Lödige Ploughshare® Mixer for batch operation: A well-established all-rounder
Lödige’s horizontal Ploughshare® Mixers for batch operation are excellently equipped to meet current production requirements in the food industry. This mixers series has been used for decades in the manufacture of high-quality foods and pharmaceutical products. The mixers are suitable for mixing all solid materials. A further benefit: they also allow the addition of liquids.
Time-efficient and precise
Horizontal Ploughshare® Mixers for batch operation are perfect for food production because they combine short mixing times with a high level of mixing precision and batch reproducibility. This is due to the mechanically generated fluid bed, introduced to mixing technology by Lödige. The Ploughshare® blades are arranged on a shaft and rotate as mixing elements in the horizontal, cylindrical drum. This causes three-dimensional movement of the powdery, granular or fibrous components. The turbulence thereby generated in the mixing material prevents the formation of dead or low-movement zones in the mixing chamber, which results in fast and precise mixing. The special shape of the tools means that the radial movement lifts the mixing material from the wall of the drum, preventing the particles from being crushed.
In addition to use purely as a mixing system, the Ploughshare® Mixer is also suitable for granulation processes. A liquid feed allows a granulate medium to be added to the fluid bed. Granulates can be precisely formed due to the shear forces generated by the interaction between product particles, mixing elements and the mixing drum. With one or more fast-rotating cutter heads, a specific granulate size can be set and lumps dissolved.
The fact that the horizontal Ploughshare® Mixer for batch operation offers a selection of different mixing geometries and process parameters means that it has multifunctional uses. Applications for a Ploughshare® Mixer are:
- Preparation of spice blends: Spice blends consist of up to 30 different components that frequently differ in bulk weight, grain size and flow characteristics. Depending on the recipe, they may also contain fat or fluid. The Lödige Ploughshare® Mixer offers the flexibility required for this application. The horizontal design permits rapid and homogeneous distribution of all components.
- Production of stock paste: Processing fat-based products such as stock paste presents a special challenge for the cleanability of machines. Lödige meets this challenge with the option of equipping the Ploughshare® Mixer with a large cleaning door that provides easy access to its interior.
- Chocolate conching: A Ploughshare® Mixer with appropriately modified shovels is an effective conching tool. The design of the side walls ensures the formation of large product surfaces in the drying phase. Because the particles are separated in the fluidised bed, they come into contact with air more vigorously and more frequently. The design and adjustment of the base plate in relation to the tempered mixing drum wall allows the introduction of high frictional energy. Due to the shape of the tools and their systematic arrangement on the mixer shaft the entire mass is continuously and vigorously mixed, resulting in a lump-free, homogeneous end product.
