FLEXY-MILL, the roller mill from OMAS

• FLEXY-MILL, the roller mill that allows you to change the grinding parameters during the grinding process, while maintaining the quality of the finished product

In recent years, consumption of organic grain and/or multigrain bakery products increased by approximately 60%.

This development is not the result of institutional campaigns, but we are talking about one spontaneous process.

The most used products for the production and mixing of flours can be grouped into two categories:

1. The first group includes different types of cereals, such as durum wheat, common wheat, rye, kamut, spelt, barley, oats, buckwheat and corn. With these cereals, wholemeal and white flour suitable for the preparation of bread, dry pasta, fresh pasta, biscuits, desserts, pizza and other standard products can be obtained.
2. The second group includes a number of legumes such as peas, chickpeas, lentils, beans

The flours obtained after grinding these legumes are used to produce dry flours, which can be used to make soups, hummus or biscuits. Mixed with other flours, alternative foods or even substitutes (vegan steaks) can be produced due to the high protein content.

The consumption of whole and vegan products is increasing

There are now more wholegrain and vegan products on supermarket shelves.

These products are becoming more and more popular, even at our table. This one increase in consumption is due to two factors:

1. The health factor: today, wholemeal and vegan products are the best rated. Major food companies have included them in their production lines, but also in their marketing campaigns.
2. The multiethnic factor: our society is becoming more and more diverse, and the market is adapting to this change. Ethnic groups that come together in the same environment bring with them their values, lifestyle, tradition and culinary habits.

Milling of grains and legumes: how can we get the best milled products with the best extraction percentage?

Both grains and legumes have different ones shapes, hardness and specific gravity.

The art of grinding consists in obtaining the best ground products cu the best extraction percentage.

Because, the characteristics of the rolls they must be suitable for grinding the product. These parameters are essential for the production of flours with different characteristics.

Here it is lista with these parameters:

• The number of ridges per cm: determines the semolina size and the amount of flour produced during grinding;
• Operating angle: determines the percentage and size of the grit extracted;
• Operating position: DD – SS – DS – SD parameter that determines the percentage of semolina and the size of the bran resulting from grinding;
• Slope of the riffles: determines the cutting angle when the grooves intersect to produce more or less flour;
• Grinding capacity between: grooved rolls 1:2,5; finishing rollers 1: 1,25. This parameter determines the size of coarse bran when used grooved rolls. This parameter in smooth rolls is important when you want to change the values ​​of damaged starch, which go hand in hand with water absorption. The increase in damaged starch increases the water-holding capacity of the flour;
• Peripheral velocities of fast waltz: Increases or decreases the production capacity of each grinding step.

Based on all these parameters, you understand how complicated it is to choose the perfect roller mill setup.

Moreover, the operator (miller) has only one possibility to calibrate the machine.

FLEXY-MILL is Omas Industries' revolution for fast, flexible and quality grinding

We at Omas have exceeded the expectations of millers and the milling market.

I did the four independent grinding rollers, removing the drive pulleys and belts that allowed the two pairs of cylinders to grind.

Due to permanent magnet torque motors coupled with inverters, you can adjust the speed of each roller and thus change parameters that were impossible to change before.

Cu our Leonardo roller mill, the miller can, during the grinding process, modify the following grinding parameters:

• Zoom in or out peripheral speed of both grinding rolls;
• Change the grind ratio;
• Change the position of operation of the rollers;
• Adjust the gap grinding;
• Create grinding recipes which can be saved in the equipment or in the PLC of the control system.

All of these operating parameters influence grinding operations as much as adjusting the grinding gap.

Now that you can change them all, grinding will be more of a process fast and more flexible. In this way, the operator can adapt the mill to different types of cereals and/or legumes, without compromising grinding performance and finished product quality.

Sergio Dipasquale
sergio@omasindustries.com
Chief Milling Technologist