New, fully automatic continuous line producing gluten free short cut pasta
Production capacity: 400 kg/h (882 lb/h) of dry pasta
Rated on round, straight shapes with walls up to 1 mm (0.04 in) thick
Specific weight of the product: about 400 kg/m³ (25 lb/ft³)
Final moisture content: 11.5% to 12.5%
Process
A screw conveyor takes the raw material from the feeding bunker to a vibrating cleaner that removes oversize particles
Cleaned material goes to a second feeding bunker and then to a storage cyclone above the extruder, with 2 level sensors (upper and lower limit)
An accurate dosing unit feeds a 3 step mixing process: a high speed mixer blends the flour with water, a main mixing tank sized for a long mixing time, and a vacuum mixer that removes the air from the dough for good pasta color
Routine and major maintenance are quick and simple
After extrusion a cutting device cuts the pasta and conveys it to the shaker pre-dryer
The pre-dryer has vibrating stainless steel tiers where hot air from the heating and ventilating units dries the pasta surface in a few minutes
A Z elevator and a loading vibrator feed the product into the dryer
The dryer is divided into zones, and the pasta passes through alternating intensive drying and stabilization phases in a pulse cycle
Air is forced through the product rather than over it, and the pasta is turned over each time it drops from one tier to the next, for even drying
Thermo-capacitive probes control the temperature and humidity of each zone
Finned heating coils with modulating control and 3 way electro-pneumatic valves hold the temperature constant
Modulating air intake and exhaust systems hold the internal humidity
The ventilation moves moist air from the drying zones to the stabilization zones under proportional automatic control, with energy recovery
No steam injection is needed in the dryer, which saves heating energy
Drying time: about 3 hours at rated capacity (high temperature drying with lower energy use), for shapes of about 400 kg/m³ (25 lb/ft³)
The cooler uses cold water heat exchangers and humidified air circulation, giving stronger, glossier pasta
Main Technical Details
Capacity: 400 kg/h (882 lb/h) dry pasta
Installed motor power of the line: 95 kW (127.4 hp)
Average absorbed electrical power of the line: 69 kW
