Mixing with the new Z-arm
Based in Weiterstadt-Gräfenhausen, Germany, meat equipment maker Ekomex manufactures a comprehensive equipment program for trade and industry, with the overall range also including automatic angular grinders as well as blending and mixing machines. The Ekomex automatic grinder type WK-130 is of robust construction, completely made of non-corroding stainless steel, and is designed to offer high performance coupled with a clear-cut cutting image, irrespective of whether fresh, cooked or surface-frozen meat is being processed, as the company underscores, adding that ergonomics, simple handling and easy cleaning were focal points central to the design and construction effort. If customers request, all Ekomex automatic grinders can also be delivered with a mixer/blender unit, and with infeed systems for standard containers as well. To further quote from the manufacturer’s product statement, the bayonet closure at the grinding cylinder allows for fast changeover and cleaning of the grinder’s cutting set and the process auger, while also making for a longer useful lifetime of the auger housing, the thread of which receives sparing and gentle treatment only.
The Ekomex manufacturing range also includes blending and mixing machines which, in turn, are available in he 250, 350, 500, 750, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and 3,000-l model sizes. More to the technical point, these units are paddle mixers with two mixer shafts and one lateral outlet each, or with two outlets starting with the 500-l model. As the company furthermore explains, these outlets are so shaped that the mixed material can be emptied into standard containers and, via infeed equipment in place, can also be transported over to other systems, such as vacuum stuffers, for example. As for another feature, these Ekomex paddle blending and mixing machines have two dextro-rotating mixer speeds and two levo-rotating speeds, in other words two turning in the right and two turning in the left sense. If so desired, they can also come with infinitely variable mixer speed control. Always depending upon their intended use, Ekomex mixers and blenders are optionally also available with the following accessories: vacuum unit configuration, cooling system, cooking system, water metering, weighing system, infeed unit, MC control and PLC modular control.
On the new Ekomex Z-arm mixer type MZ-500, both mixing/blending tools are each shaped to resemble the letter “Z”. Offering a maximum infill quantity of approx. 350 to 400 kg, this model is standard-equipped with an infinitely variable drive (0 to 40 rpm) for both Z-mixer arms. The mixing container is hydraulically tilted for emptying, while the vacuum mixer/blender models offer a hydraulically operated protective grate or vacuum lid.