Label each capacity with its material stream
Reception equipment handles whole fruit. Opening and separation remove shell and retained material before the downstream liquid circuit. Those removed streams mean fruit intake cannot be copied directly onto the finisher, thermal system or filler as a prepared-product rating.
Evaporation introduces another boundary: feed enters, concentrate leaves and water is removed as vapor. A nominal evaporator capacity without that basis is ambiguous. Mark the stream and measurement condition on each figure so suppliers can compare the same duty.
| Decision | Selection basis |
|---|---|
| Fruit intake | Whole-fruit mass at reception |
| Prepared liquid | Collected or finished juice and pulp |
| Water removal | Evaporated water at stated inlet and outlet solids |
| Packed product | Product flow and the selected package |
Use the actual operating window
The production schedule includes receiving, product preparation, processing, cleaning and interruptions. Daily output divided by an assumed continuous day can conceal the rate needed during actual production. Record intended product hours separately from cleaning and setup.
Buffers can connect stages with different operating patterns, but their usable volume follows inlet and outlet flows and the acceptable holding arrangement. A tank does not automatically resolve every mismatch. Define the relevant stops, restart conditions and product-holding limits with the process team.
Send a basis that can be turned into equipment selection
Start with incoming fruit or prepared liquid, target daily product, production hours and the finished seed, pulp and solids requirements. Where recovery has been measured, keep the fruit lot and sampling boundary with the result. If it has not been measured, state that rather than treating an assumption as a trial result.
Include floor layout, receiving and discharge heights, utility conditions and the bulk package. The supplier can then identify the equipment interfaces and the trial or analysis needed to confirm selection. Keep any general machine-family range separate from a confirmed project duty.
In practice
Questions about this stage
What should I send if I only know daily production?
Send the intended daily output, product definition and available operating hours, together with your starting material. Identify unmeasured recovery or composition so it can be assessed rather than assumed.
