Commercial kitchen equipment is used in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, food service centers, etc. It goes without saying that anyone can use it to prepare delicious food, but in recent years, there has also been a demand for shorter cooking times. In addition, emphasis has been placed on space saving and energy saving performance, forcing manufacturers to respond to ever-changing market needs.
Company F develops, manufactures, and sells commercial kitchen equipment. In addition to its mainstay electric steam convection ovens, the company has recently begun developing a new gas-powered steam convection oven. Mr. G, the company's development manager, said the following:
"The Stoichiome is a multi-functional cooking appliance that can handle a variety of cooking methods, including baking, steaming, simmering, and stir-frying, by combining a convection oven, which uses a fan to force hot air in and out. Our concept in developing the Stoichiome was to make it easy for anyone to cook delicious food, and to ensure that the taste and quality of the food cooked was always consistent."
However, conventional steam cookers that use electricity for heating take a long time to heat the interior of the cooking chamber evenly, which can lead to uneven temperatures and inconsistent finished dishes and ingredients.
"So we decided to develop a gas-powered steam cooker that could keep temperature unevenness to a minimum and heat up in a short amount of time. However, we needed a fan with high static pressure to generate efficient forced convection of hot air inside the cooker, as well as to adjust the delicate amount of air needed to burn the gas depending on the cooking method," said Mr. G.
They immediately ordered various high static pressure axial fans and performed an evaluation on the actual equipment, but an incident occurred in which the fan blades were damaged. They immediately investigated the cause, but they were unable to find it and Mr. G was at a loss.
"High static pressure fans are generally large in size, and it was difficult to find a fan that met the requirements for miniaturizing the equipment. We tried various things to find a small, high static pressure fan, but we ran into problems such as the fan blades cracking, and we were at a dead end. The environments in which kitchen equipment is used are quite harsh, so we needed a fan that could withstand those harsh environments." (Mr. G)
Mr. G, who had been gathering information, visited SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. booth at a certain exhibition. There, he was excited by the wide range of products on offer and decided to consult with them about his current problems.
Mr. G, who was very interested in the "blower" proposed to him by a SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. sales representative later, immediately ordered an evaluation sample and installed it in a prototype to evaluate its performance.
"They proposed a blower that was 97mm x 33mm thick. I heard that it boasted some of the best static pressure characteristics for a model of this size. What's more, it was a model that came standard with PWM control function, so the speed could be easily controlled with an external pulse signal. By combining it with circuits such as the steam conditioner's temperature detector, it became possible to fine-tune the air volume to suit the cooking method and automatically control it according to the temperature. However, during the evaluation, the blades started cracking again." (Mr. G)
The next problem that F Company had to solve was the "cracked blades." In order to identify the cause and come up with a solution, the design staff from F Company and SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. held detailed meetings.
"After various investigations, we discovered that the cause of the cracked blades was the cooking oil used in the kitchen.
SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's blowers do not usually use oil-resistant blades, but they customized the blades using their Oil Proof Fan technology, which is recognized in the FA market. This improved the strength of the blades, and we were able to achieve the durability we required." (Mr. G)
After this verification, Company F decided to officially adopt SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's blowers for their gas-powered steam conditioners.
"Thanks to this blower, we were able to eliminate temperature inconsistencies relative to the set temperature, enabling us to cook at a higher quality. Also, compared to conventional electric steam conditioners, power consumption is about 1/20, which is a significant energy saving, which was an effect that exceeded our initial expectations. What's more, it can now be installed in kitchens where it is difficult to secure a three-phase power supply, which has broadened the range of installation conditions and allowed us to propose it to a wider range of customers." (Mr. G)
A few months later, after successfully completing the development of the gas-powered controller, Mr. G had this to say:
"SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's generous support and generous technical cooperation were well received within the company and were the deciding factor in our decision to introduce them. As a result, we were able to develop a product that would have been impossible with other companies' fans, and we are very satisfied with it."
For more information about blower fans, please also see "Features of Blower Fans."
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