Chaozhou Shengyang Machinery Co., Ltd

The maintenance quality of fruit machinery directly determines the service life, production continuity, and candy product quality of the equipment. Its core lies in "targeted protection (adapting to the viscosity and high temperature characteristics of sugar materials), compliant operation (complying with food safety and equipment specifications), and risk prediction (avoiding potential faults in advance)". Considering the characteristics of equipment involved in multiple stages such as boiling, forming, and packaging in candy production, it is important to pay attention to the following five dimensions of precautions:

1. Safe operation is a prerequisite: eliminate personal and equipment risks

Strictly follow the principle of "shutdown and power-off"

All maintenance operations (such as cleaning, lubrication, and parts replacement) must be carried out after the equipment has been completely shut down and the main power supply has been cut off. It is strictly prohibited to perform "live maintenance" or "maintenance while running" - especially for sugar pans (high temperature of 140-150 ℃) and high-speed transmission components of molding machines (such as turntables and conveyor belts). Live operations can easily cause safety accidents such as burns and hand entanglement, and may cause sudden equipment start-up due to accidental button contact, resulting in part damage.

Take good personal and equipment protection measures

• Maintenance personnel are required to wear food grade gloves (to avoid hand grease contamination of equipment), heat-resistant gloves (when in contact with boiling systems), goggles (to prevent splashing when cleaning sugar residue), and are prohibited wearing loose clothing or accessories (such as bracelets and watches) to prevent entanglement with transmission components.

• Before maintenance, it is necessary to cover the electrical control panel, motor junction box and other key parts of the equipment with waterproof cloth or plastic film to avoid the infiltration of cleaning water and lubricants, which may cause short circuits or circuit failures.

Standardize the use and maintenance tools

Avoid using tools that do not meet equipment requirements: for example, when disassembling mold screws, use a torque wrench that matches the specifications (operate according to the torque values indicated in the equipment manual), and prohibit the use of brute force or wrenches that do not match the size to prevent screw slippage or mold deformation; When cleaning the sugar residue inside the equipment, it is necessary to use food grade nylon brushes and plastic shovels. It is strictly prohibited to use hard tools such as steel wire balls and sandpaper to avoid scratching the anti sticking coating of the equipment (such as the inner wall of the sugar pot and the mold of the molding machine), which may cause more serious adhesion of the sugar material in the future.

2. Cleaning and maintenance should meet "dual standards": balancing food safety and equipment protection

Cleaners and cleaning methods must comply with food regulations

• Food contact parts (such as the inner wall of the sugar pot, forming molds, conveyor belts, and discharge ports) must use food grade cleaning agents (such as neutral detergent that meets the GB 14930.1 standard, low concentration food grade sodium hydroxide solution), with a concentration controlled at 0.5% -1% (too high can corrode stainless steel equipment, too low cleaning power is insufficient). Industrial cleaning agents (such as laundry detergent, degreaser) are strictly prohibited, as their chemical residues can contaminate candy and endanger food safety.

• Avoid "high temperature rapid cooling" during cleaning: High temperature components such as stainless steel sugar pans and molding machine molds should be naturally cooled to below 40 ℃ and then cleaned with warm water (40-60 ℃). It is forbidden to directly rinse high-temperature equipment with cold water to prevent equipment cracking or deformation caused by thermal expansion and contraction; Silicone molds (such as gummy molds) should be gently wiped with 30-40 ℃ warm water to avoid accelerated aging of the mold due to high temperature water.

Cleaning requires' no dead corners, no residue '

Key areas that are prone to storing sugar residue should be cleaned up, such as the root of the mixing blade in the sugar pot, the pattern of the mold cavity in the molding machine, the joint gap of the conveyor belt, and the edge of the heat sealing knife in the packaging machine. If there is residual sugar residue in these areas, it will carbonize and zoom under high temperature for a long time, which not only affects the subsequent candy taste, but also may block the equipment channel (such as the feeding port), leading to production lag. After cleaning, rinse 2-3 times with purified or sterile water to ensure no residue of the cleaning agent. Finally, invert and drain or dry with a food grade cloth.

3. Lubrication maintenance requires precise adaptation to avoid contamination and component wear

Strictly select 'food grade lubricants'

The lubrication of candy machinery needs to distinguish between "food contact area" and "non-contact area":

• Components near the food contact area (such as molding machine mold transmission bearings, conveyor belt rollers) must use food grade lubricants that comply with FDA or GB 4806.1 standards (such as polytetrafluoroethylene based lubricants, cocoa butter based lubricants). Industrial grade lubricants (containing heavy metals and harmful additives) are strictly prohibited to prevent lubricant leakage and contamination of candy;

• Non contact areas such as motor bearings and gearboxes can use ordinary industrial grade lubricants, but it is necessary to avoid lubricants splashing onto food contact parts. It is recommended to install splash guards in these areas.

Control lubrication 'quantity and frequency'

• The lubrication amount should be "covering the surface of the component without dripping": too much will adsorb dust and form oil sludge, increasing component resistance (such as gear rotation jamming); Too little can prevent the formation of an effective oil film, leading to dry wear of components (such as chain wear and breakage). For example, when lubricating a chain, it is necessary to evenly apply lubricating oil to the chain link pin shaft and replenish it every 3-5 days; When lubricating bearings, the amount of grease filling should be 1/3-1/2 of the internal space of the bearing.

• Before lubrication, it is necessary to clean up old grease and impurities: Use a clean cloth to wipe off the old grease and dust on the surface of the components, and then apply new lubricant to avoid the mixing of new and old grease, which may cause a decrease in lubrication effect (such as grease deterioration or poor fluidity).

4. Equipment inspection should focus on key points: predicting potential faults in advance

Key inspection for components that are prone to wear and high risk

• Transmission system: Check the tension of the conveyor belt and transmission belt daily (the sag of the conveyor belt should not exceed 5mm, and the belt should not slip or deviate). If there are cracks or surface wear (such as the surface of the conveyor belt becoming fuzzy), it should be adjusted or replaced in a timely manner; Check the tightness of the chain and the wear of the links. If the links are loose or stuck, adjust them with a tensioning device or apply lubricant to reduce friction.

• Temperature control system: Calibrate the temperature sensors of the sugar pot and packaging machine's heat sealing knife daily (compare with a standard thermometer, adjust if the deviation exceeds ± 2 ℃), to prevent excessive boiling of sugar materials (hard sugar burnt) or inadequate packaging sealing (sugar leakage) caused by temperature control; Check if there is any burnt residue on the surface of the heating tube. If it accumulates too much, it will cause uneven heating and needs to be cleaned regularly.

• Safety devices: Daily testing of emergency stop button (press to immediately power off the equipment), protective barrier photoelectric sensor (stop the equipment if blocked), overload protection device (such as automatic power off when the motor is overloaded), to ensure that all safety devices are effective and avoid accidents caused by safety failure.

2、Record 'device operation data' and trace anomalies

Establish a Candy Machinery Maintenance Record Form, detailing daily maintenance tasks such as "replacing one conveyor belt", "calibrating the sugar pot temperature sensor", and "replenishing gearbox lubricating oil"; Simultaneously record the operating parameters of the equipment (such as startup time, production quantity, and number of failures and shutdowns) - through data, periodic failures can be predicted (such as a molding machine experiencing mold jamming twice a month, and checking whether the mold fixing screws are loose or the mold is worn), to avoid sudden failures causing the production line to shut down.

5. Differentiated maintenance for special scenarios: adapting to device characteristics

Maintenance after long-term shutdown (such as holiday shutdown)

• Thoroughly clean: All equipment needs to dismantle food contact parts (such as molds and mixing paddles), thoroughly clean them with food grade cleaning agents, and then disinfect and dry them with disinfectant water to prevent residual sugar residue becoming moldy;

• Rust prevention protection: Stainless steel components (such as boiling pots and conveyor belt brackets) need to be coated with food grade rust prevention oil to avoid long-term idle rusting; Lubricants should be added to components such as motors and bearings to prevent internal rusting and sticking;

• Moisture and dust prevention: Cover the equipment with a dust cover to keep the workshop ventilated and dry, and avoid damp environments that may cause electrical systems to become damp (such as control panel short circuits).

Seasonal maintenance (such as high temperature in summer and low temperature in winter)

• Summer: Focus on inspecting the equipment cooling system (such as motor fans, cooling tunnel fans), cleaning the dust at the cooling ports, and preventing motor overload caused by high temperatures; Summer specific lubricants can be used for lubrication (with slightly higher viscosity to avoid oil melting and loss at high temperatures).

• Winter: Check whether the equipment pipelines (such as raw material conveying pipes and steam pipes) are frozen and blocked. If the workshop temperature is too low (below 10 ℃), insulation layers need to be added to the pipelines; Before starting the equipment, it is necessary to idle for 5-10 minutes to allow the lubricating oil to flow fully and avoid component jamming caused by low temperature.

Maintenance of easily corroded components (such as sugar pans and syrup conveying pipes)

These components are exposed to high concentration sugar materials (acidic or alkaline) for a long time, and regular inspections should be carried out to check for corrosion spots on the surface (such as spot rust on the inner wall of a stainless steel sugar pot). If corrosion is found, food grade polishing paste should be used to gently polish and repair it; After daily cleaning, it is necessary to thoroughly dry it to avoid the combined effect of moisture and residual sugar to accelerate corrosion.

6. Personnel and Training: Ensuring Maintenance Professionalism

Maintenance personnel must undergo professional training and be qualified before taking up their posts. They should be familiar with the structural principles of the equipment (such as the mold transmission mechanism of the molding machine, the temperature control logic of the sugar pot) and safety operating procedures. Non professionals are prohibited disassembling core components (such as motors and PLC control systems); Regularly organize maintenance skills training and update maintenance knowledge (such as the use of new food grade lubricants and the operation process of automatic cleaning systems) to avoid equipment damage or food safety risks caused by improper operation.