The proTrace PC based recipe blend terminal

Leading industrial weighing specialists Practicon are introducing the latest member of their innovative proTrace family of recipe control terminals

Leading industrial weighing specialists Practicon are introducing the latest member of their innovative proTrace family of recipe control terminals.

The Automatic Recipe Blend version has been specifically developed for controlling the bulk formulation of recipes from sub-batches and individual raw materials.

This versatile and comprehensive unit can be used for both hand-added and automatically dispensed ingredients, and can be used in conjunction with the Practicon Hand-Weigh terminal.

Although automation plays an important role in modern production plants, many specialist finished products still include ingredients which are added manually such as bagged product and pre-weighed sub-mixes.

In these applications, the onus of ensuring all the required components are added in the correct quantities has traditionally fallen on operator diligence, often making it difficult to achieve recipe consistency and minimise spoilt batches.

The proTrace is the result of an extensive development programme taking into account significant customer feed back.

Its underlying power is transparent to the operator and although the unit uses the latest embedded XP technology and communication interface technology, it also incorporates sound mechanical design concepts to ensure simple and reliable operation in demanding industrial environments.

The unit, which is housed in a slim, polished food grade stainless steel enclosure, features a large industrial PC touch screen and full tactile QWERTY keypad.

The terminal is designed to work with any load cell based mixing vessel or scale and can take in other key process related parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow and time.

The screen plays a multi-function role, providing clear recipe information, operator prompts, and a powerful process mimic giving clear operational graphics of vessels and peripheral equipment such as valves, feeders and mixers.

Depending on plant configurations two separate vessels and their connections can be simultaneously displayed on one screen.

The extensive inbuilt features of the proTrace and its dynamic user interface remove operator related errors and inconsistencies by providing measured control at each step of the way.

The system records irrefutable data for each and every ingredient or sub mix addition and thereby eliminates the need for traditional paperwork systems with their associated errors and omissions.

Access to data for internal and external audit trails including production trends, stock usage and other key performance indicators (KPIs) can be achieved quickly and easily, giving improved visibility to the production process.

The proTrace can be used for standalone mixing applications, where all recipe information is programmed directly into the unit, or as part of a broader system where single or multiple terminals are linked back via a local area network to one or more PCs running the Practicon bespoke Office Software Application.

This latter configuration allows several members of the management team to work with the shared databases at any one time, each person having their own level of non-conflicting access authorisation.

In this mode, the units act as a powerful data interface between the factory floor and upstairs management systems.

The formulae for particular finished products are entered into the designated PC via the simple to use recipe formulation screen.

The system allows management to enter and determine the exact recipe characteristics, including individual ingredient tolerances, how the products are added and the mixing procedure including cooking times and temperatures.

There is also the facility to input detailed instructions relating to product characteristics which are then flagged up at the relevant stage of the process.

These may, for instance, highlight that a particular ingredient should be poured in slowly, or refer to specific health and safety aspects.

Depending on the batch size requirements for particular works orders, the system automatically calculates the amounts of individual recipe components needed and downloads the order to the relevant proTrace workstation.

With the optional stock control module installed, the system checks that there are sufficient 'in-date' materials available for the planned order.

Any number of the same batches can be programmed to run consecutively and batches can be reduced proportionally in size if required.

The system can operate in Auto, Semi-Auto or Hand-Weigh mode.

The terminal clearly indicates when operator intervention is required.

In all three modes, the tricolour bar graph indicates whether a particular weighment is in tolerance, progressing from amber for underweight through the green acceptance zone to the red overweight segment.

If any addition is outside the green zone, the system will not allow the batch to proceed until the situation has been rectified.

The versatility of the proTrace terminals make them ideal for manufacturing companies of all sizes - from small independents through to multinationals, and system expansion can be carried out as and when required.

The Hand-Weigh version is designed for making up bespoke sub-mixes and recipes that require ingredients to be added manually.

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