The situation
A manufacturer of chocolate products was looking for two housings for a production line with an accompanying cooling tunnel to replace the existing housings. The existing housings were no longer able to meet current hygiene requirements.
The request
Innclose was asked to design a housing for the production line and the cooling tunnel that, contrary to the old housings, would meet the imposed hygiene requirements. We were also asked to mount the new housings on site at the chocolate factory.
Here, the following additional requirements were imposed:
- Due to the lack of sufficiently good drawings, the dimensions of the housings had to be measured while the machine was running
- Mounting the housings was planned during a short period when the machine line would be idle
- The reachability of the line had to remain identical to the old situation as much as possible
- The inside of the line had to be made from stainless steel, in connection with cleanability. The outside has a special food-safe coating, also in relation with cleanability
- Existing peripheral equipment was re-used in the production lines
The solution
Innclose exactly measured the existing situation “on site”, and made a fully detailed 3D design. Then, we opted for two different concepts. The cooling line is made of custom-made frames with hatches as much as possible, which are mounted on the line’s current frame. In the design of the housing, we took into account optimum access to the machine for maintenance and cleaning.
For the production line we selected a new stainless steel frame, with sufficient mechanical strength for the conveyor belt, production unit and control unit. An insulated panel housing with a number of hatches has been placed around this. The outside is made with a food-safe coating (food-quality film) on both the hatches and panels.
In order to achieve the shortest possible assembly time on site, the work was prepared in the assembly halls of Innclose as much as possible.
Het resultaat
The hygienic housings designed by Innclose were assembled and prepared in such a way that installation could take place in a short period of time. As a result, the standstill of the production line was limited to a minimum. Now, the lines are able to meet all imposed requirements and are easy to reach and clean. During installation, various additional wishes from the client were incorporated, creating an optimum workplace for the client’s personnel.
The customer has a custom-made hygienic solution that looks great; our mission has been a success.