OBRABOTKAMETALLOV MATERIAL SCIENCE Том 23 № 3 2021 EQUIPMEN . INSTRUM TS Vol. 7 No. 1 2025 Introduction The primary goal of food processing equipment manufacturing is to create highly efficient processing equipment that can increase labor productivity while reducing energy costs. Homogenization machines are among the many types of process equipment used in food industry enterprises [1–9]. Among the many critical features of contemporary processing machines, the equipment’s performance, technical condition, and product quality are the most important [10–19]. Enhancing existing and developing novel, high-performance equipment for food production is a key trend in modern mechanical engineering. As dynamic stresses and operating speeds increase, more stringent demands are placed on the design of individual components and assemblies, such as the drives that ensure intermittent motion of the machine’s working parts [7, 12–14, 16–22]. A significant requirement for modern machines is that the follower movements accurately correspond to a specific motion profile. Therefore, the use of cam-type mechanisms is proposed for food processing machines, as they allow for efficient control of the timing for product suction and injection. The motion profiles of cam mechanisms can be synthesized in a wide variety of ways, making them easily adaptable to the kinematic and dynamic requirements specified by the developer. Furthermore, the technology for obtaining the required cam profile as been firmly established ensuring accurate follower motion [23-35]. The homogenization process can benefit from the ability to reduce speed during product injection [36, 37]. The term “homogenization” literally means “increasing uniformity”. In the context of emulsions, homogenization refers to the process of treating emulsions that results in the fragmentation of the dispersed phase. More specifically, homogenization is the process of grinding liquid or mashed foods by passing them at high speed and pressure through narrow annular slots. The homogenization process is widely used in the food industry, particularly in the dairy industry, for example, in the manufacture of processed cheese. Processed cheese is a food product that has undergone melting and homogeneous distribution of its components. It is produced from specific mixtures formulated with a clear, specific recipe that details the ingredients: the components of milk, cream, butter, cheeses, melting salts, stabilizers, as well as flavors and additives. The technology for manufacturing processed cheese includes several stages. First, the cheese or cottage cheese is crushed and mixed. The mixture is then melted and emulsified, and special additives that aid in achieving the product’s desired consistency and texture, such as structurizers or emulsifying salts, may be used. According to analysis, homogenizer designs most frequently utilize crank mechanisms. Preliminary research [1–7, 12, 13, 36] suggests that laminar flow invariably results in a threefold increase in the degree of dispersion of fat globules compared to turbulent flow. Cheese is produced using specialized machines called homogenizing machines, and their indicator diagrams can be viewed in detail in [36]. The constituent elements of the diagram include the moments of product suction and injection through the annular slot. Product suction occurs at a pressure lower than atmospheric one, while injection through an annular slot occurs at a pressure of 20 MPa or higher. In conventional designs, the operation of the crank mechanism is divided into two sections: the first section is suction, which takes up half the distance traveled by the crank, and the second section provides injection, taking the second half of the distance. The disadvantage of such designs is their high power consumption. Therefore, we believe that replacing the crank mechanism with a cam mechanism is a promising, relevant, and timely task. The purpose of the work is to reduce power consumption during product homogenization To achieve this purpose, the following tasks were addressed: – the technological load during homogenization was determined; – the feasibility of replacing the crank mechanism with a cam mechanism was analyzed; – the necessary parameters for synthesizing of the cam pair were selected, and the synthesis was performed; – a novel cycle diagram of the device operation was proposed;
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