May Newsletter
VOLUME 29, NO. 4
Input from customers has always been an important factor in the development of Gem Equipment’s product line. This input has ranged from a verbal statement of dissatisfaction with the way specific equipment is designed to providing a complete set of drawings and specifications to define the piece of equipment they expect to purchase. The most interesting projects are those where Gem technical personnel work with the customer to define and design the processing system. In the 1980’s, Gem had a customer who had several interesting projects and was proficient at working with suppliers to develop excellent equipment. These projects usually started with a brainstorming meeting chaired by the customer’s Engineering Manager. In addition to the Engineering Manager, meetings normally included the customer’s Maintenance Foreman, Electrical Foreman, Production Manager, Quality Assurance Manager, Sanitation Foreman and sometimes even the Plant Manager. Needless to say, the meetings produced a lot of useful information.
This customer used this approach when a major advance in the design of a mixed vegetable line was needed. A mixed vegetable line in a frozen food plant has one station for each vegetable used in the mix. Each station consists of a tote dumper, which dumps product into a hopper, which feeds product to a loose freeze breaker, which drops product into a hopper, which feeds a proportional feeder. The system normally includes a vibrating conveyor to collect the product from each feeder and convey it to a conveying system that feeds one or more packaging lines. Prior to this project, most vegetable mixing and proportioning systems were located in cold storage warehouses. Product contact surfaces were type 304 stainless steel and everything else was carbon steel. Hoppers were 16 gauge stainless steel. The structure had a frame between each pair of hoppers plus a frame in each end of the system. Each frame had two legs; a 5 station mixed vegetable line had 12 legs.
The new line was going to mix fragile product. Since some of the product would brake when dumped at 10 degrees F. below zero, the system would be installed where it could be operated at room temperature. Product would be allowed to warm up to just below freezing before being dumped. The customer’s first question was, “Could the carbon steel components be galvanized to eliminate corrosion?” That question gave Gem the incentive to find a better way. The better way was to make the hoppers heavier and tie them together so they became structural. Not only did this make it possible to use stainless steel to replace the carbon steel components, the new design allowed 4 stations between each pair of legs. The customer showed Gem how to save energy by using a limit switch and cam mechanism so the hydraulic pump only ran when a valve was actuated. They challenged us to make it easy to disassemble feeders for cleaning. The result of this challenge was a proportional feeder with a rotor that could be removed in less than a minute. Design review meetings were held with the same group noted above. The input from all departments produced a large leap forward with mixed vegetable line design meeting customer needs and providing a significant upgrade for this company’s product line.