Assessment of Technical Condition of Vacuum-Piston Dough Dividing Machines by Consumption of Food Oil

Introduction. Vacuum piston type dough dividing machines are widely used in the bakery industry for batching dough blanks. However, their technical documentation lacks criteria for assessing the ultimate state. The aim of the study is to determine the criterion of the ultimate state and the method for finding its value when evaluating the technical condition of vacuum-piston type dough dividing machines. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted on a TD-4 machine using Foodline WP 32 oil. Oil consumption was measured using scales and a specially designed device. Experiments involved processing 300 dough pieces weighing 500 g. Results. The indicator of food oil consumption is defined as the evaluation criterion. According to the data obtained, the optimal oil consumption ranges from 320-350 ml per 1,000 units of production (production cycles). To maintain this flow rate, the upper throttles must be opened for three turns, and the side throttles for two turns. At the beginning of the process, oil consumption increases through the upper chokes, and when ten opening revolutions are reached, through the side chokes. The scheme of the device for measuring oil consumption has been designed. Discussion and Conclusion. It is shown that the consumption of food oil is a diagnostic criterion for the parts wear. To temporarily compensate for the parts wear, a short-term increase in the oil supply from the pump to the maximum value is carried out by opening the throttles. Timely monitoring helps to extend the equipment service life. The proposed methodology can be used by technical service enterprises.