Task

The cheese dairy Gebr. Baldauf GmbH & Co. KG operates several small village dairies in the Allgäu region, where cheese quality is to be optimized with the aid of heat treatment chambers. In addition, during the ripening process themophile cheese cultures are used which ensure a milder taste. While conventional, mesophilic cultures work optimally in temperatures as of 25 °C, their thermophilic counterparts require significantly higher temperatures. However, the process can be controlled very precisely via the pH value. At 2 locations the heat treatment chambers should therefore be controlled by a temperature profile and the process controlled very precisely via the pH value so that a consistently high product quality is guaranteed. The process data should be acquired and remote access must be possible via the Internet.

Solution approach

All these requirements were met with the JUMO mTRON T automation system, the JUMO AQUIS touch multichannel measuring device, as well as JUMO temperature probes and pH electrodes. The JUMO mTRON T system has a modular design. Consequently, a wide variety of measured values can be precisely acquired and digitized. The solution for the cheese dairy in the Allgäu region is completely operated via individual process screens. The screens enable program selection, program start, and entries in a batch field. The pH value in the cheese is measured by a JUMO AQUIS touch using an insertion electrode while the temperature is measured using an insertion probe. The heating chambers in both alpine dairies are linked to the company's head office. The batch data from the plants are extracted on the server at the headquarters and relevant form printouts are stored on the server as PDF documents.

Project outcome

The customer wanted a complete solution that was simple and decentralized to operate while not wanting to worry too much about technology. JUMO not only supplied the required components, but also took care of the complete implementation.