10 Considerations For Choosing The Right Ribbon Mixer
By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online
A ribbon mixer may be the perfect mixing solution for your production process, but before you make your investment, there are some important factors to consider.
When creating food products, it is often necessary for solid ingredients to be mixed, heated, dried, cooled, or coated. To fulfill these needs, many manufacturers implement ribbon mixers into their processing lines. Ribbon mixers, which are composed of a U-shaped horizontal vessel and inner and outer helical ribbon agitators, perform their designated tasks by using agitators to move materials in opposite directions. In some applications, a paddle is used instead of the helical ribbon to achieve particular desired effects.
Ribbon mixers are a perfect option when creating a mix that needs to be handled gently and not sheared during mixing. When thinking about adding a ribbon mixer to your company’s processes, consider the following factors before making the investment:
- Consider the amount of space available in your processing plant. Mixers come in various dimensions and it is important to make appropriate use of your available space in order to get the most out of your mixer.
- Think about the friability of your company’s products. If your company works with product mixes that are susceptible to being easily broken down, a ribbon mixer will likely be a good fit.
- Examine the capacity of a single batch within your facility. Be sure that the mixer you choose is capable of adequately meeting your unique batch capacity needs.
- Think about the bulk density of your company’s products. Products that are excessively dense may require special mixing considerations.
- Consider the physical and chemical characteristics of your company’s products. Similar to the fourth point, matching the mixer to the physical and chemical properties of your products will help ensure efficient use of equipment.
- Think about any clumping issues associated with your company’s products. If products clump during mixing, it may be necessary to include an additional chopper vessel to break down any agglomerates.
- Study times when the mixer is operated. If the mixer is to be operated before feeding, it may need a different set of calibrations than if it is to be operated after feeding.
- Consider the occurrence of reactions or pressure inside the mixer. If the mixing vessel will be subject to chemical reactions or vacuum pressure, it is important to make sure it will be durable enough for your company’s application.
- Think about any possible extra mixer functionality. There are various options to explore if the mixer needs to be capable of heating, cooling, drying, or coating products.
- Consider the risk of contamination. If a product presents a critical contamination risk between batches, then you will want to make sure your mixer is easily cleanable to prevent any excessive down time while maintaining safety standards.