Why choose us?
Why AMT?
AMT stands for the ultimate innovation in one of the most traditional production chains, namely that of pasta. The evolution represented by the Airlight solution crosses different areas: materials, temperatures, processing. Discover the advantages for your production cycle.
MATERIALS
The evolution must also include materials. There is definitely a reason why we use stainless steel pots and pans in our homes. The traditional dies, actually, are not made in bronze but from a brass alloy or Bral (copper-aluminium-iron-nickel and other). Copper-based alloys have an excellent thermal conductivity but this is not always an advantage. Special copper alloys, even if they have a good mechanical resistance, do not have an optimal degree of safety due to the very nature of copper which binds too easily to water and carbon dioxide molecules (especially in the presence of heat) leading the material to an unattractive darkening due to oxidation. Stainless steel, on the other hand, is an extremely inert material and is highly resistant to corrosion, which is why it is used in the construction of plants for food use. It is a long-lasting and easy to clean material. Systems are made of stainless steel, the washing dies tanks are made of stainless steel, cookware is made of stainless steel, we eat with stainless steel cutlery and the dies are made of... bronze Stainless Steel finally.
Absolutely not, there are so many different types of stainless steel. The metallurgical technique has progressed dramatically during the 20th century and new production techniques and innovative surface treatments are still being studied and developed today.
In the food industry AISI 304 and AISI 316 alloys with all their variations are mainly used, but they are not the only alloys suitable for food contact.
These alloys belong to the type of austenitic stainless steels, but there are other little known types such as ferritic and martensitic stainless steels.
The traditional dies are generally made of two different alloys, brass or Bral (copper-aluminium). These copper-based alloys have a natural tendency to darken due to the oxidation of copper, therefore, some of them look golden when new, while others are dark brown. Occasionally some dies, especially those for industrial use, have a single grey surface while the rest have a "bronze" colour, which means that a high thickness chromium plating treatment has been applied.
No, it's not necessary. Thick chrome plating treatments on the surfaces are applied on traditional dies to increase abrasion resistance. Airlight™ dies are made of special stainless steel alloys with extreme abrasion resistance.
Le normative di riferimento sono il EC 1935/2004 che regolamenta a livello europeo le linee generali sui materiali a contatto con gli alimenti e il DM 21/03/1973 che a livello nazionale elenca tutti i materiali idonei al contatto con alimenti e regolamenta le opportune verifiche di migrazione necessarie.
The manufacturer of any food contact material must not only provide the certificate of the material but must also carry out the appropriate migration checks on the materials used, it is a legal obligation.
Operations:
Workers of materials intended for food use must comply with certain basic rules.
Each item must be traceable during the production phase, that is, at all stages of processing each component must be identifiable and it must be possible to trace the history of that piece.
Contamination with other metals can be created during the processing stages, so adequate attention must be paid at all stages of processing. The risk of contamination is very high especially if other alloys are also processed in the same production environment and therefore, although the material is classified as suitable for food use, it may be non-compliant and release contaminants into food.
As a result of mechanical processing, it is good policy to carry out pickling and passivation treatments.
It is not recommended to carry out further processing on steel after pickling and passivation, not even polishing.
When the product is finished it must be packaged in a suitable way to avoid contamination even during shipment.
Yes, each die can be fitted with any type of extrusion insert, both those with "rough" and "smooth" effect. Traditional extrusion inserts are compatible with Airlight™ dies.
Temperature:
Yes, the system has been specifically designed for industrial applications, in fact large dies suffer more from temperature changes due to their mass. Very large dies are not able to heat or cool homogeneously because they are subjected to a poor "superficial" heat exchange and the temperature in the inner parts can be very different from the outer ones. The Airlight™ system allows a complete heat exchange, internal and external, which is why they are so efficient.
Yes, temperature is a vital factor especially for food safety, in fact it is a parameter that can alter the organoleptic properties of food and can counteract or encourage the proliferation of bacteria, so it is important to have a precise and comprehensive control of temperatures throughout the production process.
The reference standards require food producers to keep an effective control of the temperatures not only of the production environment but also of the machinery, especially in those phases considered critical and that deserve a careful risk assessment.
Regarding food safety, the correct hygiene practices required by current regulations must be observed. Given that the transformation of raw materials into food products often occurs through a change in temperature, such as in cooking processes, this parameter must be monitored.
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 states that appropriate temperature control measures must be specially addressed at critical points of production. In the hazard analysis to be carried out by the food business operator, it is required to identify all possible critical control points and to establish the corrective actions to be taken.
Extrusion is a high-energy transformation process as the dough is subjected to high pressures, friction and heat and is therefore considered a particularly sensitive point.
The temperatures must also be recorded and stored so that they can be consulted by the competent health authorities.
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS, reference text at international level, which highlights the requirement for the food operator to control temperatures at all stages of food processing. Furthermore, it is indicated, in order to ensure maximum hygiene and traceability, to record the time and temperature.
Comparative
analysis
It is extremely important to make a comparison between the extrusion methodologies in order to understand theradical and evolutionary approach in Airlight matrix.