“Cheese processors requested Urschel engineers design a heavy duty, sanitary large cheese dicer. They needed a durable dicer possessing a number of key elements: a clean, sanitary design combined with rugged construction, but also they demanded a machine that would deliver precision cuts. Along with these characteristics, the dicer needed to be simple to operate and maintain, so Urschel answered this request, through research and development, with this new large cheese dicer,” quoted Tim O'Brien, vice president, sales, Urschel Laboratories, Inc.

Sanitation is a major concern among cheese processors. With this in mind, Urschel designed the machine with the following:

• U.S.D.A., Dairy Division accepted sanitary design with stainless steel construction including Ra 32 stainless surface finish on all components within the product contact/cutting zone.

• Product contact/cutting zone is completely separate from the mechanical zone eliminating cross contamination concerns.

• Rounded tube frame deters bacterial growth.

• Surfaces are slanted or curved to simplify wash down procedures.

• Great detail given to every component on the machine from the sanitary large impeller down to the types of fasteners, threads, washers, and nuts used throughout the product contact/cutting zone to discourage bacterial growth and assist in cleaning practices.

“Durability in design and achieving precise cuts are critical in the food processing industry. Capital equipment is a major investment, and we (Urschel) wanted to deliver the best overall design in terms of operating principle, solid construction, and ease of use. This machine does a great job of 1/8" dices to larger dices. Customers are encouraged to send in product to our (Urschel) test lab and run tests for themselves,” stated Mike Jacko, vice president, engineering.

“The machine is driven by a 25 HP gear motor with heavy duty gears and belts throughout and equipped with a 5 HP stainless steel motor equipped with a VFD (variable frequency drive) on the crosscut. After extensive tests, our engineering data concluded maximum, consistent torque is optimally delivered with a 25 HP. Maximum torque translates to maximum capacity. Studies also confirmed that the 5 HP VFD motor is the ideal setup for production runs. The VFD equipped 5 HP motor allows significant savings by changing speeds instead of purchasing additional crosscut spindles,” according to Scott Klockow, lead engineer in the development of the new dicer.

To learn more, visit www.urschel.com/newcheesedicer.html.