Last month, I went to Qingdao to visit customers. As soon as I entered the factory, I was hit by the aroma of coffee. The factory manager pointed to the coffee granule packaging machine running on the assembly line and sighed: "I have changed three sets of equipment. There are always a few bulges on the corners after nitrogen filling. Can you cure this problem?" I observed closely for ten minutes and found that the key to the problem was not the machine, but the "breathing rhythm" of the coffee granules-what they need is not rough nitrogen infusion, but precise "air exchange therapy".
After working in the workshop for many years, I have finally understood: the nitrogen filling process of the coffee granule packaging machine is essentially a guerrilla war with oxygen. Traditional equipment is like using a fire hose to flush a coffee bag. Nitrogen is poured in, but the residual oxygen control depends entirely on luck. The third-generation dynamic airflow balance system we developed is more like a Chinese medicine pulse diagnosis - first let the packaging bag "take a deep breath" to expel the turbid air, and then inject fresh nitrogen.
The secret of this process lies in two key nodes. The first is the multi-stage vacuum stage. Our coffee particle packaging machine will extract the gas in the bag in three gradients, just like a pianist playing a diminuendo scale. This can not only avoid the particle breakage caused by sudden pressure reduction, but also reduce the residual oxygen content to below the industry safety threshold. Last year, when testing single-origin beans for Yunnan Manor, the customer was pleasantly surprised to find that the flavor retention rate of coffee particles after three "deep breaths" was nearly 40% higher than that of a single vacuum.
The real technical difficulty lies in the replacement link. When ordinary equipment is filled with nitrogen, the airflow rushes around, which can easily blow the coffee particles to the left and right. We added a honeycomb guide cover to the coffee particle packaging machine, and the 38 micro airflow channels can automatically adjust the angle according to the particle distribution. Just like laying wave-breaking stones on the sea surface during a typhoon, even the most violent nitrogen flow will be obedient when it reaches here. When debugging the new machine last month, we deliberately mixed coffee particles of different particle sizes into the hopper. As a result, the accuracy error of nitrogen replacement in each bag was controlled to a level that was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
Speaking of practical applications, there is a scene that I still remember vividly. A Shenzhen brand launched an environmentally friendly particle bag with coffee grounds. Once the traditional nitrogen filling equipment was operated, the light coffee grounds flew all over the bag. Our engineers had an idea and re-arranged the time nodes of the multi-stage vacuuming process-first let the coffee grounds settle and then inject nitrogen, and at the same time turn on the dynamic airflow balance cushioning mode. Now on their product shelves, those coffee grounds lying in the arms of nitrogen have become the best endorsement of the concept of environmental protection.
When debugging equipment in the workshop, I often use an analogy with my apprentice: a good coffee particle packaging machine should be a competent "respiratory therapist". It must be able to clear the residual oxygen in the lungs, deliver pure nitrogen, and ensure that the treatment process does not hurt the body. The intelligent sensor system we are testing recently can automatically optimize the airflow parameters through the change of air pressure in the bag. Last week, we tested Ethiopian sun-dried beans. The airflow curve adjusted by the machine itself was even smoother than the preset by the engineer.
On the way back from the Qingdao customer's factory, I received the test report they sent: after a week of continuous production, the bulging rate was zero, and the residual oxygen content was all up to standard. Looking at the note "Recommend industry promotion" on the report, I suddenly felt that the days and nights of struggling with the coffee granule packaging machine in the workshop were worth it. Next time if you encounter the problem of nitrogen filling and preservation, you might as well come to our workshop to sit and see how these machines that can "take the pulse" can make each coffee bean find the most comfortable breathing rhythm.
