Abstract/Summary

A new method is described for computer management of baking ovens, installed by Burtons Gold Medal Biscuits as part of a company program for building quality assurance into their production operations. The method incorporates data from in-line colour and moisture sensors. The scheme was applied first to a direct gas-fired five zone oven, of a style used in many biscuit and cookie plants in Britain and the USA. The paper reviews the technical features of this type of oven, and describes in detail the introduction of closed-loop computer control. The method includes feedforward as well as feedback control; an advantage of the method is that the oven is automatically reset to a low heat input pattern during a break in production, and full heat input is automatically restored on restart.