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The development team at FRITSCH got to work on developing a new control system for the PROGRESSA series. This includes the LAMINATOR 700 built for the medium performance range.
Martin Hartmann, Michael Gier and Wolfgang Stegmaier (left to right)
The team of developers, software specialists and dough technologists led by Wolfgang Stegmaier, Project Manager for Digital Development, and Michael Gier, Head of the FRITSCH World of Bakery, have had a lot of contact and discussions with customers, and know what it comes down to when upgrading machinery.
Michael Gier, as a trained baker with a passion for dough, puts his experience from many years of interacting with customers into his developments. He knows how customers work with their machines, and what the lines must be capable of to process the sensitive dough into the desired products.
Wolfgang Stegmaier, as an electrician and master of electrical design, has a strong technical understanding of FRITSCH machines. Several years ago, for example, he co-developed the pretzel twister and has been working intensively on the digitalization of the lines since 2017.
Their objective: Through constant advancement of the control systems, digital services and remote maintenance of the machinery, for example, they want to support customers effectively and bring the advantages of the digital revolution into the bakery industry.
The first level in the machine control system
The biggest problem that customers have is finding enough people who can operate their lines expertly. “The lack of skilled workers is leading to an increased risk of operating errors causing faults and unplanned downtimes of the lines,” says Michael Gier.
They found two solutions for avoiding this, both of which have now been implemented in the new control system. One is that the operation has been made as simple and intuitive as possible. The other is that the software has been programmed to recognise and prevent input errors. Thus, the line controll is primarily determined by target throughput.
„Say a customer wants to produce 5,000 croissants, for example. They simply enter this amount into the display and the line will calculate all parameters necessary to achieve that quantity“, Michael Gier explains.
The entire control system of the line has been reduced to three levels, making it much easier to find the desired settings. The first level offers a general overview of the line. The second level shows the various components in the line, which can be monitored and adjusted by the personnel during production runs. The third level serves for fine tuning and is mainly reserved for the dough technologists.
The second machine control level
„The line is operated via a 15-inch screen that is permanently installed on the LAMINATOR 700. The concept offers a clear overview of the individual components of the line“ , Wolfgang Stegmaier reports. The visualisation on the display allows the user to switch quickly to the appropriate user level.
It also makes operating the LAMINATOR 700 or DOUGHLINER, and producing the end products on them, easier for the employees. Only if the correct data for the dough sheet production is put in, the downstream MULTIFLEX L 700 or the VARIOFLEX family processing lines produce the desired quantity and quality of stamped, twisted or coiled products.
The software developers and dough technologists have worked in advance and specified programs for the production of dough sheets for specific products so that not all parameters have to be reset every time the product is changed.
“This means,” Wolfgang Stegmaier explains, “that employees now only need to adjust certain settings such as line throughput, fold counts and rolling gap.” This considerably shortens the time spent on adjusting settings for a new product. All the while, the software checks whether the desired performance change is even feasible.
Input of the desired performance data
In addition to easier handling, the three-level user configuration offers yet another advantage: targeted control of access rights to the line and to the production process. Employees strictly receives those access rights that they really need for their work. This avoids the risk of settings being changed by accident. “For the operators, the first and second level are particularly relevant; the third level is where our experts or the customers’ experts do the fine tuning to define which products can be produced on the line,” explains Michael Gier.
Baked goods producers can also grant their employees personalised access to the user levels and components via a login system. “In practice, we have had cases where that the master password for a line was sometimes even known throughout the whole company,” Michael Gier says. “With the new control, users can log into the machine with their personal ID.” Users are assigned the necessary access rights while their ID is being created in the control system. In other words, the rights are permanently defined.
This makes the system safer, reduces user error and allows delicious products to be produced even more smoothly and efficiently on the PROGRESSA series.
“Say a customer wants to produce 5,000 croissants, for example. They simply enter this amount into the display and the line will calculate all parameters necessary to achieve that quantity.“
Michael Gier, Head of FRITSCH World of Bakery
The PROGRESSA prime consists of MULTIFLEX L 700,
LAMINATOR 700,
and DOUGHLINER 700
The clear control system makes operation easier and reduces the risk of operator errors
The PROGRESSA prime enables a wide variety of products, e.g. croissants
or savory sticks with seeds or grains
