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Product Solutions in the Food Industry
Optimized aluminum cast-in heaters containing heating elements ensure temperature variations in your equipment are minimal. A cast-in heater is a “heated part“ that becomes a functional component of your equipment, designed in the exact shape and size you need.
Solving Customer Problems with CAS Product Solutions
| Packaging – Sealing lids on yogurt containers |
Problem:
A food processing company was utilizing a cable heater held in a stainless steel milled groove assembly to seal the lids of yogurt containers. The assembly did not meet the desired specifications for thermal performance, was unreliable and caused significant downtime. The heaters began to fail within one to four weeks of insertion because they could not withstand the regular equipment wash downs required for the application. The customer also had to carry large inventories of replacement components (cable heaters and many stainless steel parts). |
Solution:
CAS designed a cast-in aluminum heater that delivered the necessary wattage with a small diameter tubular heater. The required part had to be small at 101 mm (four inches),which limited the heater design options. CAS delivered the necessary wattage with a small diameter tubular heater. The heater replaced several stainless steel components, thus lowering the part count.
The efficient heat transfer of the cast aluminum assembly improved the thermal performance. Downtime and change out times were also reduced when the customer added a quick disconnect plug. The benefits realized by the new CAS design were reduced inventory levels, a more reliable process and less downtime. An added benefit was the efficient cast-in heater reduced wattage by about 50 percent resulting in ongoing energy savings for the customer. |
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Food Service – Steamer
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Problem:
Food products such as hamburger buns, dinner rolls and fish fillets are all steam warmed. Accommodating peak demand periods throughout the day is challenging for restaurants. The customer was initially using a tubular heater clamped on to the bottom of a stainless steel pan to generate steam. Poor recovery was being obtained because of the limited amount of power that could be transferred to the stainless steel pan without burning out the tubular heater. The heaters were also burning out prematurely if the heater lost contact with the stainless steel pan. |
Solution:
A cast aluminum heater pan was designed with a higher wattage tubular element. Because the heater was cast-in aluminum, a higher wattage element was used. Aluminum allows heat to be dissipated, increasing heater life. |
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