At interpack, IPCO will showcase high-performance chocolate moulding and cooling systems designed to deliver precision, flexibility, and high-throughput production across a wide range of confectionery applications.
IPCO is a major supplier of chocolate forming and moulding equipment, with systems engineered for the production of industrial ingredients including chips, chunks, drops, and blocks, alongside decorative items like shavings, rolls, pencils, and blossoms.
A comprehensive range of production line components enables the company to tailor system designs to suit different needs in terms of capacity, budget, and product. By combining and adapting these, process lines can be designed and supplied for everything from low-cost, rapid-deployment start-up operations to high-performance, multi-layer systems with capacities as high as 6 tons per hour.
High productivity forming with Rotoform chip production
IPCO’s Rotoform rotary depositor module (RDM) forms the basis of all of its high-capacity solutions. The latest model, the Rotoform HP (High Performance), is specifically designed for chocolate chocolate chip forming and will be featured at Interpack.
The process begins with a pump delivering molten chocolate to the Rotoform via heated piping. The Rotoform itself consists of a heated stator, which is supplied with liquid chocolate or compound, and a perforated rotating shell. This shell turns concentrically around the stator to deposit drops of chocolate onto a continuously running steel belt.
The drops are delivered with uniform pressure across the entire belt width. This ensures the cooling profile of chips deposited at the centre of the belt is identical to those at the edges, and guarantees high-quality products meeting strict shape, size, and weight tolerances.
The speed of the Rotoform and cooling belt is synchronized to ensure that the drops are deposited cleanly and without deformation. Heat from the drops is transferred to cooling air blown onto the product and into the belt itself. This short cooling time ensures minimal oxygen penetration.
The resulting chips are free-flowing for easy storage, handling, and dosing. Sizes ranging from 80,000 to 300 pcs/kg can be produced simply by exchanging the rotary shell and nozzle bar. The system enables continuous operation at line speeds of up to 20 m/min, and throughput rates of up to 2,000 kg/hr are possible.
Innovative piston depositor for large wafers/chips
IPCO has also introduced an innovative piston depositor, the company’s first solution of this kind.
This system uses a D-motion to deliver chocolate or compound directly onto a moving belt, rather than the belt-to-depositor movement commonly employed on other systems. The speed and height of the depositor is software controlled, ensuring that it travels at exactly the same speed as the belt.
This means a variable deposit can be applied without any distortion of the product, resulting in perfectly circular large – i.e. wide and/or thick – wafer products.
Maximum productivity with triple pass cooling systems
IPCO has developed a range of triple-pass cooling systems designed to enable high throughput rates while minimizing floorspace requirements. The product is deposited on the first belt and adheres to the underside for a second pass, before being removed onto a second conveyor for a third pass.
The piston depositor can be installed alongside existing Rotoform and extrusion equipment on IPCO CCM (Chip and Chunk Moulding) triple-pass steel belt cooler lines. This integration allows for three depositing systems on a single line, providing maximum production flexibility. It can also be installed as an upgrade to older CCM lines, or as a standalone system on new lines.
Steel belt-based conveying lines
Steel belts have been employed in confectionery and chocolate processing for nearly a century, utilized in applications such as conveying, cooling/solidification, conditioning, casting, and drop-forming. As the world’s leading supplier of steel belts to the food processing industry, IPCO offers a full range of conveyor components covering every aspect of a system, from drive and tensioning stations to advanced tracking systems.
