Does equipment already appreciated for its flexibility and reliability allow margins for improvement? When this is the case, Imaforni concentrates on developing those aspects of the forming section that can give the operators useful and flexible tools.
The latest development on a sheeting line can be summarized as follows:
At the beginning of the biscuit/cracker line, the use of a four-roll sheeter (4C) has advantages over the classic utilization of the three-roll sheeting system (3C).
It has been proved that a 4C can produce a dough sheet 5-6 mm thick as opposed to the 12 mm minimum normally achieved by a 3C.

In the case of cracker production where a cut&sheet laminator is necessary, it is known that there is a strict relation between the number of layers of dough and their thickness: the higher the number of dough sheets required, the thinner each one must be; starting with a 4C gives the advantage that no gauge roll at all, or just one set, can be fitted in order to obtain the desired number of sheets necessary for the laminating process. Our technical department can suggest the most suitable solution for the application.

In the case of a hard sweet-biscuit line, starting the line with a 4C gives the advantage that the gauging section can be equipped with one gauge roll unit less than the same line starting with a 3C, with consequent savings in capital investment and space occupied.
The quality of the sheeting process starts from the first machine that creates the sheet of dough – in our case usually a 4-roll sheeter which consists of a single compression chamber: in order to guarantee a constant flow of the dough sheet at the same density through the gap of the lower smooth rollers, a pressure gauge is installed in the compression chamber; this device senses the “pressure” of the dough in this chamber and, using a feedback signal, it adjusts the speed of the top grooved feeding rolls.

The sensor is set to a pre-set value, after which the system works in automatic mode to maintain the same dough pressure within the compression chamber; the operator no longer needs to intervene and the dough sheet texture is maintained constant regardless of how long the dough rests in the hopper.
On high-production lines the final gauge roll usually consists of a 400 mm diameter roll unit; experience shows that from time to time the sheet of dough tends to stick to the top roller and this creates a critical situation as the transfer of the thin dough sheet to the next conveyor belt could then get out of control, affecting the consistency and the quality of the sheet of dough. The typical solution adopted in these cases, on standard units, is to dust some flour before the final gauge roll.

However this has unpleasant consequences including a dirty environment, the need to rely on the actions of the operator, and poor hygienic conditions in general.
Imaforni has solved this problem by fitting a separate motorization between top and bottom rolls as standard equipment on all its final gauge roll units.
In terms of hygiene, the “easy-to-clean” concept applied to the design of the machines has eliminated the legs from most of the equipment; two strong columns sustain from the ground the whole rotary cutter section as well as the swivel panner.
Access for cleaning under this equipment is therefore unrestricted. All the stainless steel covers have rounded edges to ensure the surfaces are easy to clean, so as to avoid the danger of dirt accumulating. The adoption of transparent covers, in place of stainless steel, ensures easy inspection and encourages the operators to keep the machine clean.