If you are interested in thermal profile analyzers for your commercial bakery ovens, look no further than Reading Thermal and the state-of-the-art SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger.
Located in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, Reading Thermal has focused on measuring and understanding the commercial baking process for over 25 years. We manufacture the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger, which is a standard in the baking industry and offers you an easy way to monitor actual oven in-process conditions.
Why Thermal Profiling is Important
The characteristics of baked goods are defined by the amount and type of heat applied to them during the baking process, and each oven bakes differently than another. Analyzing and controlling the differences are critical to understanding how your finished products will be affected. The benefits include:
- Quick troubleshooting
- Better product quality, texture, and shelf life
- Greater productivity
- Lower energy costs
- Improved food safety and FSMA compliance
- Efficient development of new processes
State-of-the-Art Reading Thermal Sensors
Connecting our different smart sensors and sensor arrays to the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger and passing them through the oven with your product enables the system to capture the four main baking parameters: temperature (including the temperature of both the air and the oven belt surface), heat flux (energy transfer), humidity, and airflow (velocity).
Heat Flux: Oven heat flux is the best indicator of oven performance during baking in terms of the product. Many bakers use oven heat flux profiles when trying to produce the same product on two different lines. (The heat flux profiles must match.) The SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor is designed to measure convective and radiant heat fluxes at product level and display the results in Btu/hr·ft2 or W/m2.
Temperature: Oven temperature has an impact on oven-spring, drying/dehydration, and color formation during baking. Insufficient or excessive heat can also lead to unwelcome changes in texture and taste. The Scorpion® 2 Temperature Sensor Array is designed to measure temperature at product level, in fixed positions across the conveyor, and delivers a precise picture of temperatures from side-to-side and end-to-end.
Humidity: Humidity in a thermal process interacts with the product. The moisture in the environment often comes from the product itself and represents a delicate balance that affects finished product quality in many ways (crust, texture, shelf life, etc.). The SCORPION® 2 Digital Humidity Sensor is designed to measure the moisture content of the thermal environment in both heating and cooling processes. It is applicable to proofers, ovens, dryers and cooling tunnels.
Air Velocity: In convection ovens, the airflow comes primarily from the air distribution plenums. In radiant ovens, the airflow comes from the moving conveyor, the exhaust system, and natural combustion air currents. Measuring the oven air velocity with the SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor will help you spot airflow differences between baking zones and unwanted air currents at the entrance or exit of the oven that result in inconsistent baking.
Prevent the production of poor-quality baked goods by investing in thermal profile analyzers from Reading Thermal. Our solutions will help you improve your products and processes. Call us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2 or contact us online to learn more.