Partnership in chocolate!

Working in close cooperation with Siemens, machine builder BSA Schneider has successfully engineered machines for confectionery production which are both efficient and compact. Thanks to integrated control and drive technology from Siemens, these can also be simply adapted in line with customer requirements.

The Chocfiner five-roll mill is delivered
completely pre-commissioned and is
fully up and running within just days.

Machine building specialist BSA Schneider has specialized in machines and plants for the chocolate, cocoa and confectionery industry. Fully aware of just how much complex technology is involved in the manufacture of confectionery, BSA works in cooperation with Siemens to stay at the forefront of innovation with ever new plant concepts. Its popular Chocfiner model is one example: Its innovative drive concept comprises a combination of motor modules with DC-link which processes the crystalline content of the sugar in the raw chocolate mass – eliminating the need for a complete machine. Another benefit of the Chocfiner is its size. The converter and water-cooled motors are so compact in design that they can be integrated in the rollers and supports, allowing the ready-assembled Chocfiner to be fitted into a standard container for shipping. This cuts the time required for set-up and start of production on the customer’s premises down to just a few days instead of several weeks. It also saves transport costs, as it does away with the need for costly outsized packaging.

IDS helps create perfect chocolate
Without what is known in the trade as conching the raw mass, chocolate would be inedible. Typical conches take one to twelve tons of raw chocolate mass and require sensitive process controls and drive systems. To ensure long-term stability of these systems BSA has opted for fitting these conches with Integrated Drives Systems (IDS) from Siemens, comprising a water-cooled 1PH8 motor, Sinamics-G 120 converter and a large Flender gear box. All the components of the drive system are supplied by Siemens and are ideally coordinated to work together. This saves energy as well as reducing machine noise. The use of IDS allows the machine builder to also adjust the output of the plant to individual customer requirements or to respond to changes in the recipe within a single component unit. The components to match the IDS are automatically selected using the TIA Portal.

Worldwide service
Another benefit of using integrated drive technology is brought to bear when it comes to plant maintenance: Service technicians are able to access data on the drive level – also using remote maintenance. The close cooperation between BSA and Siemens testifies to the improvements possible in engineering and product safety when expertise and competence are shared between users, machine builders and automation partners.