Baker Perkins SBX Extruders and post-extrusion forming equipment

Baker Perkins’ range of SBX Extruders and post-extrusion forming equipment includes the SBX Master twin-screw extruder, a machine providing process flexibility through a modular barrel design and a high torque motor and gearbox combination.

Three different forming options demonstrate the extruder’s ability to make a wide range of different snacks, from direct expanded types through to higher added-value products with sophisticated taste and texture combinations.

Manufacture of direct expanded products will benefit from the company’s new adjustable cutter unit offering precise adjustment of the cutter blade and blade changes in 15 min without stopping production.

The die and cutter are mounted on swing-away support arms that contribute to easy cleaning and enable the cutter to be moved into position axially, to avoid smearing product on the die face. A micrometer adjustment is used for finetuning the position of the cutter blade; this enables the optimum position for clean cutting and minimum blade wear to be achieved.

Co-extrusion systems provided the means of incorporating fillings with contrasting textures and colours into a cereal outer. It provides a capacity for making added-value products with innovative shapes that catch the eye, incorporating a wide range of fillings.

As part of a co-extrusion system, the company’s new design pillow crimper forms filled tubes into individual pillows, tubes, bars or wafers. Easily interchangeable cutting roll sets allow filled products to be made in a wide range of shapes and sizes.

A new range of extruded products can be achieved using an innovative die that produces a thin, wide sheet of dough. After extrusion, the sheet is cut into regular, geometric shapes by an inline rotary cutter. The shapes may be fried as a conventional snack, or oven baked for snacks with lower fat contents.

The process may be supplied as part of a new snack extrusion system or, potentially, retrofitted to an existing line.