Dividing a continuous dough flow into uniformly weighted portions is key in the food industry to enhance process efficiency and product quality. Automatic portioning machines accelerate production and minimize raw material waste. By ensuring that each portion is consistent in weight and size, product uniformity is achieved and compliance with quality standards is facilitated. This level of precision reduces the need for readjustments and rework, maximizing ingredient use and reducing waste.

Conventional Portioning Systems

Rotary Paddle Systems:
These systems use a rotor with paddles (or molds) that fill and discharge portions as they rotate. Their mechanical construction is complex, which leads to high maintenance costs and multiple wear-prone components. Additionally, they offer limited flexibility in portion size variation: different paddle sets are typically required for very dense mixtures (e.g., chunky ham doughs) versus finer pastes (like pâtés or mortadella). If one paddle is damaged, the entire paddle set often needs replacement, increasing repair costs.

Hydraulic Pumps (Pistons):
These high-pressure systems portion dough using a piston inside a cylinder. While they can deliver high flow rates, maintenance is costly due to the need for precise seals and gaskets. Operating under high pressure also increases the risk of product leakage or dripping from worn seals, causing significant waste. In practice, piston pumps require frequent adjustments to maintain accuracy and tend to waste more product when switching between batches or recipes.

Other Portioning Systems:
Alternative solutions include progressive cavity pumps (also called eccentric screw pumps), which handle very high viscosities with a smooth and consistent flow—ideal for dense doughs. However, they have high maintenance costs due to their complex mechanical seals. There are also peristaltic (tube) pumps, which can portion pastes without additional valves and are easy to clean, but they offer limited flow rates and are generally unsuitable for doughs containing solid chunks. While these alternative systems offer some advantages (gentle handling, easier cleaning), they typically fall short in overall versatility and in-plant maintenance efficiency.

VEMAG Screw System: Advanced Portioning Technology

A standout advanced solution is the VEMAG double-screw system for dough portioning. This design feeds the dough using two intermeshed helical screws, ensuring extremely gentle product handling and highly accurate portioning. In practice, VEMAG screws can be changed in seconds, allowing quick adaptation to different products and portion sizes. In fact, a single set of screws can handle a wide absorption range of doughs without requiring additional parts. This high level of flexibility enables the processing of both rigid and very fluid doughs with the same machine.

In terms of precision, the VEMAG system delivers very consistent portion weights, typically achieving standard deviations below 1%. This means uniform portions "batch after batch" with no need for rework, eliminating manual adjustments and product waste. Furthermore, VEMAG screws are designed to be highly resistant to wear, significantly reducing maintenance costs. Their quick disassembly and easy cleaning minimize downtime during product changes. Additionally, since no lubricating oil is required in the feeding system, air or bubbles are not introduced into the dough (avoiding defective product). In summary, VEMAG's screw technology combines flexibility and high precision with low maintenance, positioning it as a solid technical solution for efficient dough portioning.

Traditional portioning systems (rotary paddles, hydraulic pumps, etc.) offer high production throughput but come with key limitations: weight variability, continuous need for release lubricants, and high wear requiring frequent maintenance. In contrast, VEMAG's screw feeding technology transports dough smoothly and continuously, without compressing it or requiring oil, resulting in more uniform portions and shorter cleaning times. Thus, VEMAG’s screw solution stands out as a technically capable alternative that overcomes many of the limitations of conventional methods.