[Infographic] 7 Parts to Consider for Holiday Shutdown.
Tis the season: Are you planning maintenance during the holiday shutdown? Do you have a spare parts budget to use before year end?
The infographic is a quick guide for common Mepaco parts. Some items have a longer lead time than others. Some parts are must-have inventory items. If you have any questions about parts or timing, contact monica.planash@apachestainless.com.
Please have the model number and the serial number available for inquiries, and include the Apache/Mepaco part number on purchase orders.
Order parts now for your holiday shutdown!
Introducing our newest video: Comparing Kettle Cooking to the ThermaBlend Cooking Process. This video explains the heat transfer differences between a traditional kettle cooker and the ThermaBlend. It also highlights some of the capabilities of the cooker that make it such a versatile solution for large batch cooking, such as:
Learn more about the ThermaBlend Industrial Cooker here!
Mepaco's screw conveyors are engineered to the requirements of the food processing application. In the photo, these screw conveyors transported pet food. The conveyor in the foreground was placed after the grinder and transported ground product. The conveyor in the background was utilized before the grinder. It featured a trough design that handled large meat chunks, which fed the grinder.
Engineers work closely with the customer's production experts to design systems that minimize space while maximizing flexibility for product formulations and production goals.
Mepaco's screw conveyor systems have served many food processing industries: Baking and Snack, Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables, Meat and Poultry, Pet Food, Prepared Food and Ready-to-Eat. Application expertise includes: Metering, Reversing, Formulating and Thermal Processing.
For more information on screw conveyors and augers, visit:
SCREW CONVEYORS
AUGER UNITS
Depending on the complexity of the equipment and controls, there are a few options for production personnel to learn how to operate the equipment. The manual explains the operation of the equipment and its components. The customer can visit Apache for training and testing or contract with Mepaco Field Services for on-site training.
In one example, the production staff did not understand how to operate the HD3000 Dumper, causing the carriage to bind-up where cylinders weren't lifting in tandem. The issue was caused by incorrect operation.
Due to the operational configuration of the hydraulic cylinders, the HD300 dumper must be fully cycled (complete cylinder extension and retraction) each time it is used. The production staff was not fully retracting the dumper leaving the carriage 12 - 18" off the ground. This allowed the cylinders to start up unevenly and compounded if the staff did not fully extend the dumper. This caused the dumper carriage to misalign and bind against the dumper frame.
Once the carriage binds against the frame the only way to safely correct the situation is to lock out the hydraulic power unit, disconnect the hydraulic line from the overextended cylinder and allow the carriage to drift down until it is re-timed. Once the cylinders are re-timed the power unit can be operated to bring the carriage to the fully down position. Air will need to be bled from the cylinder that had the hydraulic lines removed.
Please call Joe Hertel, Field Services Manager, at 920-219-2286 if you have any questions about the operation of Mepaco equipment or if a training visit is necessary for new personnel.
Problem
A Pet Food Processor needed to increase throughput due to production delays in waiting for grinders feeding directly to blenders.
Solution
Mepaco engineered a solution that placed surge loaders between the grinder and the blender, allowing the processor to accumulate and stage a full batch of products to be fed into the blender. This system allows the processor to select different volumes of products from a fresh grinder and a frozen block grinder, and feed them together into the surge loader. As soon as the downstream blender is empty, the surge loader quickly refills the blender to begin the next batch.
An integral piece of equipment is the Screw Elevator. This equipment was designed with CIP (clean-in-place) spray ball. It features a fixed based with an elevated pivot track to reduce sanitation time.
Another vital piece of equipment are the specialty loaders. These hoppers were designed with extended side walls for high capacity loading.
Product staging and storage was a key factor in getting the maximum throughput from this grind/blend system. This solution saves valuable minutes off each batch that would be spent waiting if the grinders were to directly feed a blender.
Mepaco, part of Apache Stainless, is known for grinding and blending systems. Equipment products, which are customized for the application, include thermal processing solutions, mixers, blenders, cookers, augers, dumpers, sanitary conveyors and material handling systems.
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Mepaco Mixer Blenders are common equipment in food processing lines. Are the replacement parts organized properly to get the most out of your maintenance program for optimum performance?
In the infographic, GREEN signifies a part that will cause an emergency break down which will include lost product. BLUE indicates parts that require a long lead time either because of custom fabrication or it may be a special order item. YELLOW stands for preventative maintenance items that should be on hand for daily maintenance schedules. Finally, ORANGE identifies parts that are recommended spares depending on the use of the equipment.
We welcome inquiries about Mepaco equipment maintenance - click here for Field Services Flyer.
Mepaco offers a range of dumper configurations that are customized for specific applications in food manufacturing environments. Column Dumper CD1000 The Column Dumper CD1000 is designed for buggies with a standard working capacity up to 600 lbs.
High Dumper HD3000 The HD3000 has a 3000 lb. capacity with a high discharge height specification.
Lift Dumper LD3000 The LD3000 Lift and Dump equipment provides the highest discharge height of all Mepaco dumpers.
Pivot Dumper DP3000 The DP3000 (Pivot Dumper) is constructed from T304 Stainless Steel material and is a USDA approved design. Dumper Equipment Options
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Here are the top three reasons why spare and replacement parts should be purchased from Mepaco, your equipment supplier.
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At the Process Expo, we had a chance to showcase our electrical controls capabilities on the PosiFlo Automatic Chub Loader. In the video, Jason Hicks demonstrates the HMI (Human Machine Interface) capabilities programmed into the pumping system.
In the demo, there are monitoring devices that measure and correct product level, pumping pressure, loading efficiencies and speeds. The monitoring devices talk to the controls program to adjust pumping speeds to meet the requirements of the equipment being fed by the PosiFlo. Downstream and upstream production is monitored through the program to allow for automatic operation and timing. Another feature is the safety switches which will automatically flag and stop the system if the gates, or pump access are opened. For maintenance and safety, we also monitor the local motor disconnect positions.
On the PosiFlo, Allen Bradley products are featured. However, the components used in our Controls packages are flexible to customer requirements.
There is also an option for remote secured connection which allows for isolated/firewalled connection to Mepaco's equipment for remote support and assistance.
Controls and interfaces are available on all Mepaco equipment and systems.