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Drive replacement keeps food mixer mixing

11 July 2023

The sudden failure on a 750 kilo batch sampling machine used for mixing sauce and dressing recipes posed a problem for condiment manufacturer, Baxters, threatening potential downtime and lost production.

The machine, which is used for mixing small batches for approval, is a vital step in fine-tuning recipes be-fore they move to the mass production stage. Use of the machine is carefully scheduled, often very far in advance, making any downtime highly disruptive.

The mixer requires a high degree of precision control, as over- or under-agitation of the product can ruin its quality, while recipes must be followed carefully to ensure that products achieve the desired colour, consistency and taste for maximum customer satisfaction. An unexpected failure to a noon-ABB drive used to control the machine’s 8.5 kW motor was discovered at the start of what was supposed to be a busy morning shift of batch tests. Since the drive delivers the close control required for mixing the products, the machine cannot run without it in operation. 

Trevor Goff, Senior Engineer at Baxters, contacted food & beverage drive specialists Gibbons in the hope of a speedy solution.

Gibbons, an ABB Value Provider, were on-site within two hours of the failure being reported. Gibbons had a suitable replacement for the original drive in stock and was able to install and commission it by the same afternoon. Further inspection of the failed drive later revealed that water ingress was the likely cause of failure. Once installed, Gibbons optimised the drive to ensure that it was operating at maximum efficiency while delivering the speed range required, and also provided training to Baxters’ engineering team to familiarise them with the drive’s controls.

Baxters was pleased with the outcome, as Trevor Goff explains: “We do something in the region of 28,000-30,000 bottles per day, so any downtime can be extremely detrimental to our operations. Normally we schedule trials up to a fortnight in advance so that we can have everything ready for when the customer turns up to taste their products. We immediately realised we had a problem when the old drive wouldn’t start up, so I contacted Gibbons straight away with the drive’s ID plate, and they were on-site within a couple of hours with a replacement that ticked all the boxes. It does everything the old drive does, plus it’s gone into a very tight cabinet, and it’s very user-friendly. We’ve had no issues with it at all since the installation.”


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