VIMEK Bakery Automation Srl
Piombino Dese, Italy
Vimek is an OEM located in the north of Italy which has 20 years of experience in manufacturing bakery lines including spirals, ovens, mixers, conveyors, etc. for the Italian, European and USA market.
Vimek has an international patent for the design of spirals with external pulling (no drum). Those spirals are used for leavening, cooling and deep-freezing with every type of product. Vimek patented belt is a combination between steel pins, steel net and plastic modules.
Mostly Vimek uses its patented technology for spiral bakery applications, but sometimes its customers require a DRUM SPIRAL to be used for various reasons, such as:
• Noise reduction
• Smoother movements
• No lubrication requested
• Less wear of the belt, sprockets and wearstrips
• Smaller belt collapse factor, than smaller overall dimension
• Gentler handling of the products
• Easier Maintenance
• Habit of the customer
Those are the reasons why, in this case, the Italian End User asked Vimek for a line including a Drum Spiral, for bread leavening.
Spiral for “Carasau bread” leavening (Special bread from Sardinia region.)
• Belt dimension: 230.000 x 600 mm
• Spiral configuration: Single Unit – Climb – Counter clockwise – 280°
• Dimension of the product: 310 x 290 x 2mm (h)
• Temperature: 35°C
• Humidity: 70%
• Belt speed: 14m/min
• Cage diameter: 1770 mm
• Tier height: 90 mm
• N° of tiers: 21,75
The challenge was to build a spiral having a very small footprint dimension.
Important also was to have a very open but strong belt able to last many years with very high wear resistant pins. Another feature was to have a cost-competitive solution and a very short delivery time.
Thanks to our S5/S11-45 GRT PP BL belt we were able to submit to the customer a belt that could easily be collapsed into a small space (only 1,45 by belt width) including steel pins.
This is really a plus in such applications, because:
• Stored easily:
- a lot of space saved on plant floor thanks to the smaller overall machine dimension
- saving on shipping cost for the entire machine
• Rigidity and strength with steel pins:
- very smooth and regular movement of the belt
- constant power absorption
- saving on frame cost due to self-supporting belt which allows to reduce the number of supports
• Less wear:
- Steel pins have a longer life because they do not “cam-shaft” even with bread crumbs
- Belt has a lower elongation, avoiding this avoid to have problems due to sprockets incorrect engagement
Vimek, a very demanding and expert customer in spirals, is very satisfied with this belting solution as we were able to meet all his requests.
Furthermore, the belt is running very smooth and the products are then gentle handled.
Thanks to the open surface, the belt runs fast and is easy to clean for the End User.
After this installation, our relationship with Vimek in spiral applications and modular belts has grown steadily.
