Have you ever wondered how your favorite snack, such as a Fig Newton or protein bar, has such perfect edges? Given the stickiness/chewiness/softness/crispness of what is being cut, one would think a knife’s edge would leave the edges a little jagged or crumbled.

Emerson’s Mehdi Taki shares the secrets in a Kennedy’s Confection article, Cutting Solution Offers Accurate Portion Control and Reduced Waste.

Mehdi highlights the challenges with traditional mechanical cutting technology:

• Variability in bar thickness.
• Variability in ingredients being cut (hard, soft, chewy, sticky).
• Multilayered bar compositions, some of which may be more vulnerable to crushing than others.
• Hard or crisp ingredients, which are prone to cracking or crumbling instead of cutting cleanly.

Also, production may be delayed to periodically stop the line to clean the knife. He describes an alternative approach in using ultrasonic cutting technology.

Branson ultrasonic cutting technology provides:

…virtually frictionless cutting and portioning of nearly any confectionery item — from firm, soft or frozen items, to cakes and bakery products, to fudge, candies and protein bars.

Ultrasonics eliminates consumables, delivers faster speeds, reduces scrap, and lowers energy consumption using high-frequency vibrating blades to prevent sticking to food, rubber, or plastic films, extending tooling wear life.

These ultrasonic cutting devices consist of a power supply that converts 50 or 60Hz electrical voltage into 20, 30, or 40kHz frequencies depending on what the application requires. An electromechanical converter converts these high frequencies into mechanical vibrations used in the cutting process. A booster controls the range of motion for the cutting horn. And, the cutting horn performs the actual cutting.

The cutting system allows:

…the cutting horn to gently displace product on either side, enabling clean and precise cuts through sticky foods like caramel or licorice, delicate foods like bread or angel food cake, crusty or nutty foods like bagels or protein bars, and even frozen pizzas or prepared foods.

These displacement cuts:

…precisely separate portions without wasting product and creating crumbs or residue. Because the ultrasonic portioning process minimises surface friction, it can sustain high cutting rates and long blade life.

These high-speed vibrations also prevent:

…the accumulation of crumbs or sticky residues on the cutting horn surface, so release agents are not needed.

Read the article for more about the advantages of ultrasonic cutting technology for food and non-food applications. Also, visit the Ultrasonic Cutting section on Emerson.com for more information on Branson Ultrasonic Cutters.