Blend
Blending product can mean two things: creating the right proportion of ingredients for a recipe or mixing those ingredients amongst themselves. It is the former context we discuss here. A collection conveyor gathers ingredients proportioned onto it from multiple sources and delivers those ingredients to the next stage in the process.
  • The collection system is often a vibratory conveyor (see at left) or sanitary belt conveyor that delivers the measured ingredients to a scale head, mixer, or cooker
  • Volumetric or weighing devices feed ingredients onto the collection system
  • Volumetric devices include metering units, augers, and electromagnetic conveyors
  • Weighing devices include weigh belts or hoppers on load cells
  • High value ingredients might warrant the precise measurement of weighing while lower value ingredients may only be able to justify using volumetric accuracy
  • In some cases high value ingredients are not added to the blend until they reach the scale head immediately prior to packaging