Innovation news: “TFT’s RotoPilotPlant”
Over the past time more and more companies have stepped away from KitchenAid or Hobart® planetary benchtop aeration systems in order to start using a more reliable and accurate continuous aeration solution.
TFT’S R&D SOLUTION
The benefits of replacing the old planetary solution are numerous. Reproducible results that can be scaled up quickly to large-scale production equipment have made the RotoPilotPlant the R&D solution for many R&D departments at TFT customers around the world. The RotoPilotPlant makes the difference between the kitchen environment and the production plant!. After the successful introduction of the RotoPilotPlant benchtop continuous aerator a decade ago, this unit has proven itself globally. After its introduction, the RotoPilotPlant has been continuously upgraded to the latest standards to increase automation, ease of use, accuracy and cleanability.
The RotoPilotPlant was originally designed to aerate many different types of products. From foamy and highly aerated products like whipped cream, marshmallow, and angel kiss, to a variety of cake batters. RotoPilotPlant has become the benchmark and a powerful tool with results directly linkable to full scale production units.
AERATION TECHNOLOGY
Since continuous aeration technology is only one part of the TFT portfolio, the market demanded an even more flexible R&D platform. The new RotoPilotPlant needed to have the same heating, chilling and crystallizing capabilities as large-scale production lines. To make this possible, TFT started developing a laboratory scale scraped surface heat exchanger (SSHE). With this addition to the RotoPilotPlant, the R&D machine has become even more versatile. One of the biggest benefits of the additional SSHE is its capability of continuous crystallizing and aerating of all types of cream type fillings for sandwich biscuits, wafers and many more products. The capability to cool a sugar syrup or aerated foam in-line for marshmallow production is a major benefit. This was the starting point for TFT to develop a versatile R&D platform combining aerator, scraped surface heat exchanger, water tempering and color/flavor (or acid) injection.
EFFICIENCY AND RESOURCE SAVING METHOD
Immediately after development, engineering and manufacturing the unit was initiated in the TFT pilot plant. Thoroughly tested on creams, fat-based fillings, marshmallow, pectin-based jellies and a wide variety of other products ensued. The ability to run a trial on tempering, aeration or in-line flavoring on a 5 or 10 kg/hr throughput turned out be very useful. Suddenly a small batch of product gives all the insights within a short time in your lab. This efficient and resource saving method has been immediately adopted by food scientists and is an indispensable tool in product development, commercial sample production and general R&D. Fast results, minimal product waste and easy, reliable, scalable to production applications are key-words describing this unit’s functionality. Properties that suit our contemporary working climate. The unit is easy to configure upon the specific process requirements. For example, heat exchanger location before or after the aerator can be changed in a blink. For special executions and a wider range on mixing head revolutions, servo technology can be embedded in the control system. Also, data exchange with auxiliary equipment is a possible option.
CONCLUSION
The proven technology of the TFT RotoPilotPlant still is and will remain the backbone of many R&D laboratories worldwide,
however with the newly developed RotoPilotPlant as a new addition will be available to complement your R&D development center.