WO1996023415A1

WO1996023415A1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing pastry

Info

Publication number: WO1996023415A1
Application number: PCT/DK1995/000047
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Clausen
Original assignee: Sasib Bakery Nordic A/S
Priority date: 1995-01-31
Filing date: 1995-01-31
Publication date: 1996-08-08
Also published as: AU1704995A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products where each item or a group of items is manufactured stepwise at a plurality of workstations (13-19) placed along a conveying means (3) such as a moving belt as well as to an apparatus (1) for carrying out the inventive method. The apparatus according to the invention differs from the prior art by CNC-controlled nozzle movements allowing for greater flexibility when controlling nozzle movements along the X, Y and Z axis. The change-over from one form or pattern to another is so fast that without loosing valuable operation time the form of a piece of pastry or a decoration pattern may be altered every few pieces. Instead of e.g. manufacturing one type of biscuits in large quantities, changing over to the next type etc., sorting the different types and packing a few of each type in a box, one layer of different biscuits may be made at a time. This saves overall production time since packing the goods is considerably simpler. All the important controllable parameters of a workstation can be controlled to give a complete overview over all the workstations along the conveyor belt. It is possible to make use of the capacity of the apparatus rather than a single part or workstation limiting manufacture. A customer buying pastry from the apparatus has a greater selection and shorter delivery times.

Description

Method and apparatus for manufacturing pastr^y

Technical Field.

The invention relates to a method for the industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products where each item or a group of items is manufactured stepwise at a plurality of workstations placed along a conveying means such as a moving belt as well as to an apparatus for carrying out the inventive method.

Background Art.

US-PS no. 4.910.661 discloses an apparatus for decorating or filling cakes or the like with semi-solid and/or liquid decorative materials in a pattern. The decoration or pattern produced by the apparatus is based on a video image, which may be edited electronically. A computer controls the spray applicators' movements in an X-Y plane. The video image may be captured live by a video camera or called up from an electronic storage medium and displayed on a video monitor. The video image comprising pictures, artwork and/or written messages may be edited and combined with other machine-readable images or texts. The pattern is reproduced on the cake by an X-Y table carrying spray applicators and icing or gel dispensers which are moved over the cake in a such manner as to reproduce the selected pattern on the cake. This apparatus is suitable for the decoration of one cake at a time, where the cake may not change position during spraying. The pattern is reproduced in the same way a picture is built up on a CRT screen, ie. not by vector representation.

DE-PS no. 3.416.899 discloses a device for decorating waffles, cookies, chocolates and the like with various forms of pasty materials. The spray nozzles move in a 3dimensional framework, the movements being controlled by a pattern stored in the device's memory. The pattern has to be simple and repeatable. The publication does not specify how the pattern is created. There is in particular no mention of valves and controllable nozzles for extrudable materials. The device is not suitable for quick production changes. US-PS no. 4.923.706 describes a device for shaping eg. ice confections by means of extrusion nozzles. The nozzles' rotational and translational movements are controlled by a computer. The shaping device includes at least one extrusion nozzle and a movable support surface at an adjustable distance from the nozzle, the latter directly receiving extruded material from the nozzles All nozzles are supported on a common carrier which is at least rotatable with respect to the support surface about an axis of rotation other than the axis of rotation of each nozzles The shaping device further comprises drive means for effecting the relative movement between the carrier and the support surface and programmable computer means. The latter controls the drive means to provide both relative rotational and translational movement in at least one direction between the carrier and the support surface as well as the actuation of said nozzles' valve means The apparatus manufactures only one article at a time The computer control as described in this publication does not have the flexibility offered by FMS

US-PS no 4 913 645 discloses an apparatus for extruding ia dough and icecream The nozzles have two axes of movement, their movement being determined by a planar video picture stored in a computer To make decorated strands of pasty products, a pasty material is continuously extruded from at least one nozzle integral with a mobile support, the opening of said nozzle being above a conveyor belt adapted for continuous movement Each nozzle is connected to a source of pasty material which is continuously supplied to each nozzle Adjacent to one edge of the conveyor there are means for rotating the support in one plane while keeping it in the same orientation in space for providing a repetitive curved trajectory for the opening of each extrusion nozzle During operation, the extrusion nozzles are positioned at an angle of from 60° to 180° from the direction of movement of the conveyor belt The relative movement of the nozzles and the conveyor belt is such that a continuous, regularly wound strand is formed on the belt. The above device is not CNC -control led and thus inflexible with respect to production changes The apparatus is only suitable for decoration patterns selected from the group of patterns having rotational symmetry

DE-OS no. 3.529.587 Al discloses a device for extruding a strand of pasty material through the opening of at least one nozzle to a receiving means The relative movement of the nozzle and the receiving means along 2 axes is controlled by a programmable computer The invention does not solve the problems of 3dimensional control A further disadvantage is the lack of CNC control

Disclosure of nvention

One object of the present invention is to provide a method for depositing flowable material as well as garnishing or decorating pastry or similar food products on an industrial scale using a device integral with ia baking apparatus for extruding dough, icing, filling or a similar flowable material on a conveyor belt, said belt preferably moving continuously with constant velocity Another object of the invention is to integrate production planning equipment such as FMS equipment to increase production flexibility A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus suitable for the inventive method

The invention is characterized in the claims and thus comprises properties, components, combinations and arrangements of such components as will be described below by means of examples.

The apparatus according to the invention differs from the ones described in the prior art by CNC-controlled nozzle movements allowing for greater flexibility when controlling nozzle movements along the X, Y and Z axis The change-over from one form or pattern to another is so fast that without loosing valuable operation time the form of a piece of pastry or a decoration pattern may be altered every few pieces. Instead of eg. manufacturing one type of biscuits in large quantities, changing over to the next type etc , sorting the different types and packing a few of each type in a box, one layer of different biscuits may be made at a time This saves overall production time since packing the goods is considerably simpler All the important controllable parameters of a workstation can be controlled to give a complete overview of all the workstations along the conveyor belt It is possible to make use of the capacity of the apparatus rather than a single part or workstation limiting manufacture A customer buying pastry from the apparatus has a greater selection and shorter delivery times

A similar technique is used in the production of machine parts, where the costs for producing a single item or a few tailor-made pieces by far exceed the production costs in the baking industry This is probably the reason why CNC control has not yet found a foothold in the baking industry But today's requirements concerning food products, such as freshness, fast adaptation to new demands and short delivery times necessitate novel production methods CNC became an interesting option for manufacturing pastry or similar food products when the costs for computer equipment compared to performance decreased, thus making it possible to control manufacture to a much greater extend according to existing demands on the finished products

Brief Descπption of Drawings

Further details, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be obvious from the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which

Fig 1 shows an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention,

Fig 2 one half of a guide rail system, and Fig.3 flow chart.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention.

Fig. 1 shows an apparatus for manufacturing pastry designated with the general numeral 1, a number of workstations 13-19 being positioned along the conveying means in the form of a conveyor belt 3.

The conveyor belt 3 transports pastry items from one workstation 13-19 to the next, as the various manufacturing operations cannot be performed at one and the same place. Advantageously the manufacturing of pastry is split into sub- operations to such an extend that each sub-operation can be automated as much as possible within the framework of one baking apparatus 1. In other words each workstation 13-19 is provided with means and devices for carrying out the sub-operation in question, said workstation 13-19 being arranged such that the devices and means carrying out the sub-operation are exchangeable

The conveyor belt 3 is an even, planar belt with constant length running over at least two rollers 4, each of said rollers rotating round a separate horizontal axis.

The conveyor belt 3 is usually an endless, cold-rolled steel belt. As the belt 3 is constantly heated, cooled down and exposed to stresses and loads, it is important that the belt 3 is temperature and shock resistant over a long period of time.

It is equally important that an optional coating of the belt 3 is as resistant as the belt itself. A coating may be permanent or temporary. A temporary coating may be a film sprayed onto the steel belt, said film being eg. fat or a slipping agent, or a mask eg. of flour, said coating protecting the belt 3 and ensuring that the pastry items have the desired properties such as slipping easily off the belt 3 or not spreading when dough is deposited on the belt 3. It is also conceivable that the belt 3 is made of plastics, glass fibres or ceramically coated glass fibres, said fibres being weaved or felted.

The belt 3 is normally advanced at constant velocity, it may, however, advance step-wise, the latter being more energy-consuming. The advance means are usually drum motors at both ends of the apparatus 1 or friction rollers at predefined positions.

The stand of the workstation is secured to the floor because of the violent movements at high acceleration reached with modern CNC -control led equipment.

Typical workstations include stations provided with means for cleaning 19, depositing 13, 23 flowable material, cutting, garnishing 14, 24, decorating 15, 25, baking 16 and packing 18 the items. Although all workstations 13-19 are provided to be operational over the entire width of the conveyor belt 3 the working area may be limited to a certain width.

At the cleaning station 19 crumbs, leftovers and other undesirable waste materials are removed and the conveyor belt 3. is prepared for the next run. The preferred embodiment requires only mechanical cleaning, since greasing of the conveyor belt 3 is unnecessary because of the dough composition. If necessary or desired, fat, butter or a similar agent facilitating the removal of pastry from the conveyor belt 3 is applied across the entire width of the belt 3 by means of eg. an elongated nozzle 30. This results in an even distribution of the fatty substance. In the preferred embodiment suitable cleaning devices are scrapers, brushes and the like which are guided over the surface of the conveyor belt 3. The scraped-off material is removed by means of a vacuum cleaner, which represents the most hygienic cleaning solution. The waste material may, however, be removed in other ways, for example by means of a scraper brushing the material over the sides of the conveyor belt 3, from where it is removed.

In the preferred embodiment the second last workstation is an oven 16, either in the form of a conventional oven or a fan oven. The choice of oven together with the type of pastry and the baking time determines the velocity of the conveyor belt 3.

The last workstation of the preferred embodiment is a packing station 18, where the individual items are removed from the conveyor belt 3 This workstation 18 is not described in greater detail.

Industrial Applicability.

The extrusion device described below was developed on the basis of recent technological progress in the fields of servomotors, CNC control, control cards, and CAD. The development itself was triggered by rising demands on flexible manufacturing systems abbreviated FMS.

In the preferred embodiment the depositing, garnishing and/or decorating station(s) 13-15 is/are CNC-controlled. Each CNC-controlled workstation 13-15 comprises a guide rail system 31, an extrusion device 33-35 in the form of a nozzle head 44 with one or more nozzles 45, a drive means 37 comprising electric motors to move the nozzle head 44 in the guide rail system 31, and a feed means 40 for delivering flowable material to the nozzle(s) 45.

Fig. 2 shows the guide rail system 31 of the decorating station 15. Because of the great forces exerted on a workstation 15 during operational changes, such as start, stop and change of direction, the moving parts of the workstation must be light but solid. Therefore, the guide rail system 31 comprises two identical halves, one on each side of the conveyor belt 3, each half being provided with one or more electric drive means 37. Furthermore, the workstation 15 is provided with a detection unit sending a signal to the CNC control each time an item passes. Then the CNC control computes the position of said item for further processing based on the velocity of the belt 3.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, each axis 6-8 of the coordinate system is represented by a pair of rails 56-58. The rail representing the Z axis on the other side of the conveyor belt 3 is not shown. Each pair of rails 56-58 have a separate servomotor 37. The two servomotors 37 for each axis are connected in a master slave configuration to exclude conflicts when controlling the 3dimensionaI movement of the nozzle head 44.

The depositing, garnishing and decorating means 23-25 comprise each a nozzle head 44 which moves with six degrees of freedom along three axes X, Y, Z 6- 8, the movements along said axes 6-8 being mechanically and electrically independent of each other. The above configuration in a cartesian coordinate system was selected as it provides the most efficient use of hardware and software. The reasons for this choice or for choosing a particular direction will not be explained in greater detail. It is, however, also possible to use a polar coordinate system.

It is sufficient to define any given position along the conveyor belt 3 by means of three degrees of freedom, since the items are deposited on an even, planar belt. However, hardware and software permit up to six degrees of freedom and control of peripheral devices.

Depending on the settings of the CNC control the nozzle head 44 can move freely in each direction. Flowable material is extruded through at least one opening of the nozzle head 44 in the form of a strand. Nozzles 45 may be arranged side by side so that the openings are placed in rows in at least one direction. The number of nozzle openings per row may vary. The working range along the Y axis 7 decreases with increasing number of rows to prevent the extruded strands from overlapping.

The nozzle head 44 moves in and is mechanically controlled by the guide rail system 31 driven by two servomotors 37 for each axis 6-8, eg. by means of ball spindles. The extrusion device 33-35 is supplied with flowable material by a feed means 39 comprising a set of pre-feeder rollers 40 feeding a rotor pump system 41 not described in greater detail, said rotor pump 41 being driven by a separate servomotor.

The computations necessary for CNC control are executed by a PC having a servo controller card controlling the movements of the nozzle head 44. The user interface is operated by the PC's keyboard and/or mouse. The position computations requiring a lot of processor time are performed by the servo controller card having a separate processor.

Forms and patterns may be designed and drawn with any available CAD program. There exists PC software for compiling DXF files generated by a CAD program into a code readable by the servo controller card.

In the following we describe a 3dimensional control. If desired, all degrees of freedom of an industrial robot, ie. six, may be controlled using the inventive method and apparatus. In the preferred embodiment the X axis 6 is parallel to the conveyor belt 3, the Y axis 7 runs across the belt 3 and the Z axis 8 is peφendicular to the belt 3. Axis orientation will not be discussed in greater detail as it can be selected as desired when creating a file.

The X component of the nozzle head 44 movement comprises a repetitive movement synchronized and parallel with the belt 3 movement during the period of extrusion, including the return of the nozzle head 44 to the start position. Superimposed on that is the movement along the X axis 6 necessary to create the desired form or pattern.

The extrusion device can deposit flowable material in various forms or patterns which can be assigned one of the following three basic categories:

1. Standard forms (circle, triangle and quadrangle)

2 Complex patterns (using a CAD program and converted to the controller card)

3. Multi -patterns, ie. the device deposits a sequence of different standard forms and complex patterns.

The line(s) defining a form or pattern do(es) not have to be continuous, since extrusion can be stopped and started at any time.

The velocity of the nozzle head 44 while executing the form or pattern, ie the velocity along the X, Y and Z axis 6-8, should be constant. The acceleration, especially the angular acceleration (change of direction), must not exceed a certain limiting value, otherwise the stand is exposed to the above-mentioned forces and violent movements. If the limit is exceeded, the path velocity of the nozzle head 44 is reduced accordingly, which in turn increases the extrusion profile and vice versa.

CNC control offers two extrusion possibilities: constant or variable flow rate. Selecting variable flow rate permits forms and patterns with comparatively well-defined edges. In principle, a well-defined edge means unlimited angular acceleration, thus increasing the load on the stand. The flow rate may be altered during extrusion by defining a position on the form or pattern in the CAD file and inserting a command for changing the mutual rotation of the pre-feeder rollers 41. Thus, the extrusion profile is altered by increasing or decreasing the amount of flowable material delivered to the nozzle(s) 45.

The flow rate is further controlled by partially evacuating a nozzle 45. It is also possible to interrupt the flow completely, albeit temporarily. The amount of material to be extruded and the evacuation parameters are entered by means of function keys on the keyboard or the user interface. The amount of flowable material per unit time can be translated in parallel on the time axis. This results in a change of extrusion profile.

It is also possible to advance or delay the beginning of extrusion compared to the beginning of the nozzle head 44 movement for executing a form or pattern Usually, extrusion stops, when the form or pattern is finished, which ia. includes an upward movement of the nozzle head 44 beyond a predefined value on the Z axis 8 and evacuation of the nozzle(s) 45.

In the following the term "movement along the axis" or similar expressions refer to the servomotors 37 of the axis 6-8 in question actuating the movement of the nozzle head 44 so that the head changes position in the direction along said axis. The term servomotor 37 is used in its widest sense and comprises any type of activation resulting in a change of position. The terms "master" and "slave" refer to the relation between the two pairs of guide rails for one axis 6- 8. Existing control software is able to solve most of the problems arising out of such a configuration. This is the reason why such programs are particularly suitable for such applications. It is a known fact that machine tools can destroy or damage the processed items as well as the apparatus. Therefore the control software must initiate and control movements in such a way that said movements are precise and balanced. The following example illustrates the problem of forming a pastry item on a continuously moving conveyor belt 3. If a circle of a given diameter is to be formed on the belt moving at a given velocity, the movements of the nozzle head 44 along the X and/or Y axis 6, 7 and the velocity of the conveyor belt 3 must be synchronized. It does not matter, which servomotor is master, and which is slave. The critical factor when forming the circle is the above- mentioned synchronization.

The movement of the nozzle head along the X and Y axis 6, 7 to describe the circle does not result in an even distribution of the extruded material, if the amount of material extruded per unit time is constant. In order to understand the problems involved, the terms cross-section of the finished item and extrusion profile must be discussed.

Ideally, material is extruded through a nozzle 45 onto the belt 3 while the latter is stationary with respect to the nozzle 45. However, this is not practical when making pastry, as the most economic manufacturing methods involve continuously moving belts, or, in other words, a relative movement between the nozzle head 44 and the belt 3. If said relative movement is not balanced in one way or another, the pastry items will be elongated along the axis 6 parallel to the forward direction of the belt 3, whereas a uniform cross-section of the pastry items, until otherwise specified, is generally preferred. In the above example the circle would become egg-shaped. It should also be remembered that the profile of the extruded material is dependent on the speed of the belt 3 and on the rotor pump system 39, 41 as well as the pre-feeder rollers 40 further upstream with respect to said system.

Consequently, pastry manufacture requires control of the movements along the X and Y axis 6, 7 as well as control of the rotor pump system 39, 41. The speed of the pre-feeder rollers 40 may be controlled as well. In its most simple form, the control is binary, ie. on/off. The same applies to the Z axis 8, when the nozzle head 44 must execute movements along said axis, as well as to the rotation round X, Y and Z, ie. the three extra degrees of freedom.

A further aspect of the problem is the fact, that all parameters involved may be dynamic, said dynamics even being mutually dependent. An example is the distribution of temperature along the conveyor belt 3 and in time.

The conveyor belt 3, transporting pastry from one workstation 13-19 to the next is the reference for the X axis 6. The movements along the X axis 6 must be synchronized with said conveyor belt 3 before flowable material is extruded. Synchronization takes place with respect to a pre-defined position on the conveyor belt 3 in relation to the X axis 6 reference defined on the apparatus 1 When the velocity of the conveyor belt 3 varies, ramp-up or ramp-down time for the X axis 6 varies accordingly. When the movement along the X axis 6 is synchronized with the conveyor belt 3, the nozzle head 44 can be moved in a pre-described path defining the desired form or pattern. It should be remembered, that the nozzle head 44 movement along the X axis 6 comprises two components, one for the movement of the conveyor belt 3, the other for creating the desired form or pattern.

The movements along the Y axis 7 are at right angles to the forward direction of the conveyor belt 3 in the horizontal plane. It should be noted that there are no relative movements along the Y axis 7 between the nozzle head 44 and the conveyor belt 3.

The movements along the Z axis 8 are peφendicular to the plane defined by the conveyor belt 3, said plane also being referred to as X-Y plane. There are two possibilities or modes of movement along the Z axis: Mode 1 :

The nozzle head 44 is moved between two positions at the beginning and the end of the extrusion process. When the movement along the X axis 6 is synchronous with the conveyor belt 3, the nozzle head 44 is lowered towards the belt and the movement in the X-Y plane 6, 7 begins. After said movement is completed, the nozzle head 44 is raised again.

Mode 2.

The nozzle head 44 is moved between at least two positions when executing the movement for creating the desired form or pattern. When the movement along the X axis 6 is synchronous with the conveyor belt 3, the nozzle head 44 is lowered towards the belt and the movement in the X-Y plane 6, 7 begins Simultaneous with the movement in the X-Y plane 6, 7 the nozzle head 44 is raised so that the movements along all three axes 6-8 end at the same time

There can be a master slave relationship between the feed means 39 and one of the motors 37 of the nozzle head 44 (movement in X-Y plane 6, 7), with the feed means 39 being the slave. Consequently, when path velocity is zero, there is no extrusion. The rotor pump system 40, 41 of the feed means 39 can, however, be started before the movement in the X-Y plane 6, 7 because of the viscosity of the flowable material. This delay is also called "prefeeding" and may be started and stopped with a pre-programmed interval. The performance of the rotor pump system 40, 41 and thus the flow rate may also be independent of the movements along all axes 6-8. The flow rate may either be constant, resulting in rounded corners, or variable

The software used for the preferred embodiment of the invention generates several screens, which are described in greater detail below and with reference to Fig. 3. Main Picture

This screen appears when the computer 27 is switched on and during normal operation. On the top there are status lines indicating the last received alarm and the recipe in question. Each servomotor sends status signals to the control software, the status being indicated on the screen by the following colours: Red = error, yellow = ready, green = operation, white = no control voltage. X, Y, Z are assigned a slave. Rotor axis "deposit" and an axis "prefeeding" are parts of the feed means 39. Masters are defined and slaves are assigned.

At the bottom of the screen there are soft keys having the same functions as the function keys on the keyboard.

Screen Overview

Screen Overview is called up to shift to other screens on the control panel. It has the same structure as "Main Picture" with screen title, alarm and recipe name on top and soft keys at the bottom.

Design Screen

This screen is called up to select a new form or pattern. From this screen the operator has access to software for selecting one of the following three basic categories:

1. Standard forms (circle, triangle and quadrangle)

2. Complex patterns designed in a CAD program

3. Multi-patterns, ie. the device deposits a sequence of different standard forms and complex patterns. The number of forms and patterns in a sequence depends on the degree of complexity of each form or pattern. The software has a graphic user interface so that a mouse or similar pointing device can be used for selecting the desired form or pattern by either clicking a button or a file name. The screen also contains soft keys, the corresponding function being either activated on the screen by a pointing device or directly by pressing the function key on the keyboard.

Multi Button

Activating the Multi button opens a new window, where a multi-pattern is defined by marking the files of the desired forms or patterns and dragging them in the desired order into the box "Selected Figures" A form or pattern is removed by dragging it into the waste basket.

"Save recipe" and "Open recipe"

A recipe comprises all the information about the pastry item in question, such as dough composition, conveyor belt velocity, form or pattern etc When activating one of the two above-mentioned functions, the corresponding window contains data about the extrusion parameters, said data being edited in the screens "Main Picture" and "Design Picture" Recipes may be combined in such a way as to permit a continuous production of a large assortment of pastry items, each item being manufactured in small numbers The software has a facility based of the recipe data to detect a conflict resulting from an unimplementable combination of recipes. In the case of such a conflict an alarm is triggered before production starts. Further functions may be created as required

Manual Screen

From this screen the movements along each axis are performed manually in positive and negative direction. Position values for the X, Y and Z axis are

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26} entered with a tolerance of 0.1 mm. The rotor pump speed is entered in cm³/s and pre-feeder speed in rpm.

Alarm Summary Screen

This screen displays an error log with the last error and/or alarm heading the list. The information on screen includes time and date.

CAD Screen

From this screen two programs are opened, one for designing and drawing forms and patterns, the other, a "CAD to DMC", for translating DXF files into code readable by the servo controller card.

C/_O Screen

In this screen the user creates a template, which is opened when creating a new form or pattern. The template comprises macros and configuration data for said form or pattern.

Service Screen

From this screen a maintenance program is opened, said program maintaining the servo controller card, other PC software, programming languages and the like for programming the control panel.

The invention is not limited to the above preferred embodiment, but can be modified in a number of ways all within the scope of the invention. For example, the 3dimensional movements can be executed by an industrial robot employing up to six degrees of freedom and making use of its control of pumps, valves, pressurized air, vacuum and the like. The invention can be used in manufacture of all eatable goods ie. chocolate, confectionery, or similar food products.

Claims

1. A method for industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products, where each item or a group of items is manufactured stepwise at a plurality of workstations placed along a conveying means such as a moving belt

CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the conveying means (3) moves in a predefined direction and that each manufacturing step takes place in a predefined area at one of the workstations (13-19) along the belt (3).

2. A method for industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products according to claim 1 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT manufacture comprises one or more of the following steps: depositing, garnishing, decorating, baking, cooling and packing.

3. A method for industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products according to claim 1 or 2 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT depositing, garnishing and/or decorating are carried out at CNC-controlled workstations (13, 14, 15), where the movements of the depositing, garnishing or decorating means (23, 24, 25) are CNC-controlled in several mutually independent directions by drive means 37.

4. A method for industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products according to one or more of claims 1-3 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT at least one workstation (13-19) comprises CNC control and a CAD program which may control more than one workstation (13-19), said control and program permitting FMS manufacture of pastry or similar food products.

5. A method for industrial manufacture of pastry or similar food products according to one or more of claims 1-4 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT a CNC- controlled workstation (13, 14, 15) receives its data in the form of vector representations of the movements, tool parameters, extrusion and vacuum control

6 An apparatus for manufacturing pastry or similar food products on an industrial scale comprising several workstations, such as an oven, a cooling means, a depositor or a cleaning device, situated along a conveying means such as a moving belt CHARACTERIZED IN THAT said apparatus (1) compπses at least one CNC-controlled workstation (13-19)

7 An apparatus according to claim 6 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the

CNC-controlled workstation (13-19) is one or more of the following workstations depositing (13), garnishing (14) and/or decorating (15) station

8 An apparatus according to claim 6 or 7 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the CNC-controlled workstation (13-15) comprises a guide rail system (31), an extrusion device (33-35) in the form of a nozzle head (44) with one or more nozzles (45), a drive means (37) comprising electric motors to move the nozzle head (44) in the guide rail system (31), and a feed means (39) for delivering flowable material to the nozzle(s) (45)

9 An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-8

CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the CNC-controlled workstation comprises means (27) to create a picture by means of appropriate software, such as a CAD program

10 An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-9

CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the CNC-controlled workstation controls the movements of the depositing, garnishing and/or decorating means (23-25) along 3 axes so that the nozzles (45) of the nozzle head (44) each move in several mutually independent directions

11. An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-10 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the guide rail system (31) is mounted in such a way that the nozzles (45) of the nozzle head (44) move along a path defined in a coordinate system.

12. An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-11 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the main axis of the coordinate system, preferably the X axis (6), is parallel to the conveyor belt (3), the Y axis (7) is across the conveyor belt (3) and the Z axis (8) is peφendicular to the conveyor belt (3).

13. An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-12 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the guide rail system (31) comprises two separate halves situated at each side of the conveyor belt (3).

14. An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-13 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the drive means (37) is arranged such that electric motors are provided on each half of the guide rail system (31), the motor moving the nozzle head (44) along an axis on one side of the conveyor belt (3) being master to the corresponding motor, also called slave, on the other side of the conveyor belt (3).

15. An apparatus according to one or more of claims 6-14 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the feed means (39) comprises a prefeeding unit (40) controlling the supply of flowable material to the feed rollers (41) and vacuum means (42) to at least partially evacuate the nozzles (45).