SSFD-20 Food Freeze Dryer
Review the process, equipment duties and project boundary from one defined basis.
- 20 m²Published drying area
- 65 kWPublished installed power
- ≥400 kg/batchMaximum water-capture reference
Read the SSFD-20 as a Documented Starting Configuration
The values below are taken from the reviewed model file. They support comparison and technical review; the current quotation controls final materials, components, options, utilities, documentation and supply boundary.
Application and suitability boundary
Read the SSFD-20 as a documented starting configuration rather than a finished answer. Its published shelf area, tray count and condenser rating describe a reference load that must be reconciled with your product before any output is promised. The model name tells you the platform; it does not yet tell you what the machine will do with your food, your fill depth and your moisture target.
Begin by recording the product, the load weight and depth, the freezing point and the final moisture you must reach. Those four facts are the basis against which the shelf area, the condenser and the vacuum package are checked, and they are what turns the catalog row into an operating duty for the machine.
Treat the published figures as review references, not as a performance promise for your product. The SSFD-20 platform is confirmed only when the load, the cycle and the utilities are reconciled against one written basis, and that basis is what follows the machine through the rest of the project.
Balance chamber loading with condenser and packaging capacity
At 20 m², product preparation, pre-freezing, rack movement, unloading and packaging can become the actual production constraints. The machine is selected as one duty inside a batch system; the planned output must include turnaround, defrost, sanitation and product-protection time.
Prepared fruit or vegetables
Match upstream cutting and pre-freezing to a stable tray load and accepted finished endpoint.
Protein or pet food
Coordinate cooking or raw handling, frozen transfer, sanitation and oxygen- or moisture-barrier packing.
Campaign production
Define campaign length, recipe sequence, defrost, clean-down and the available labor window.
Selection logic and parameter consequences
For the SSFD-20, balance the chamber loading with the condenser and the packaging capacity as one calculation. Relate the load weight and depth to the water the condenser must remove, then check that the packing line can seal the dried product at the same pace. The machine's output is the smallest of the three, and it is rarely the shelf area on its own.
Plan the turnaround between cycles. A mid-size unit dries meaningful batches, so the time to unload, clean, defrost and reload matters more than on a laboratory machine. Write the turnaround into the batch plan so the daily output is calculated from real operating time rather than an uninterrupted ideal.
Work the calculation backwards from the packing line if necessary. If the sealing stage is slower than the dryer, the batch should be set by the sealing rate, and the chamber loading is then matched to that rhythm instead of being maximised on paper.
Connect the SSFD-20 to the Complete Food Route
Changing piece size, fill depth, initial water, freezing history or batch loading changes heat transfer, vapor release and condenser demand. The freeze dryer must therefore be selected with upstream preparation and downstream protective packaging.
- 01PrepareControl recipe and geometry
- 02LoadSet mass and tray depth
- 03FreezeReach the approved frozen state
- 04EvacuateEstablish the pressure condition
- 05SublimeBalance heat and vapor flow
- 06FinishVerify the dry endpoint
- 07ProtectLimit moisture pickup
Configuration and customization boundary
Connect the SSFD-20 to the complete food route, not just to the room it stands in. The dryer is fed by a preparation stage and feeds a packing stage, and all three must share the same batch rhythm. If the freeze dryer finishes a batch faster than the packing line can seal the dried product, the product waits and takes up moisture, so the packing rate is part of the dryer's real output.
Map the handoffs explicitly: how prepared product reaches the trays, how the dried product leaves the chamber, and where it is inspected and packed. The dryer's duty is only complete when the product is sealed and stable, so the route around the machine is specified with the same care as the chamber itself.
Document the handoffs on both sides so the dryer is commissioned as part of the route, not as a machine that later needs to be forced into it.
Freeze the System Scope, Not Only the Model Name
The production reference covers integrated chamber, refrigeration, vacuum, circulation and controls. Cooling route, racks, trays, product-contact materials, cleaning method, spare parts and site-support responsibilities are project selections.
| Process equipment | Chamber and shelves, condenser, refrigeration, vacuum, heat-transfer circulation, defrost and controls |
|---|---|
| Product handling | Trays, racks, loading method, pre-freezing transfer, unloading and cleaning route |
| Factory interfaces | Electrical supply, cooling, drainage, compressed air where required, room condition and data connections |
| Project boundary | Buyer and supplier work, installation, commissioning, training, spare parts, documentation and acceptance |
Freeze the system scope before you freeze the product. The SSFD-20 is part of a system that includes the vacuum pump, the refrigeration circuit, the shelves, the controls and the utilities, and each of those is a scope item that can be included or excluded. A quotation for the machine alone is not comparable with a quotation for a running system, so the boundaries must be written down.
Confirm what is inside the scope: the vacuum pump and its oil or maintenance plan, the refrigeration charge and condenser, the tray sets, the control package and the commissioning. Then confirm what is outside it, such as the power and water supply, the floor and drainage, and the packing equipment. The model name is only the centre of the decision; the system scope is the decision.
Release the Layout From Real Access and Utility Data
The published envelope is a planning reference. Final drawings must include operating clearance, door and rack movement, component removal, piping, cable routes, drainage, cleaning access and the delivery path into the building.
Make the machine installable and serviceable.
Check doorway, corridor, floor loading, lifting, foundation, operating side and future removal of pumps, compressors or chamber components.
Use simultaneous project loads.
Confirm voltage and frequency, connected and operating demand, cooling medium, design temperatures, flow, pressure, water quality and heat rejection.
Protect product before and after the cycle.
Define clean and dirty traffic, tray washing, drainage, allergen control, frozen transfer and the humidity-controlled packaging handoff.
Quality, evidence and acceptance
Release the SSFD-20 layout from real access and utility data, not from a brochure footprint. Measure the door, the corridor and the ceiling clearance on the route into the room, and leave working space around the machine for loading, cleaning and service. A freeze dryer that fits on paper can be impossible to bring into the building or to maintain once it is there.
Confirm the utilities at the same time: the electrical supply and its capacity, the cooling water or air requirements, the vacuum pump exhaust and any drainage. If the utility data is assumed rather than measured, commissioning stalls on the first day while the missing service is found, so the layout and the utilities are released together.
Approve One Test Basis Before FAT or Site Verification
A defensible acceptance record names the product, preparation, loading, frozen state, recipe, measurement points, endpoint method, utilities, test duration, responsibilities and limits of the available factory setup.
Document review
Approve the model configuration, materials, component schedule, drawings, utility list, controls, alarms and responsibility matrix.
Factory test basis
Define no-load checks, vacuum and temperature records, available product or substitute, sampling, deviations and sign-off.
Site acceptance
Confirm installation, utilities, safety, operator training, representative-product run and the agreed finished-product criteria.
Operating record
Retain recipes, curves, batch loading, endpoint results, maintenance actions and changes that affect repeatability.
Technical and commercial record
Approve one test basis before the factory acceptance test or the site verification, and keep that basis through both. State the product, the load weight, the shelf temperature, the chamber pressure and the final moisture target, and agree how the cycle data will be recorded and judged. A test without a written basis produces a demonstration, not evidence.
Run the same cycle at the factory and at the site, and compare the two records. The product temperature and chamber pressure curves should match, and any difference should be explained by the site conditions that were already agreed. When the test basis is fixed in advance, acceptance becomes a comparison of records rather than an argument about expectations.
Carry the SSFD-20 Basis Into the Quotation
Price, delivery, installation support, commissioning, after-sales support, warranty, certification documents and optional equipment are confirmed for the selected configuration. No portfolio-wide CE statement is made for this freeze-dryer family.
| Published drying area | 20 m² |
|---|---|
| Published installed power | 65 kW |
| Maximum water-capture reference | ≥400 kg/batch not product output |
| Architecture reference | Integrated production reference |
| Additional model detail | 12+1 shelf layers; approximately 5,800 × 1,800 × 2,800 mm |
| Project output basis | Calculate from the approved food, tray loading, freezing route, cycle, endpoint and operating schedule |
Frequently asked questions
What does the SSFD-20 20 m² drying-area figure mean?
Does the ≥400 kg/batch water-capture reference equal food batch capacity?
Which inputs are required to review the SSFD-20?
How is the final configuration and quotation confirmed?
Which certification documents are supplied?
Carry the SSFD-20 basis into the quotation so the document you sign describes the machine you tested. Include the product, the load, the cycle, the shelf area, the condenser and the utilities that were agreed, and exclude nothing that was assumed during the review. A quotation that omits the vacuum pump or the refrigeration boundary is cheaper on paper and more expensive on site.
When the same basis travels from the trial through the quotation to the acceptance test, the buyer can hold the supplier to a written duty instead of a remembered conversation. That continuity is what separates a defensible purchase from a catalog order that drifts as soon as the first question is asked.
