Food processing involves the processing or preservation of raw materials, intermediate products and finished products; Involves pretreatment, raw material separation, intermediate product recombination and final product molding and packaging; And relates to antisepsis and sterilization treatment of different types of semi-finished products and finished products. There are many kinds of raw materials and products in the process of food processing, and the specifications of the processed products are different because of the different nature of the processed objects. The production of some varieties has seasonal and regional characteristics. All these determine that the types of food machinery and equipment must be extremely numerous. Therefore, no matter from the perspective of equipment selection in food processing application, or from the perspective of equipment manufacturing and new machine development. It is very important to systematically classify all kinds of food processing machinery and equipment.
The classification standard of food machinery has not been formulated in China. Various departments often have different classification methods according to the convenience of work. At present, there are two main ways to classify: one is based on raw materials and product types, and the other is based on the operation function of equipment.
According to the classification of raw materials or products, food machinery can be divided into many production line equipment. For example, sugar machinery, bean products processing equipment, baking machinery, dairy machinery, fruit and vegetable processing and preservation machinery, canned food machinery, candy food machinery, brewing machinery, beverage machinery, convenience food machinery, condiment and food additive machinery, aquatic products processing machinery, grain and oil processing machinery, cooking machinery (tobacco machinery is sometimes included in food processing machinery) and so on.
According to the function classification of mechanical equipment, it is actually classified according to the unit operation function of equipment. Food machinery and equipment can generally be divided into screening and cleaning machinery, crushing and cutting machinery, mixing machinery, grading and sorting machinery, molding machinery, multiphase separation machinery, stirring and homogenizing machinery, cooking and frying machinery, evaporation and concentration machinery, drying machinery, baking machinery, refrigeration machinery, extrusion and expansion machinery, metering machinery, packaging and filling machinery, conveying machinery, pumps, heat exchange equipment and containers.
From the point of view of research, design and manufacture, the above two classification methods have certain guiding significance for the production and development of food processing machinery and equipment. According to the classification of raw materials or products, we can study the internal relations of various working machines involved in various food processing and production. Promote the development of supporting production lines. Based on the classification of functions, it is beneficial to compare and study the production efficiency and mechanical structure of each unit operation, and promote the overall development with local technological breakthroughs.