Selecting Commercial Food Machinery by Capacity

The most common mistake is to pick a model first and look at capacity afterwards. The right sequence is to define the product range and daily throughput, work back to the machine specification, and only then check site and power conditions.

Step one: product range and daily throughput

• For leafy greens such as leek, spring onion, coriander and celery, a segmenting cutter with a hold-down feed is enough; a three-dimensional dicer is unnecessary.
• When roots and gourds must be sliced, shredded or diced, a single- or twin-head cutter with interchangeable discs covers the job at roughly 300 to 800 kg per hour.
• A vegetable-processing line normally pairs one washer and pealer before and one after the cutter, though the washing stage can be skipped when the upstream process already cleans the product.

Step two: dough and forming equipment

• For shops kneading up to 50 kg of dough per day, a two-speed spiral mixer is sufficient; central kitchens and dough factories should use a quiet horizontal mixer and leave space for a standby unit.
• Choose the dough sheeter by roller width: 350 mm suits bun shops and small canteens, 500 mm suits medium canteens and prepared-food plants; the automatic folding version suits continuous dough production.
• Choose the bun machine by forming method: the screw extruder gives high output for scale, the disc type suits hand-placed buns and more demanding shapes; output is measured in pieces per hour.

Step three: check site conditions

• Check voltage and phase: China uses 220V single-phase and 380V three-phase; for North America choose the 110V/60Hz version directly to avoid fitting a transformer.
• Allow cleaning space: cutters and peelers need removable discs and bowls, so leave a working and service aisle of at least 800 mm between machines.
• Floor load and drainage: peelers and mixers discharge a lot of water, so provide drainage and confirm the floor can carry the machine plus a full water load with a suitable safety margin.