I Have a New Product Idea. How Do I Judge Whether It Can Be Made by Machine?

Many food businesses have had this experience: a product made by hand is going well, customers keep increasing, staff cannot keep up, and they want to mass-produce it by machine; or they have an idea for a new snack and want to know whether a machine can make it. Before mechanizing, getting clear on your product and ingredients can save a lot of wasted effort.

What Should You Test First for a New Product?

To judge whether a product can be mechanized, start with how well the materials "run on a machine":

1. Whether the wrapper material holds its shape: Encrusting machines require a wrapper material that can be pushed and squeezed without slumping. Semi-fluid batters and very loose materials need a different equipment route.
2. Stickiness: Will the material stick to the hopper, conveyor, or cutter? Highly sticky materials (glutinous rice, fish paste, cooked rice) need anti-stick dusting flour or special handling.
3. Firmness and temperature: The same material can vary a lot in firmness at different temperatures. Buttery shortcrust, aspic filling, and ice cream filling are all very temperature-sensitive.
4. Particle size: How large are the diced meat, diced vegetables, or nuts in the filling? Particles that are too large can jam the feeding mechanism and make metering inaccurate.
5. Solid fillings: Do you need to wrap a whole egg yolk, strawberry, or boiled egg? Solid fillings require a separate feeder.
6. Firmness difference between wrapper and filling: When the two are similarly firm, the wrapper comes out even in thickness.
7. Stability over time: Does the material's condition change after 30 minutes or an hour in the hopper? Fermented dough, glutinous rice, and starch batter all change over time.

What Information Should You Prepare for the Machine Maker?

When discussing with a machine maker, the more complete your information, the more accurate the assessment. We recommend preparing:

Product specifications

• Weight, size, and shape of the finished product (ideally with photos or samples).
• Weight ratio of wrapper to filling.
• Any appearance requirements, such as patterns, pleats, or an open top.

Ingredients and recipe

• Main ingredients and approximate recipe for the wrapper and filling.
• Condition of the ingredients: temperature, water content, particle size.
• Whether there are solid fillings or multiple fillings.

Output and production method

• Target output per hour or per day.
• How many hours a day you produce and how often you change products.
• How the product is handled afterward: steamed, baked, fried, frozen, or refrigerated?

Site conditions

• Power: single-phase or three-phase? What voltage?
• Space: room for the machine and work flow.
• Cleaning: whether drainage and water supply are available, and how often and how cleaning is done.

How Many Test Runs Does It Take to Know?

There is no fixed number; it depends on the difficulty of the product and how much the recipe needs adjusting. The general process is:

1. Initial assessment: The machine maker judges from your information which type of machine may be suitable.
2. First test run: Bring your own ingredients to the machine maker for a trial, to see whether the product can be formed and where problems arise.
3. Adjust the recipe or settings: Based on the trial, adjust dough firmness, filling water content, wrapper-to-filling ratio, or machine settings.
4. Confirm with another test run: Confirm that product quality, output, and yield are all acceptable.

The FAQ on the website of Japan's RHEON describes its installation process: first an inquiry, discussion of needs, and model selection; then a test run in the company's test room using the ingredients the customer actually uses; a contract is signed only after the customer is satisfied with the test results; and at delivery, technicians come on site to confirm that the machine runs and the products turn out as expected. Doing test runs with your own ingredients is a practice widely used in the machinery industry.

Dong-Yih's R&D Background

Dong-Yih Machinery set up a machine R&D department in 1991, producing special-purpose food machinery on behalf of customers; after its reorganization in 2001, it began specializing in manufacturing all kinds of automatic food encrusting and forming machines. The models currently listed on our website are the DY-528MS and DY-528M dividing machines and the DY-201 Automatic Steamed Bun and Mantou Machine. If you have a new product idea, bring your product photos, recipe, and output needs, and call 06-257-4644 or ask through our Contact page.

FAQ

Q: How do I judge whether my product can be made by machine?
A: First look at whether the materials hold their shape, whether they are sticky, whether they are temperature-sensitive, how large the particles are, and whether there are solid fillings; then bring your ingredients to a machine maker for a test run.

Q: What should I prepare before approaching a machine maker?
A: Finished product weight, size, and photos of its shape; the wrapper-to-filling ratio; recipes and ingredient condition; target output; how the product is handled afterward; and your site's power and space.

Q: Will one test run tell me the result?
A: Not necessarily. Usually the recipe or settings are adjusted based on the trial, followed by another run to confirm quality and output.

Q: What should I bring to a test run?
A: Bring the ingredients you actually use, because every business's flour and fillings have different properties, and only a test with your own ingredients gives accurate results.