Easy-to-operate confectionery depositing

THE SERVOFORM range from Baker Perkins is a leading design for cooking and depositing hard and soft candies, lollipops, toffees, caramels and jellies. Twin-headed depositors can be applied to achieve high capacity production using the heads in parallel, or produce two categories of layered products using them sequentially. When making layered hard candy from a single-headed depositor, the top layer is deposited on top of the bottom layer whilst it is still liquid and so sinks into it, creating some interesting effects such as ’coffee cups’ and ‘eyeballs’.

The Twin Head ServoForm from Baker Perkins is modular with each variant having one or more depositor heads, mould sets, and cooling tunnel

The twin-head method uses two separate depositing heads spaced apart so there is a dwell time between each deposit, allowing the first level to partially set before the next is deposited. This ensures that there is clear separation between deposits giving a true ‘layered’ effect.  

The automatic stick placing system inserts lollipop sticks accurately and consistently into ball or flat lollipops where they remain perpendicular until the candy has set. This feature ensures substantial savings in labour costs. Meanwhile, the placing of the sticks is accurate and consistent, and waste is reduced due to fewer missed sticks.

Variety of moulds

A display will emphasise the variety of moulds available for Baker Perkins depositors.  Moulds are at the heart of all successful depositing lines. The correct choice has a huge impact on the quality and character of the end product, and the efficiency of the depositing system. Surface finish, ejection method and cooling rates are all affected by the choice.  A complete mould design, testing, manufacturing and replacement service is available to support Baker Perkins depositing customers throughout the world.

The control display will demonstrate a new capability to automate and integrate the complete cooking and depositing system from raw ingredients to cooled product.  Features include recipe editing, recipe recall for absolute repeatability, full process visualisation, alarm management, historical trending, and the ability to connect to a plant wide SCADA system.

Hassle-free cleaning

Fast, automatic cleaning and priming cycles are standard features on the ServoForm depositor.  The time-consuming manual process of fitting washout trays and flushing out the system with hoses is replaced with catch trays that are placed and withdrawn automatically and a pre-programmed cleaning cycle that is carried out with no operator intervention. A similar process is available for priming the depositor heads with candy before the start of each production run. 

Endless colours, random patterns

The one-shot ServoForm process can combine up to four colours or components in a single product.      Four colours are possible, with stripes, layers or random patterns; with hard or soft centre fills; and with virtually limitless colour and flavour variations.  This feature offers the potential for greater interest and variety than traditional methods such as die forming, starch mogul or cut and wrap.   End product diversity is limited only by the imagination.  

Quality is also much improved: deposited candies have a glossy surface, excellent flavour release and a smooth mouth-feel with no sharp edges or air bubbles. The nature of the depositing process also creates great flexibility and process control. Dimensional, shape and weight accuracy are extremely high; fillings are accurately positioned in the centre; and scrap rates are minimal. 

The latest generation ServoForm range is modular, with each variant comprising one or more depositor heads, product specific mould sets, cooling tunnel and – for lollipops – the patented Baker Perkins stick placer.