Automatically topping sandwich slices

The VEMAG Slice Depositor made by the US-American company Reiser can automatically top sandwich slices with chicken salad, peanut butter, cream cheese or similar toppings, and even cheese slices.

+R aw materials costs and personnel expenses are rising, and so are the ready-to-eat market’s demands for longer guaranteed shelf lives. With this in mind, VEMAG, a partner of the US-American company Reiser, developed a Slice Depositor for a well-known sandwich producer. The Depositor is a combination of a Robot 500 vacuum filler, al ready established for several years as a dough divider, and a WFK863 roller filling head. The machine can handle a variety of paste-like mixes, with or without chunky compon ents. It automatically and uniformly applies accurate weights of peanut butter, cream cheese, jellies, and toppings containing egg or tuna, as well as pumpable prepared cheeses in the form of “slices”.

The Depositor uses a sensor to identify sandwich or bread slices, and applies a pre-specified weight of topping at a rate of up to 100 slices/minute. Multi-row systems are used when for a sandwich producer, combines a Robot type 500 dough divider with a WFK863 roller filling head. The machine can apply a variety of pasty mixes, with or without chunky components, to sandwich slices. higher output rates are required. There are no limits on the area to be topped, i.e. in terms of sandwich slice dimensions. Size and shape, width and thickness can be adjusted individually depending on the product to be applied. Topping portion size is also unlimited. The roller filling head can be individually preset, and can pre-portion almost any weight from 5 g of topping or 35 g of cream cheese to 200 g of chicken salad if required.

Because the company uses a modular principle to manufacture its plants – which consist of a central component, i.e. the machine with its curved conveyor and attachment – the machine can be converted from a roller filling head to a dough portioner for cookies or wholegrain breads. The whole changeover is the same in the opposite direction, of course. +++

Robert Reiser & Co Inc. (Reiser)

Reiser headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts/USA, develops and markets process solutions for industries including the baked products sector. The company is a partner of VEMAG Maschinenbau GmbH in Verden, Germany.