People rely on food, so the development of the food processing industry is very important to people, and it is related to our basic quality of life. With the rapid rise of my country's economy, more and more people have begun to pursue the quality of life, and the requirements for food quality have also continued to increase, which undoubtedly brings challenges to the food processing industry.

Some food processing industries did not accept the challenges well and were eventually eliminated by the progressive society. So how can we accept the challenge? Traditional food processing technology can no longer meet the needs of modern people. Therefore, only through the realization of food factory automation can companies accept the challenge, reduce the production cost of the company through automation, improve the product quality of the company, and increase the profit of the company. So as to enable the healthy and long-term development of the enterprise.

1. Introduction to the concept of food factory automation design

The food factory automation design is divided into two major parts, one is the food factory design, and the other is the automation design. The food factory design refers to the complete design of all individual projects that should be configured in the food factory, generally including general layout, production workshops, power workshops, internal and external transportation, automatic control instruments, heating and ventilation, environmental protection projects, welfare facilities, and office Single project design such as building and technical and economic estimates.

And automation design refers to the application of computer technology to realize automatic control of certain operating steps without human operation technology. Combining the above two aspects, food engineering automation design refers to the process of applying computer intelligence to manage the steps of food production, making food factories realize intelligent management.

2. Analysis of the advantages of automated design in food factories

1) Reduced production costs

We have explained the concept of automation above. Therefore, we will also know that the ultimate goal of automation is to realize the automatic management of the process without manpower, so there is no need to hire a lot of manpower for production, thus reducing the production cost of the enterprise. , This is just one aspect of it. In general, the automation of food factories can reduce labor intensity, reduce losses and efficient mass production, thereby reducing product costs.

Generally speaking, the implementation of automation reduces the number of equipment in the factory, while reducing labor and maintenance costs. The automation system has incomparable accuracy and repeatability, and can quickly reach the best operating state through fine-tuning. Therefore, automation has the characteristics of high efficiency and low cost, and greatly improves production capacity.

2) Ensure the quality and hygiene of food

Why is it said that automated production can guarantee the quality of food? Because the entire process of automated production systems is intelligently operated, and all the detected data is accurately matched by the computer. Once there is an error in a certain link, the computer will give a prompt. Then the staff will make corresponding modifications to ensure the accuracy of the entire production process.

On the other hand, the requirements of food hygiene regulations are becoming more and more stringent. One of the ways is to minimize human participation and interference in the production process. This can be achieved through mechanization and automation, and it is possible to realize unmanned chemical factories. Modern controllers are more compact and easy to clean, and automatic cleaning and sterilization equipment provide reliable sanitary protection.

3) Use robots instead of labor

One of the biggest features of the automation system is the use of many robots instead of manual operations. The food processing industry is called a labor-intensive processing enterprise because it requires a lot of manpower to operate each step, and the realization of the automation design of the food factory allows robots to replace workers.

At the same time, with the development of science and technology, the combination of modern new robots and modern sensor technology has promoted the flexible and standardized processing technology of the food industry. With the development of grasping ability, sensors, vision technology and cutting-edge information processing technology, it has become an inevitable trend for robots to enter the food processing industry. The robot's arm can perform operations such as picking, placing, transporting, positioning, etc., just like a human arm, but it is more powerful, more precise, more repeatable, and faster.

4) Computer's superior data processing ability

Another characteristic of the food processing industry is that a large amount of data needs to be calculated, monitored and managed in the process of reproduction, so as to realize the safety of the company’s food. For example, the processing temperature of a certain food should be between 100-110, which requires We make careful observations.

In the past, manual operations always have various problems. But the realization of the intelligent system makes this kind of work extremely simple. Mathematical modeling is carried out through the computer, and then the automatic control system is correctly judged, so that the processing is simplified and accurate, and the processing operation is continuously guided when there is external interference and the operating parameters change with time.

3. Analysis of several main steps in food factory automation design

The steps of food factory automation design are very complex, and the content of the design is very large. I divide these steps into three steps. Below, we will analyze these three steps.

1) Introduction of automation related processes

The first step in the design of food processing automation is to introduce relevant automation technology. The development of automation technology in my country's food industry has been relatively short, but the technology is very diverse. There are several automation technologies for a certain processing process, as many as ten. Several kinds. Therefore, at the beginning of the automation design, it is necessary to determine the most suitable automation technology for its own development according to the actual situation of its own factory, so as to ensure the smooth progress of the food production process.

2) Realization of automated production

Introduced the most suitable automated production technology, the next thing to do is to realize the production system. This process is the most important one, because its actual operation difficulty is far greater than you imagine. Why do you say that? Because no technology is manufactured by the same manufacturer, we need to assemble these scattered technologies through related working principles. Various technical problems will be encountered during the period, and we need to organize multiple designers together to analyze and discuss how to assemble the link. Finally, the entire production line can be automated.

3) Realization of automated packaging

The last big step is the realization and design of automated packaging. This step is the last and also a very critical step. Because every food needs packaging, the quality of the packaging directly determines the quality of its sales. Therefore, in the design of this process, we must comprehensively consider many factors, and choose the most suitable operating equipment and operating system for our factory.

The equipment selection must be combined with the packaging style of the products produced, and at the same time, the development of the company must be considered, that is, the types of products that may be produced in the future, to ensure that the purchased equipment is expandable, and pave the way for the future development of the company . Finally, it is necessary to compare a variety of related equipment and select the most cost-effective equipment and system.

Concluding remarks

From the above, we can see that the current food factory automation is a big development trend. There are many technologies that are not too mature. Therefore, it cannot attract all food processing manufacturers to join.

But what is certain is that traditional food processing technology, with large investment, low product quality, and low work efficiency, can no longer meet the ever-changing needs of modern people. Therefore, if the traditional processing technology is still used, it will inevitably decline. It is hoped that the leaders of food processing enterprises can pay attention to the related matters of automation technology, introduce new technologies in a timely manner, and lay a solid foundation for the company's development.