Rugged process controller PastaPro

programmablecompactmulti-channel

Overview
PastaPro by Bühler is a digital process service for automatic regulation of dough moisture during pasta production. It removes moisture variability in raw materials and maintains consistent moisture of the product feeding the dryer in real time.

Key benefits

• Constant product quality at lower production costs: automatic dough moisture regulation optimises moisture content of dried pasta without reducing production throughput.
• Reduced manual intervention and errors: the system self‑regulates water addition based on raw material moisture and defined recipes, lowering the need for manual corrections.
• Stable dough moisture for targeted drying: compensates raw material moisture fluctuations through controlled water dosing, enabling uniform drying and improved moisture distribution in dried pasta.

Application possibilities

• Durum semolina pasta production
• Wheat‑based pasta production (short and long goods)

Highlight features

• Multi NIR inline measurement: inline spectroscopic sensors and probes provide real‑time moisture data for closed‑loop control.
• Industrial design & long sensor link: compact components for plant integration; optical‑fibre link supports up to 200 m between sensor and spectrometer without delayed response.
• Digital dashboard & reporting: historical and live quality parameters, cross‑line and period comparisons, and lot reports to support traceability and faster product release decisions.
• Cost reduction & yield optimisation: tighter moisture distributions reduce rework and waste and help meet defined drying targets to improve return on investment.

Other features / Hardware

• Probes and inline camera designed to operate in dusty, high‑temperature and vibrating environments to ensure continuous measurement availability.
• Multiple predefined installation positions to target the most relevant process step for each production line.

Process chain (selected steps)

• Raw material handling: precision dosing to ensure consistent flour/semolina and water ratios.
• Dough preparation and shaping: automated water control during mixing to stabilise dough moisture.
• Drying: controlled input moisture improves dryer performance and final texture.
• Cooling: correct cooling avoids condensation and product quality issues.
• Stacking and cutting / Optical sorting: downstream quality steps benefit from consistent upstream moisture control.

PastaPro (summary)
PastaPro is a Bühler digital process service that automatically controls dough moisture in real time using Multi NIR inline sensing and a digital dashboard to optimise drying entry conditions, improve yield and traceability, and reduce rework.

Technical specifications

• Product type: Digital process service for automatic dough moisture regulation.
• Commercial name / model: PastaPro
• Vendor / brand: Bühler
• Primary function: Real‑time automatic regulation of dough moisture to compensate raw material moisture fluctuations.
• Measurement technology: Multi NIR inline system (spectrometers, probes, inline camera).
• Digital outputs: Dashboard with historical and live quality parameters, line comparisons and lot reports.
• Installation: Compact industrial design; multiple predefined sensor mounting positions.
• Environmental robustness: Probes and camera tolerant to dust, high temperature and vibration.
• Sensor distance: Optical fibre cable supports up to 200 m between sensor and spectrometer.
• Applications: Durum semolina and wheat pasta production (short and long goods).
• Documentation: Product brochure (PDF) available from vendor.
• Internal ID: CUBE-00030-641