Toothpaste production equipment: toothpaste making machine and toothpaste workshop

According to the needs of toothpaste production process, toothpaste making machine can be divided into five categories: toothpaste vacuum homogenizer mixer machine, filling line machine , packaging machine, water treatment equipment, and public engineering equipment.

1. Toothpaste making equipment

Toothpaste production equipment is the main equipment in the production of toothpaste, which is to mix various raw materials including powder (friction agent), liquid material (moisturizer, water and water-soluble additives), thickener, foaming agent, essence and others Auxiliary powder is fully stirred, mixed, homogenized, and vacuum degassed to make toothpaste paste.

2. 

^{Toothpaste production process flow chart-1}

Toothpaste making equipment is system equipment, which is the largest equipment system in toothpaste production. With the paste making machine (also known as the paste making pot) as the core, it includes: ① powder (friction agent) transportation, storage, mixing, and metering system; ② liquid material (humectant, liquid foaming agent) storage, transportation, and metering system ; ③ pre-dissolving pot for water-soluble additive pretreatment, pre-dispersion pot for thickener pre-treatment; ④ paste making pot, paste storage pot.

These devices are connected with sanitary-grade process pipes and pumps to form an equipment system for pipeline production of toothpaste paste according to the production process.

A. Toothpaste making machine

The toothpaste making machine for toothpaste production is an equipment integrating "mixing, homogenizing, and vacuum degassing", also known as "three-in-one" vacuum toothpaste making machine.

The representative models mainly include: YGP toothpaste making machine, YZG toothpaste making machine, YRW toothpaste making machine.

Their common features are :

(1) The paste is operated in a closed container under vacuum.

(2) Equipped with paddle stirring and scraper, no material accumulation and no dead ends.

(3) Equipped with a high-speed homogenizer or colloid mill to make the material even and fine.

(4) One-step process is adopted, and all paste-making operations are completed in the paste-making machine, which significantly reduces material loss.

(5) The matching raw material conveying system, automatic metering and control system realizes the automation of paste making through computer operation.

The difference is:

(1) YGP type toothpaste making machine uses colloid mill to grind materials, disperses thickener in pre-dispersion pot, and gels in paste making pot. It is mostly used in wet one-step process.

(2) The YZG toothpaste making machine uses a high-speed homogenizer to grind the material, and disperses the thickener in the powder mixing and measuring chamber, which is mostly used in the dry one-step process.

(3) The equipment, process and control of the YRW type toothpaste making machine are basically the same as those of the DZG type paste making machine. The difference is that it is equipped with a bypass pipe, and the material that passes through the high-speed homogenizer is returned to the toothpaste making machine through the bypass pipe. The liquid surface in the upper part of the pot is circulated outside the pot, which further improves the homogenization efficiency.

1. YGP toothpaste making machine

YGP type toothpaste making machine is a product introduced and digested by my country in 1986 from the Swiss FRYMAN company VME type toothpaste making machine. Its effective volume ranges from 12L laboratory equipment to 2400L large-scale production equipment. Usually, 700L, 1300L, and 2400L are selected.

The structural features of YGP toothpaste making machine are:

(1) The cylinder is a vacuum pressure-resistant part, the inner material is stainless steel, the pressure is 2026 kPa, the jacket is used for cooling (or heating), and the pressure is 3040 kPa.

(2) The scraper mixing system adopts a flexible scraper. When stirring the material, the scraper can automatically close to the inner wall to scrape off the material, and the temperature is transferred evenly.

(3) Rapid stirring uses a dissolving plate with a diameter of 300mm or 350mm to mix the powder and liquid materials through high-speed rotation and stir in the paste pot.

(4) Rely on a nylon screw propeller to send the material upwards to the colloid mill. The main body of the mill is a pair of conical discs with helical teeth. The outer disc is fixed and the inner disc runs at high speed. The gap between them is adjustable, and the toothpaste production is generally 1. 0 ~ 1. 2mm.

(5) The vacuum pump adopts a water-sealed two-stage vacuum pump, the hydraulic system is driven by a high-pressure oil pump, and the valve adopts a pneumatic ball valve. The compressed air pressure requirement is 4 ~ 6kgF/cm2.

YGP Toothpaste making system

The equipment flow chart of the paste making system matched with the YGP toothpaste making machine. Among them, in the part of the powder unpacking, storage, transportation and metering device, 4 pipelines with movable joints are used to send different powder materials to different powder bins, and the transportation from the powder bin to the metering bin is connected by pipelines. The star-shaped unloading valve can automatically control the unloading speed, and it is blown by dehumidified compressed air. The metering chamber is evacuated by a vacuum pump to form a negative pressure, and the metering is controlled by a computer. The liquid raw material is directly measured by the flow meter and entered into the paste pot, and the amount should be converted into volume according to the formula when setting. The paste making operation is controlled by a large-scale PLC system, which adopts the centralized distribution mode, including powder feeding control unit, liquid material conveying and metering control unit, powder metering control unit, vacuum paste making control unit, filling automatic feeding control unit, each Each unit communicates with the master station through the field bus, which can be operated independently or through the master station, and the process parameters can be input in advance.

The advantages of YGP toothpaste making system equipment are:

(1) The toothpaste making machine completes the glue making process and the three paste making processes of grinding, stirring and vacuuming in one paste making pot, which significantly reduces material loss, reduces paste pollution, and improves production efficiency and cleanliness .

(2) The control system is easy to operate, stable in performance and accurate in measurement.

(3) Colloid mill grinding, especially suitable for silica toothpaste with low density and good thixotropy.

The disadvantages of YGP toothpaste making system equipment are:

(1) For the calcium carbonate toothpaste with high density, the material circulation of the colloid mill is not enough, only about twice.

(2) The end mechanical seals of two sets of fast rotating shafts cannot withstand long-term operation, and they must be shut down for half an hour to cool naturally.

(3) The anchor paddle is too narrow and the speed is slow, resulting in less axial agitation and almost no tumbling on the liquid surface.

2. YZG Toothpaste making machine

YZG type toothpaste making machine is a product imported and digested by my country from Italian Pressindustria company TE-3 toothpaste making machine in the 1990s. Its effective volume ranges from 5L laboratory equipment to 3000L large-scale production equipment, and its conventional volume is 5L and 1500L. , 3000L.

The structural features of the YZG toothpaste making machine are;

(1) The cylinder has three layers, and stainless steel is used inside and outside. The working pressure requirements are: positive pressure less than 0.2MPa, negative pressure less than -0.1MPa; the jacket is used for heating or cooling, and the working pressure should be less than 0.3MPa.

(2) Scraper agitation is that the large wall-attached scraper and the central scraper rotate in positive and negative directions, and the speeds are 6r/min and 12r/min respectively. When stirring, the material can be scraped off the cylinder wall, and the temperature transfer is uniform and sufficient. Create the effect of flipping up and down.

(3) The high-speed homogenizer is placed at the bottom of the paste making pot, the speed is 1450 r/inin, and the gap between the inner and outer rotors is 1~2mm. After the powder is sucked from the bottom, it is sprayed to the top through the homogenizer to achieve a fine paste. Effect.

(4) The vacuum pump adopts a water-sealed two-stage vacuum pump, and a buffer tank is installed between it and the paste making pot to isolate the materials that are accidentally brought out.

(5) The hydraulic lifting mechanism is double-column and double-hydraulic differential, which is convenient for overhauling the accessories in the paste making pot and checking the paste in the pot.

(6) Circulating water is used for jacket cooling, the water pressure is controlled below 0.3MPa, and the temperature is set by the control system.

(7) The discharge port is located at the bottom of the paste making pot, and a colloid pump with a flow rate greater than 100L/min is used to discharge the material.

The material conveying system of toothpaste making system equipment matched with YZG type toothpaste making machine includes powder material conveying and liquid material conveying. The powder conveying adopts a fully enclosed powder air delivery device. The powder vibrating screen is built into the powder conveyor, and the impurities in the powder are automatically filtered during the conveying process.

The filtered powder enters the closed powder bin through the pipeline, and the tail style Dust with a baghouse. When making toothpaste, it enters the closed metering chamber through the pipeline for automatic metering, and then enters the toothpaste making machine to ensure that there is almost no leakage and waste of powder in the production process. Liquid material delivery Directly use the quick-change joint to pump the incoming liquid material into the liquid material tank. During production, it is automatically measured by a flow meter and directly input into the toothpaste pot. Due to the high degree of automation of the process, there is almost no leakage of liquid material. At the same time, the process is simplified and the cleaning water is significantly reduced.

The operation of the main machine adopts the dry one-step toothpaste making process. The computer is used to realize the control through the PLC controller, and the production formula and process flow are stored in the computer. During production, the operator only needs to properly operate the computer, and the production can run step by step according to the prescribed formula and process. The entire production process takes about 80mhi. The control system has an automatic diagnosis function. When a fault occurs in a certain link of production, the system can find and alarm by itself, and then display the result on the monitor.

The advantages of YZG toothpaste making system equipment are:

(1) The process flow is more simplified, the equipment is well sealed, the material leakage is very small, and the toothpaste pollution is very small, which ensures the cleanliness of toothpaste production.

(2) Applicable to the dry one-step process, the thickener is dispersed in the powder mixing and metering chamber, which is beneficial to increase the amount of sorbitol and reduce the amount of glycerin in the toothpaste formula.

(3) The bottom is homogeneous, suitable for calcium carbonate toothpaste with high density. The toothpaste produced is fine and compact, and there is no thickener granulation.

The disadvantages of YZG toothpaste making system equipment are:

(1) When mixed with a thickener, sometimes agglomerates and damages the feed valve, and inspection needs to be strengthened.

(2) Due to the agglomeration of the powder in the paste making pot, it is easy to damage the scraper, so inspection needs to be strengthened.

3 YZP toothpaste making machine

YZG toothpaste making machine is an improved product based on YGP toothpaste making machine. With the improvement of the quality of toothpaste raw materials, the homogeneous part was removed

It can also produce high-quality paste by changing it to a double-disc shaft layered high-speed dispersion method. The conventional volume is 15L, 100L, 700L, 1300L.

The technical characteristics and system application of YZP toothpaste making machine are very similar to those of YGP toothpaste making machine.

4. YRW paste making machine

YRW type paste making machine is produced by A.REREN company in Germany, and its effective volumes are 125L, 500L and 1000L respectively.

Technical characteristics of YRW paste making machine:

(1) The homogenizer is placed at the bottom of the paste making pot, and the shaft is very short, so there will be no vibration. The material enters from the bottom of the pot, passes through the homogenizer and enters the pipe outside the pot, and then returns to the liquid surface from the top of the pot body for in vitro Circulation fully ensures that all materials have an equal opportunity to flow to the homogenizer, and the paste particles are controlled below 2jwn, which is more delicate. At the same time, the external circulation pipeline can also be used as a discharge pump, which has the function of short-distance paste transportation. As long as the conveying distance of the paste does not exceed 3 ~ 5m, the effective conveying of the paste can be realized.

(2) The main body of the homogenizer is a structure similar to the impeller of a centrifugal pump. Using the centrifugal force generated, the thrown material passes through a homogenizing mechanism composed of two fixed toothed rings and a moving toothed ring. Cut the material into pieces. The rectangular teeth on the three toothed rings are similar to the universal pulverizer, and there are 24 long 8.5mm, wide 4.75mm, high 24mm rectangular teeth on the moving coil, and the gap of the three is at 1 ~ 2mm. Therefore, the number of shears per revolution is more than twice that of the TE-3 type. Calculated according to the area of the homogenizer inlet, the YRW type is 1.8 times that of the YME type, and the production current reaches 30 amperes, while the YGP type is only 10~15 amperes, which shows that the homogenization effect of the YRW type paste making machine is better than that of the YZP type and YGP type. .

(3) There is no need to open the pot cover, which saves the hydraulic lifting mechanism and facilitates cleaning of the flange.

(4) Two fixed baffles are installed under the pot cover, which improves the turning of materials.

(5) The stirring shaft on the upper part of the pot cover adopts a single-end mechanical seal, and the lower homogenizer adopts a double-end mechanical seal. 50% glycerin is used to circulate and cool the end faces under an atmospheric pressure to prevent leakage.

(6) Attached with a stainless steel instrument cabinet, in addition to the ammeter and switch, it also records the speed of the homogenizer, the speed of stirring, the temperature of the material, the temperature of the cooling water, the vacuum degree in the pot, and the conductivity, so that the whole process of production can be understood and the quality control is convenient .

(7) There is a complete set of cleaning tools. Two rotating high-efficiency flushing sprinklers are installed on the top of the pot cover, connected to a water source with a pressure of 0.3MPa, and the external circulation pipeline can be used to clean various parts of the pot conveniently.

(8) All pipeline valves use solenoid valves, which are convenient for automatic control systems.

(9) The shape of the pot body is a conical shape without dead angle, which can realize the effective volume production of 35% ~ 100%, and has the characteristics of being used as both small equipment and large equipment, that is, the production volume can be within a certain range adjust.

The material conveying system and automatic paste control system of YRW type paste making system can be selected according to the above two types.

The disadvantages of YRW paste making machine are:

①The cleaning time is relatively long.

②The scraper is easy to deform when the temperature is high.

B. Other equipment in the toothpaste workshop

(1) Liquid material storage tank

In toothpaste production, liquid material storage tanks are mainly used to store liquid raw materials for toothpaste, such as purified water, sorbitol, glycerin, propylene glycol, etc. Some toothpaste manufacturers use liquid K12.

The design, material and manufacture of the liquid material storage tank must comply with food hygiene requirements or gmp (clean production) requirements.

1. Material requirements for storage tanks

The contact part of the storage tank and the liquid material must be made of 304, 304L, 316 and 316L stainless steel materials that are not easy to corrode and do not react with the raw material.

2. Storage tank design and production requirements

The design and manufacture of liquid material storage tanks require that the inner wall and welds be clean and free of dead angles. The joint between the cylindrical barrel body and the conical (or head) top and bottom parts must have a circular arc transition and cannot be at an acute angle. or inclination angle; the inner and outer walls of the storage tank, welds, and connecting pipes must be ground, polished, pickled, and passivated, and the storage tank as a whole meets the requirements of GMP or food hygiene.

3. The interface and connection arrangement of the liquid material storage tank

The interface of the storage tank generally has a material inlet, a material outlet, and a vent (also known as a breathing port). It should also arrange a sampling port, a spray head interface for cleaning, and a level device interface for electrical control (such as: pressure Transmitters, float level controllers and other control components). Storage tanks above 5m3 need to be installed with access holes for easy cleaning, maintenance and repair. Due to GMP and sanitary production requirements, a sanitary or sterile filter must be installed on the air vent; all pipe fittings must use sanitary quick-fitting fittings.

4. Common specifications of liquid storage tanks

C. Small material pretreatment equipment

Commonly used small material pretreatment equipment includes: glycerin glue pot (also known as premixing pot, predispersion pot), which is used for mixing CMC and glycerin to make glycerin glue; water and water-soluble small material mixing equipment (also known as small feeding pot, pre-dissolving pot). These two pretreatment materials must be prepared and used immediately in production. The production of toothpaste with some formulas (such as all-sorbitol formula) does not use the process of making glycerin gum.

The purpose of pretreatment of toothpaste small materials: to pre-mix, disperse, refine and dissolve various small materials that can be mixed with liquid materials or water, so as to ensure that this part of pretreated materials is compatible with other raw materials (friction agents, foaming agents and Moisturizing agent, etc.) in the paste making equipment, after stirring and homogenizing, the purpose of uniform compatibility of paste quality requirements is achieved.

1. Small pot

The small feed pot is a device used for stirring and dissolving purified water and granular sweeteners, sodium fluoride, sodium pyrophosphate, etc. Usually, the volume of the small material pot matched with the 700L and 1300L paste pots is generally 180L and 250L, and the diameter of the pot is 600mm. /min, motor power 2,2kW, stirring effect is better when the paddle wheel is 50~80mm away from the bottom of the pot, and the material of the contact part with the material is 304 or 316 stainless steel.

2. Premix pot

The premixing pots matched with 700L and 1300L paste making pots are usually 350L and 750L, and the diameters of the pots are 600mm and 750mm, which are used for mixing, dispersing and refining glycerin and powdery binder (CMC), and making glue. The stirring device of the premixing pot is composed of a sawtooth stirrer 1 and a pusher stirrer 2. The pusher is used for turning, and the sawtooth is used for dispersing and cutting. The linear speed of the sawtooth stirrer is 7m/s, and the motor power is 2.2 ~3kW. Material requirements of the premixing pot: 304 or 316 stainless steel is used for the part in contact with the material.

3. The equipment process of connecting the small material pretreatment equipment with the toothpaste making machine

D. Powder feeding equipment

1. Powder feeding bin, powder mixing bin

The powder feeding equipment in toothpaste production is mostly a powder mixing chamber with a mixing agitator. Its main function is to mix the powdery material (friction agent) and other powdery small ingredients required for a pot of paste, after weighing according to the process formula, it belongs to the pretreatment equipment for various powder materials after metering. Some enterprises use the manual operation method of stacking various powder materials (including small ingredients) in the powder feeding bin, pouring them into the powder feeding bin after manual weighing, and then turning on the mixing agitator for uniform mixing; The powder (the main friction agent) is sent to the large powder bin placed on the upper part of the powder mixing bin through the conveying device, and then sent to the powder mixing bin with automatic weighing through the vibrating device or the screw conveying device, and then the small ingredients are added manually for uniformity. Mixed and more automated powder pretreatment method.

There are three common agitator structures for the powder feeding bin with a mixing pan: the first is a frame-type twin-screw agitator with rotation and revolution, and the twin-screw (rotation ) to continuously lift the powder upwards, and the powder will continue to fall under the action of gravity. At the same time, the frame-type stirring will continue to carry out revolution stirring with the twin-screw to make the powder evenly mixed (the mixing effect is more than 95%); the second is An upward spiral lifter is in the form of an inclined scraper close to the wall of the powder bin. During operation, the spiral lifter continuously lifts the powder upwards, and the inclined scraper continuously presses the powder down to make the powder flow continuously in this state. During the process, it can be mixed evenly (the mixing effect is more than 95%); the third type is a claw agitator, which is similar to the form of finger separation. When working, the powder is dispersed and stirred on a plane, because it cannot be fully and uniformly stirred in a three-dimensional manner. , so the effect is not very good.

The size (or volume) of the powder feeding bin (powder mixing bin) should match the size of the paste making machine, and the effective volume is basically consistent with the maximum volume of the paste making machine. For lighter powders such as silica abrasives, The method of throwing (into) powder twice can be used. The shape and structure of the powder feeding bin should be conical, and the angle between the hypotenuse and the vertical line should be 30°. The power of the equipment stirrer is generally 3 ~ 5kW, and the speed is about 35r/min.

2. Powder inlet, powder hopper

Some enterprises do not have a powder mixing bin, and the powder enters the powder hopper through the powder inlet with a vibrating screen and the powder pipeline. The powder hopper is generally a conical container, and a vibrating hammer, vibrator or fluidizing air cushion is installed if necessary.

E. Liquid and Finished Paste Delivery Pumps

Various types of pumps are commonly used for liquid material transfer. Since the viscosities of various liquid raw materials, glues, and finished pastes vary greatly (for example, the viscosity of the finished paste can reach 360 Pa • s, and the requirements for process conditions such as the delivery volume and delivery height of various liquid materials are also different, Pumps of different structures and models need to be selected.

In the toothpaste industry in the past, for thicker liquid materials such as glycerin, sorbitol and liquid K12, the commonly used delivery pump was a screw pump; for glue (colloidal material made of CMC thickener, glycerin, sorbitol, and water), 1400r /min high-speed, low-displacement gear pump; for the finished paste, use a low-speed, high-displacement gear pump around 90 ~ 100r/min. These three pumps all belong to volumetric pumps, which need to be selected according to the characteristics of the material. The delivery volume and delivery pressure of this type of pump are realized by the change of the working volume, that is, the volume change (decrease) of the inhaled material through the pump makes the material in the output chamber form a material with pressure to realize the delivery. Larger, the higher and longer the conveying height and distance. Most of these pumps are made of cast iron or carbon steel, which is easily corroded by toothpaste raw materials, resulting in rust or rust spots, which pollute the paste. At the same time, due to its own structure, disassembly and installation are more complicated, and it is difficult to clean the residual substances in the pump when changing varieties. Therefore, this type of pump has been difficult to meet the clean production of toothpaste industry (including food industry and cosmetic industry).

In view of the characteristics of clean production, many pump manufacturers are developing delivery pumps for liquid materials, pastes and pure water of various viscosities that meet or meet the requirements of GMP production.

1. Double-lobe rotor pump

The double-lobe rotor pump is widely used in the toothpaste industry, which can meet the transportation of high and low viscosity liquid materials, glue and finished paste. The pump body and rotor are made of 304L, 316 and 316L stainless steel, which belongs to positive displacement pump and has good delivery effect.

^{Picture of rotor pump} 

(2) The working principle of the rotor pump.

The rotor pump belongs to the positive displacement pump, and the conveyed material enters the pump body from the pump inlet (that is, the input chamber of the pump) under the action of the pump body and the rotation of the rotor. Under the action of the rotor, the volume of the material in the pump body is continuously compressed, and when it reaches the outlet of the pump, it forms a material with a certain pressure, which is quickly discharged from the outlet to realize the delivery of the material.

4) Selection of rotor pump.

The rotor pump can transport liquid materials, glues and finished pastes with various viscosities, and has a wide range of applications. For liquid materials, glues and finished pastes with different viscosities, the choice of chestnuts is also different. For conveying sorbitol, liquid K12 and glycerin, a rotor pump with a speed of 300 r/min is generally used; for glue, a rotor pump with a speed of about 200 r/min should be used; for finished paste, a rotor pump with a speed of about 100 r/min should be used. In addition, it is also necessary to select a rotor pump of the corresponding caliber in the working parameter table according to the delivery capacity.

(5) Cleaning and disinfection of the rotor pump.

The cleaning of the rotor pump is very convenient. Remove the front end cover of the pump body, and then remove the two cam rotors to thoroughly clean all residual materials in the cavity and on the rotors. The pump can be disinfected as a whole by reinstalling the disassembled and washed pump.

2. Sanitary centrifugal pump (water pump)

In the production of toothpaste, the main purpose of the centrifugal pump is to transport water, most of which are used for the manufacture and delivery of pure water, including the cleaning and disinfection of pure water (cold and hot pure water) equipment.

The material of the sanitary centrifugal high is 304L, 316 and 316L stainless steel, and the motor is a fully enclosed, air-cooled two-pole motor. The hot water type pump can transport 70 ~ 110 feet of medium liquid, which is very convenient for hot water formula or hot water cleaning and disinfection equipment.

Commonly used specifications are: 

caliber ∅40-50mm, power 2,2~3kW, head 20~30m, flow rate 12~25m3/h; sanitary centrifugal pumps for pure water produced by reverse osmosis membranes, usually caliber ∅32 -40mm, high-pressure centrifugal pump with power 3~5.5kW, head 100m, flow rate 6~15m3/h.

F. Toothpaste storage tank

The toothpaste  storage tank is a storage tank for storing finished toothpaste. In the arrangement of the toothpaste production equipment, the toothpaste storage pot is placed between the paste making machine and the filling machine, which plays the role of storing the finished toothpaste produced by the paste making machine and supplying (delivering) the toothpaste to the filling machine.

The material and design and production requirements of the paste storage pot are the same as those of the liquid material storage tank, that is, it is required to meet the requirements of GMP and food-grade hygiene, and it is easy to clean. The size of the toothpaste storage pot can be arranged according to the production situation. The commonly used specifications are: 1.5m3, 3m3, 5m3, 10m3, etc. In order to facilitate the traceability of products, some manufacturers adopt an equipment arrangement in which a pot of finished paste is stored in a storage tank. In order to facilitate the flow of the toothpaste, the bottom of the toothpaste storage pot is generally designed as a cone (such as 30°) with an angle less than 45° with the vertical line. The structure of the toothpaste storage pot is shown in the figure

^{Toothpaste storage tank}

^{And next article will introduce toothpaste filling packing machine !!!}

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Final Words

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