Application practice of Jianpai high-efficiency coating machine in candy and chocolate industry

I. Industry demand and traditional coating pain points

The coating process of candy products has strict requirements on appearance texture, taste uniformity and production efficiency. Whether it is hard candy, soft candy or sandwich candy, the outer coating must be smooth and transparent, uniform in thickness and not easy to crack. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid deformation of the candy core or penetration of ingredients during the coating process. Traditional coating equipment (such as water chestnut pot) often has rough surface and uneven thickness of sugar coating due to extensive temperature control, uneven atomization and single material stirring, and even problems such as “spotted” and “sticking” occur. In addition, the production capacity is limited and it is difficult to meet the needs of large-scale production.

II. Technical adaptability and advantages of Jianpai high-efficiency coating machine

1. Multi-dimensional precise temperature control and dehumidification system
– The equipment is equipped with a purification rotary dehumidification air supply cabinet, adopts three-stage air filtration (100,000 levels) and steam/electric heating dual modes, and the temperature control accuracy reaches ±2°C. With the rotary dehumidification technology (the dehumidification amount can be automatically adjusted according to the ambient humidity), it can maintain a constant low-humidity environment during the coating process. This feature can prevent moisture in the coating slurry from penetrating into the candy core, prevent the soft candy core from softening or the hard candy core from absorbing moisture and cracking, and ensure the stability of the candy taste.
– The inlet and outlet air frequency conversion speed regulation is matched with a micro-pressure transmitter to monitor the negative pressure value in the coating pot in real time, avoid the retention of hot and humid air, shorten the sugar coating drying time, and reduce the risk of candy sticking.

2. Innovative stirring and atomization system to improve coating uniformity
– The spiral agitator forms a “wave vortex” in the coating pot through the multi-directional displacement movement of “leading, expanding, and pushing back”, ensuring that each material is in full contact with the spraying. This design overcomes the problems of “squeezing” and “losing” of traditional mixers, and is particularly suitable for uniform coating of round and special-shaped candies, with a coating thickness error of ≤5%.
– The Jianpai spray gun has “three-stage diversion gasification” and gun cleaning functions, and the atomized particles are fine and uniform, and the spray shape and direction can be adjusted, without dripping instantly. In candy coating, the spray gun can atomize the syrup into micron-sized droplets, which are evenly attached to the surface of the candy to form a smooth and transparent sugar coating layer, while avoiding the surface roughness caused by “dry fog”.

3. Efficient cleaning and GMP compliance design
– The main machine adopts a cleaning in place system (CIP). The high-pressure cleaning pump cooperates with a rotating cleaning ball to quickly rinse the pot wall and dead corners. After cleaning, the pipeline is automatically dried to prevent bacterial growth. This feature meets the strict requirements of the candy industry for hygiene standards and is suitable for multi-variety production change scenarios (such as switching from fruit candy coating to milk candy coating), reducing the risk of cross contamination.
– The inner wall of the coating pot has an arc transition and no residual dead corners. The sealing ring is made of double-layer silicone rubber, which meets food-grade hygiene standards and ensures that the sugar coating raw materials are not contaminated by the equipment material.

III. Typical candy coating application scenarios and case effects

1. Automated sugar coating on the surface of hard candy
– Application process: The hard candy core is added to the coating pot, the spiral agitator is started to make the material roll evenly, the spray gun sprays the syrup according to the preset parameters, and the dehumidification system maintains the temperature in the pot at 50±2℃ and the humidity ≤40%RH. After the coating is completed, the pot body is reversed to discharge the material, and the single production capacity can reach 500~1000kg, the sugar coating qualified rate is ≥99%, and the surface gloss (60° mirror reflection) is above 85.
– Advantages: Compared with traditional open drum coating, JGB-E equipment reduces dust flying through a fully enclosed negative pressure environment, reduces energy consumption by 25%, and increases the utilization rate of sugar coating raw materials by 15% (reducing spray waste).

2. Special-shaped soft candy coating process
– In order to solve the problem of uneven coating caused by irregular surface of special-shaped soft candies (such as animal and fruit shapes), the adjustable air damper device of the equipment can adjust the exhaust position according to the material height to avoid “short circuit” of hot air flow and ensure the coating temperature of materials of different volumes is consistent. The application data of a candy company shows that after using this equipment, the uniformity of sugar coating of special-shaped soft candies has increased to 98%, and the breakage rate has decreased.

IV. Industry value and development trend

The Jianpai high-efficiency coating machine has broken through the process bottleneck of candy coating through the technical combination of “precise temperature control + intelligent stirring + efficient dehumidification”, and provides equipment support for the large-scale and high-quality production of hard candies, soft candies, sandwich candies and other products. Its modular design (such as optional steam-electric dual-use heating and explosion-proof peristaltic pumps) can flexibly adapt to different material characteristics. In the future, in the production of functional candies (such as probiotic coated candies) and high-end customized candies, it will further play the advantages of digitalization and intelligence, and promote the industry to move towards the goal of “zero defect coating”.