Automatic ice cream production line

Complete introduction of fully automatic industrial ice cream production line
The entire hard ice cream production line is divided into eight modules: slurry pretreatment system, sterilization and homogenization system, cooling and aging system, continuous freezing system, molding and filling system, quick freezing and hardening system, automatic packaging, and cold storage. The production capacity covers 300-5000L/h and can produce products such as cup, egg tube, stick ice cream, sandwich coating, ice cream sandwich, and bucket scoop ice cream.
1、 Complete process flow
Raw material acceptance → Standardized ingredient mixing → HTST instant sterilization → High pressure homogenization → Plate rapid cooling → Low temperature aging → Continuous freezing and inflation → Forming/filling/inserting/sandwich coating → Quick freezing and hardening → Automatic packaging → Low temperature cold storage (stored below 18 ℃)

2、 Detailed explanation of segmented equipment and process
1. Raw material mixing system (pre-treatment section)
Supporting equipment: milk storage tank, syrup storage tank, dry powder feeder, high-speed mixing tank, shear emulsification tank, filter
-Raw materials: fresh milk/milk powder, cream, white granulated sugar, fructose syrup, emulsifier, stabilizer, essence, fruit granules, chocolate jam
-Process: Heating and stirring at 50-60 ℃, dry powder is fed under negative pressure to prevent clumping, and the material is fully dissolved; Filter to remove impurities
-Function: Obtain a uniform and stable ice cream slurry, preparing for sterilization

2. Sterilization+Homogenization Section (determines food safety and delicate taste)
1. Instantaneous Sterilization Machine HTST (Plate Heat Exchanger)
-Parameters: 83-85 ℃, hold for 15 seconds; Small batch: 65-75 ℃ insulation for 30 minutes
-Purpose: To kill pathogenic bacteria, protect flavor, and avoid prolonged high temperatures that may cause cooking odors
2. Secondary high-pressure homogenizer
-Homogenization temperature 60-65 ℃; Primary pressure 15-20MPa, secondary pressure 3-5MPa
-Effect: The fat globules are broken to 1-2 μ m, preventing oil from floating up, improving the viscosity, expansion rate, and anti melting ability of the slurry, and providing a smooth and particle free taste

3. Cooling&Aging System (Maturation Section)
Equipment: Plate cooler+insulation aging tank (with low-speed stirring)
1. After sterilization and homogenization, the slurry is rapidly cooled to 2-4 ℃
2. Enter the sealed insulation aging tank and let it sit for 4-24 hours (minimum not less than 4 hours)
-Aging purpose: stabilizer, sufficient water absorption and swelling of proteins; Crystallization of fat particles; Increase in viscosity of the slurry; Directly determine the freezing inflation effect and the final product shaping ability. Insufficient aging can cause ice cream to collapse, melt easily, have coarse ice crystals, and have a rough texture

4. Continuous freezing machine (the core host of the entire production line)
Equipment: Wall scraping continuous freezing machine
1. The low-temperature refrigerant wraps around the freezing cylinder, and the high-speed scraper inside continuously scrapes off the ice crystals on the cylinder wall
2. Freeze while accurately and quantitatively injecting sterile air
3. The discharge temperature should be controlled between 3 ℃ and 6 ℃; About 50% of the moisture in the slurry freezes into small ice crystals
4. Adjustable expansion rate (air ratio) of 30% -120%, controlling the softness of ice cream; Can add jam, fruit chips, and chocolate chips online
>Discharge status: Semi solid soft ice cream, can be directly filled or extruded into shape
5. Molding and filling section (multi product differentiation unit)
Select different molding equipment according to the product:
1. Linear/Rotary Filling Machine: Cup, Box, Home Bucket, Egg Bucket Ice Cream, Supports Double Color Filling for Sandwich
2. Extrusion cutting production line: ice cream chunks, sandwich ice cream, cut to a fixed length after extrusion
3. Automatic ice cream production line: mold infusion, automatic insertion of wooden sticks, multi-layer sandwich, dual color inside and outside
4. Post processing unit: chocolate coating machine, nut spreader, sugar granule spraying equipment, for making crispy ice cream
-The frozen semi soft ice cream must be quickly molded, as temperature rise can cause collapse and deformation of the material

6. Quick freezing and hardening stage (locking in fine ice crystals)
Two options:
1. Quick freezing tunnel (continuous automation): temperature of 35 ℃~40 ℃, continuous operation of conveyor belt, hardening time of 30-50 minutes, suitable for large-scale continuous production
2. Intermittent quick freezing warehouse: 23-25 ℃, product static freezing for 8-12 hours, suitable for small and medium-sized factories
-Process objective: Quickly reduce the center temperature of the product to below 18 ℃; Quickly cross the ice crystal formation zone to avoid the formation of large ice crystals, ensuring hardness, shaping, delicate and stable taste

7. Automatic packaging system
After hardening is completed: automatic demolding, material handling, pillow packaging machine, boxing machine, boxing robot; Complete the sealed packaging to prevent frost from returning and odor from spreading.

8. Finished product cold storage
The finished cold storage maintains a constant temperature of 20-25 ℃, and the cold chain is released for sale.

3、 Production line supporting public system
1. CIP in-situ cleaning system: The entire pipeline and tank body are automatically cleaned and sterilized with acid and alkali, without the need for manual disassembly, meeting the food SC cleanliness standards
2. Refrigeration unit: provides cold source for freezing machine, aging tank, quick freezing tunnel, and cold storage
3. PLC fully automatic control system: temperature, pressure, flow rate, and inflation volume are recorded throughout the process, and the formula can be called with one click
4. Aseptic air system: Condenser inflation filtration sterilization

4、 Comparison of production line classification
|Production line type | Capacity | Applicable products | Features|
|Small scale experiment/semi-automatic line | 300-800L/h | Store, small factory, bucket, simple ice cream | Low investment, flexible formula change|
|Standard fully automatic hard ice line | 1000-2500L/h | Cup, ice cream, crispy products | Most versatile|
|High speed extrusion color line | 3000-5000L/h | Ice cream, sandwich, large-scale production | High automation, minimal manual labor|

5、 Key Quality Control Points
1. The aging time cannot be shortened;
2. Precise control of freezing discharge temperature and expansion rate;
3. The faster the hardening speed, the finer the ice cream taste;
4. Fully sealed CIP cleaning to prevent excessive microorganisms.