AI, digitalisation and maintenance: what Sollich will exhibit at interpack

January 13, 2023

At this year’s interpack, Sollich KG will be present as one of the manufacturers for the machines and equipment for the confectionery industry. Special focus of the company’s research and development activities will be on optimising customers’ production process, which the company achieves through high availability and improved handling of their machines.

In order to realise high machine availabilities and, at the same time, meet increasing hygiene standards, the company sets high value on easy, efficient cleaning of the machines. As a result, appropriate cleaning measures for the whole product range will be introduced at the show. One novelty in the Thermo-Flow cooling tunnel segment is the wheel-out heat exchanger, a function which allows the operator an easy and thorough cleaning of the heat exchanger. In addition to this, the mobile belt washing unit with integrated hygiene washing drum ensures practical handling when cleaning the conveyor belt and ensures no foreign particles get onto the products during the cleaning process.

For the Turbotemper, which is a machine for chocolate pre-crystallisation, Sollich offers a complementary cleaning device in order to allow for an easy and quick mass changeover. The mobile cleaning device can be applied within the production site for different tempering machines with a throughput of up to 3600kg/h. For the Enromat enrobing machines, the company provides efficient cleaning through the ‘Clean in Place’ system. Besides a mobile washing station and additional accessories, all machines are constructed to comply with increasing hygiene requirements.

Further improvements in research and development have focused on digitalisation for the company, with regards to the information exchange between machine operator and Sollich. With other suppliers of confectionery machines, Sollich has founded the company SweetConnect GmbH. Using this platform, users can manage all of their integrated production machines at a glance.

Documents such as operating instructions, spare parts catalogues and cross-manufacturer maintenance managers are some of the basic functions made possible with the help of SweetConnect. In conjunction with the ‘Fast Lane’ remote maintenance system, data from the application process are transmitted to optimise services and increase machine availability.

In terms of AI, the company will, for the first time, introduce an approach to self-analysis of their tempering machines. In future, self-analysis of the machine will be combined with an automatic adjustment of the temperature values in order to reduce human working capacities and increase quality of the tempered chocolate at the same t.

A further solution to improve the quality of chocolate during the handling process is through the Sollich Tempergraph, which allows automatic measuring of the degree of temper in chocolate. It can also be installed within the enrobing machine.

For the production of bar products Sollich will present the new Miniconbar system. With this version of the Conbar bar line, the company is adapting to demand in the bar product industry by offering a version for smaller production capacities.

As a highlight, there will be a ‘Heritage’ area available at the Sollich booth, as the company reflects on its history of more than 100 years. Visitors to the booth will have the opportunity to look at old machines next to current and see for themselves the development the company has undergone during its 100+ year history.

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