Pro. which is available in various pitches from ~. up to I IO · in .• features a patented link design and weld that inc reases strength and runs smoother to im· prove belt life and reduce system wear. he said.

Omni· Pro belts, which are used in spiral coolers.

proofers and freezers, can be supplied as rod only or

with a mesh overl ay. "The l ero·tension. 360" weld on

the Omni·Pro increase.s strength and completely en· closes the end of the rod to prevent product entrap·

ment;' .'vir. Lasecki noted. "The patented protrusion leg

and coining process of the Omni· Pro link reduces wear

and inc reases belt life." Additionally. the company offers the Omni· Pro Flex·

Lite. a strong, lightweight belt that allows customers to load more products on their cooling. proofing and freez·

ing conveyors without adding to energy consumption to

drive the belt , according to Mr. Lasecki. Spiral ovens are being used in other industries more

often. and .'vir. Lasecki predicted that soon these will be

evaluated in the baking industry. "The reduced foo tprint

compared with a baking oven that may be 300 ft long can

save both energy and valuable floor space; he said. Wi re Belt Co. of America's latest conveyor belt innova'

tion for the baking and snack industry is the Compact· Grid. which is designed with 70% open area for increased

airflow. according to Jamie Card. marketing special ist for

the Londonderry. NH·b.1sed company. "TIle belt's unique grid pattern and small opening size are perfec t for small products such as potato chips. tortilla chips. pretzels. etc.;' she said.

111e belt is ideal for moving doughy products such as cookies that have just been baked and are still soft.

"Comp.1ctGrid provides opt imal cooling cllpabilities and

offers enough support so that the product does not de· form down into the belt during transfe r; Ms. Card said.

"Products that are soft and doughy have a tendency to

In 1959. tW6'lIy-1WO 51. Mary's Cdlege students set the WOt1d record by O'lnlmng Inlo a phor'e booth

22 is Still The Record

The Industry's Original CB5 Baking BancP is Still Inspected with 22 Quality Checkpoints to Guarantee True Tracking and a Long Operating Life.

Ashworth THE CONVEYOR BELT EXPERTS

Ashworth introduced and patented the CBS Baking Band- in 1963 and after 46 years. it remains the industry leader. Ashworth's CBS is hand wOII9n by expert craftsmen and inspected with 22 different checkpoints to ensure the highest quality belt . Each CBS is tested for true tracking prior to leaving the factory. The dense breathable weave provides even heating and outstanding rehef of cooking gases.

For perfectly baked products. rely on the performance of Ashworth 's Original CBS Baking Band-

For more Inlonnadon. see Page 133 U. S. A .

Contact Ashworth Today - We're Just a Phone Call Away! + 1-800·682-4594 ashworth@ashworth.com www.ashworth .com

CONVEYOR BELTING

fall. or nose. into the pitch of wider­spaced belting."

For example. the soft edge of the cookie may fall into the wide sp~ce of a ladder- type belt and harden in that position. increasing the chance for product breakage and waste. Com-

RAklNG &SNACK I SMt~IJj>r 2000

pactGrid is engineered for perfor­mance "ith 10 nun square openings. providing plenty of support fo r small­er products with no catch points.

CompactGrid also can be used in ovens and proofers as well as for re­d aiming. "A potato chip manufac-

turer uses CompactGrid on an oil

reclaimer on the exit of a fryer. al· lowi ng the excess oil to flow through and be recovered;' Ms. Card noted.

After changi ng fro m its existing flat wire belt to CompactGrid. one processor's drai nage capabilities im­proved significantly. 'The new bel!"s thi nner profile allowed the oil to flow though easily. eliminating the previous issues with the higher pro­fil e flat wire belt.

Additionally. the belt is a current prospect to replace balance-weave belts in ove ns. according to Ms. ca rd. "Our conveyor belts are gen­erally better for oven applications

versus balance-wea"e styles because they are more open. have smaller belt mass and are easier to clea n;' she obse rved. "Our belts use much less material and have increased open area, allowing the customer to bake the product faster, sav ing energy costs on both the drive mo­tor and burners ~nd increasing the speed of production.

"Many processors are able to speed up the oven using a more open mesh. which. in turn. speeds up the entire line of production;' she con­tinued. "The baking time in the oven generally determines the speed of a production lint. If the oven speed can increase. so can every other con­veyor. thus increasing production:'

The belt also handles raw dough and does a great job at releas­ing the product, according to .\1s. Ca rd. "One customer changed to CompactGr id conveyor belt after their raw dough became embedded in the previous belt. re sulting in damaged and lost product, which also made the belt very di ffic ult to clean:' she said.

Increased open area of the CompactGrid belt combined with its proven-to-be superior f1ow­through characteristics will enable easier and more thorough cleaning and sanitation of the processor's conveyor systems.

lntralox, Harahan, LA, recently

• This piaSlic modular~ting pro\ides increased airflow, exc~IIMlt product release, ealY dBlning and quia no-lWld repai~ UIl\lllOlnt ' 1IIC&

, The dark surface offers good acceptance of radiant heat, h~h thermal conductivity and low !hennal expan!ioo for reliable baking of products such ascookie~ KKNDOUIB.T15CItMt\.OCi.YIlU

partnered with Mol Industries to become the exclusive provider of ThermoDrive con­veyor belts. lntralox ThermoDrive belting is a patented, homogeneous thermoplastic flat belt with a 100% closed surface. Like the company's modular plastic belts, it is a posi­tive (sprocket) driven, low-tension system

especially suited for hygienic applications in food proceSSing.

BAKING BELTS. Ashworth's CBS Baking Band has been a baking oven industry stan­dard since 1963, according to Mr. Lasecki. "The tight herringbone weave provides stable product support, even heating and al­

lows cooking gases to be released uniformly, leaving a consistent and preferred pattern on the baked product;'

he said. "To ensure true tracking and long belt life, the Ashworth CBS Baking Band is precision woven wi th the tightest industry tolerances and inspected with 22 dif­ferent quality checkpoints."

The trend in the bake oven industry has moved to­ward wider and longer belts, according to Daniela Weiszhar, marketing director, Berndorf Belt Technol­ogy, Elgin, IL. While standard widths in the bake oven industry are 800, 1,000, 1,200, 1,250 and 1,500 mm, she said the company has even supplied belts, terminals and belt-tracking systems for a speCial oven in which the belt was 2,380 mm wide.

Berndorf recommends its CARBO 13 belt for the bak­ing industry. "During the production of this belt, the steel goes through a complex heat treatment process to achieve the required tensile strength and surface com­position;' Ms. Weismar said. ·CARBO 13 with its dark

black su rface, good acceptance of radiant heat, high ther­mal conducth'ity and low thermal expansion is a reliable base for bakery products."

111e company also oficrs a wide range of carbon and stainless steel belts for other food applications depending on the process and product. Berndorf belts are designed to meet the high requirements of baking, cooling, deep freezing and transporting bakery and snack goods, ac­cord ing to Ms. Weiszhar. "Our belts are used in various applications because they can yield high-quality prod­ucts at fluctuating operating temperatures and high load cycles; she noted.

Berndorf h)troduced a belt traOOng sys tem for trou­ble-free operation, according to Ms. Weiszhar. "This tracking system can ,.ithstand variable conditions in­cluding pressure and temperature while protecting the belt from excessive stress:' she said

PLASTIC MODULAR. Taking advantage of the strength of stainless steel rods, Ashworth's Advantage plastic spi­ral belts are guaranteed not to sag and eliminate the need for a center rail, reducing installation and operat­ing costs, according to Mr_ Lasecki. Also, he noted that the belts have been tested and proven to have the great­est open area of all plastic spiral belt s, increasing airflow for the shortest dwell times and providing unsurpassed cleaning characteristics.

"Advantage belts uses 'double slotted' links instead of the 'slotlhole' combination of competitors;' he said. "The double-slotted design provides a very open con­struction that is easy to clean. 1l1e Ad,'antage rod lock· ing system allows quick installation and repair using only a screwdriver:'

The Advantage family of belts include the 120 and 200 for spi ral coolers, proolers and freezers, and these belts provide increased airfl ow, excellent product release, easy cleaning and quick no-weld repairs. Advantage RL75, suited for cooling baked

products on straight, turn-curve and spiral convey­ors, reduces downtime with a patented rod locking system, allowing fast and easy no-weld repairs , ac­cording to Mr. Lasecki.

•••• l1li lntralox offers a wide range of plastic modular

!iJiII!!!!!i!JItllllillI!!!tl\IIII.I belts for dough handli ng, pan handling, proofing, cooling, spiral freezing, general conveyance and packaging. "At lntralox, our mission is to work with all of our customers to provide the right solution to their most challenging conveyance needs that delivers maximum productivity and profitability to their operations;' said Don Osborne, bakery team leader. "We have extensive experience in developing speCialized solutions tailored to the needs of many different bakery industry segments. With a deep understanding of bakery processes, we are able to

CONVEYOR BELTING

invest in new materials and products to create solutions that satisfy the many specific needs and also aUow for significant savings - from dough to packaging:'

Habasit offers plastic modu­lar belts in pitch sizes ranging from 0.3 to 2.5 In. to accommo· date a wide range of applications . .\iIicropitch, its smallest pitch belt , is capable of extremely small trans­fers by using nosebars as small as 0.25-in. in d iameter, while its largest pitch belt handles loads in excess of 6,800 lb per ft.

Habasit's extensive range of radius belts in a wide range of styles are de­

signed to meet the requirements of every application in the baking and snack industries. "The unique mate­rials offered in the HabasitLINK and KVP product ranges can withstand temperatures from -100 to greater than 450'F,' s.1id Steve Fesperman, director of marketing for plastic di­vision, Habasit America. "In addi­tion to the standard range of plastic modular belts, Habasit offers the most innovative belts specifically for spiral applications:'

Phlstic modular belts are com­monly used on cooling lines because of the large percentage of open area that promotes faster product cool­ing, as well as with packaging lines and pan and tray handling. "Plastic is an exceptional choice fo r these ap­plications because its low coefficient of friction minimizes pan damage."

.\Ilr. Fesperman said. Habasit recently introduced a

reinforced extruded thermoplastic belt known as Cleandrive that can be positively driven by sprockets. The completely smooth surface eliminates areas that can be diffi ­cult to clean on conventional plas­

tic modular belts. The company also launched its HabaG UARD product line for fabric and plastic modular belts. These belts contain an antimicrobial additive on all cover coatings and all running-side impregnation materials that pro-

CONVEYOR BELTING

~ Calendar<oated fabric feature sup<rior ply adhesion, and the coating helps white covelSto stay llilili! . MM,urr ..... UlICA

vides additional insurance to help

prevent the growth of microorgan­

isms in food processing.

SPECIAL FEATURES. Habasit's

fabric belts for the baking indus­try are made on sophisticated belt manufacturing machines, accord ­

ing to Mr. Galvanauskas. ' Our fabric belts are calendar coated, which allows superior ply adhe­

sion and minimizes the chances

of ply separation ; he said. "This

means that white covers stay white

and pin holes in the cover of the belt are eliminated. It also allows

easy joining and no need for films and foils. Our advanced fabric de­

sign allows for fl ex ibili ty to wrap

around small pulleys, the ability to withstand the temperature and

oil intluences found in baking and snack plants and protects the in­

termediate strength member of

the belt:' For tight transfers, Ashworth of­

fers the Cleatrac belt and sprocket system, which moves around the

smallest nosebar diameters in the in­

dustry, down to 0.2 in., to accurately transfer small products and mini­

mize product damage. How easy a conveyor belt is to

clean is one the biggest factors (\ com­

pany considers when purchasing. And because more companies are

initiating sustainability initiatives,

they are also looking at reducing water consumption during cleaning operations. 'Our style of belting is easier to clean, resulting in less water

consumption;' Ms. Card said. "Also

our belts are one of the lightest types of stainless stcel belts in the market.

The lighter the belt, the less energy

consumption is needed: Beiting is a key component in

making today's processing opera­tiolls work with limited labor, and

belting manufacturers continue to

respond to indust ry needs with new belts to help them move products

more efficiently through processing

and paclmging. •