Choosing the right chocolate machine

KeyChoc Infinity AX chocolate tempering machine, front view, with touchscreen control panel, emergency stop button, vibrating tray, overhead dispensing spout and castor wheels
KeyChoc Infinity BX chocolate tempering machine, angled side view, with touchscreen control panel, emergency stop button, overhead dispensing spout, open top tank and castor wheels
KeyChoc Infinity MX chocolate tempering machine, front view, with touchscreen control panel, power buttons, vibrating tray, overhead dispensing spout and castor wheels
KeyChoc Infinity BT150 chocolate tempering machine, front view, with touchscreen control panel, emergency stop button, front outlet valve, enclosed cabinet design and castor wheels

Tempering

Infinity AX (£13,950.00 +VAT)

Fully automatic, continuous, tempering machine

Maximum convenience, but highest cost. The AX can temper batches from 12–60 kgs which makes it extremely versatile. Even if you generally make smaller batches of 12–20 kgs, you will always have the extra capacity if ever you need it, eg. at Christmas or just for unexpected, large orders. The AX can temper up to 200 kgs/hr and it can handle inclusions up to 10mm in size. No special skills required to operate it. Consistent results.

Melting Tempering Application
Generally 2–4 hours to get to 42˚c when starting with chocolate callets Fully automatic tempering.

Once melted your chocolate is brought to the right temperature and maintained there with heating and cooling.

Typically takes 15–25 minutes from 42˚c 		Suitable for all chocolate making applications.

Infinity BX (£9,950.00 +VAT)

Fully automatic, continuous, tempering machine

Maximum convenience, but highest cost. The BX can temper batches from 6-24 kgs, but you can use it down to 3kgs. The tempering capacity of the BX is 90 kgs/hr and it can handle inclusions up to 5mm in size. No special skills required to operate it. Consistent results.

MeltingTemperingApplication
Generally 2-4 hours to get to 42˚c when starting with
chocolate callets		Fully automatic tempering.

Once melted your chocolate is brought to the right temperature and maintained there with heating and cooling.

Typically takes 15–25 minutes from 42˚c		Suitable for all chocolate making applications.

Infinity MX (£8,400.00 +VAT)

Manual batch tempering machine

Uses seed method to produce a high quality, stable temper. Chocolate can remain tempered for up to eight hours unattended. The MX can be used with the AML or as a melting/feeder tank for other tempering machines. The MX can also be fitted with a depositing head and can handle inclusions up to 10mm in size. 75kg tank capacity. Work room temperature should not exceed 20˚c. Pre-tempered chocolate required for use as seed. Skilled chocolatier needed to achieve consistent results.

MeltingTemperingApplication
Generally 2-4 hours to get to 42˚c when starting with chocolate callets

Seed tempering

Method 1 – melt chocolate to 42˚c then add 20-30% callets. Typically takes 30 minutes to
temper

Method 2 – first allow
chocolate to cool to 34-35˚c. Then add 5-10% callets or 1% Mycryo (pre-crystallised cocoa
butter). Typically takes 5 to 15 minutes to temper from 35˚c

Suitable for filling moulds through the spout. Can also be used to deposit or enrobe using the optional attachments available.

Infinity BT150 (£12,600.00 +VAT)

Automatic batch tempering machine

Designed as a standalone tempering machine to act as a source of tempered chocolate for enrobers or any other type of machine, such as depositors, where larger quantities of tempered, “top-up” chocolate is required. The BT150 is a fully automatic, batch tempering tank and needs to be connected to a water supply.

MeltingTemperingApplication
Generally 6-8 hours to get to 42˚c when starting with chocolate callets

Fully automatic batch tempering.

Once melted your chocolate is melted, just set your temperature and press START.

Typically takes 30 minutes based on a stable incoming water temperature of 12˚c

Generally used to supply tempered chocolate to other machines. Can also be used to melt and hold many other substances, including wax, soap,
jelly, icing and margarine.

Moulding

Configuration 1: AX

Produce one full batch of moulded solid chocolates every 5 hours, assuming you have to both melt and then temper your chocolate in the AX. This is equivalent to 190 moulds or 57kgs of 100g bars.
Based on two person operation during moulding.

If you start from a clean machine in the morning, you can typically produce 114kgs of moulded solid chocolates in a 10 hour day. If you melt the first batch of chocolate overnight, you would be able to fit the same production into an 8 hour day.

This configuration allows you to change your chocolate every batch if required. Remember that your batch size can be anywhere from 10-60kgs, which gives you considerable flexibility.

Configuration 2: AML-1A + AX

Produce one full batch of moulded solid chocolates every 4 hours, assuming you have to both melt and then temper your chocolate in the AX. This is equivalent to 190 moulds or 57kgs of 100g bars.
Based on one person operation.

If you start from a clean machine in the morning, you can typically produce 114kgs of moulded solid chocolate in an 8 hour day. If you melt the first batch of chocolate overnight, you can produce 3 batches (171 kgs) in a 10 hour day.

As with configuration 1, you can change your chocolate every batch if required and your batch size can be anywhere from 12-60kgs. The main benefit of adding the AML is that the mould filling and vibrating processes are automated, which means much less repetitive manual work and the whole operation can be managed by one person.

Configuration 3: AML-1A + 3 AXs

Produce three full batches of moulded solid chocolates every 4 hours, equivalent to 570 moulds or171kgs of 100g bars.
Based on one person operation.
The AXs could each have a different colour or grade of chocolate, so no cleaning is required. Melting your first batch of chocolate in each AX overnight would also speed up the process.
This configuration allows you to keep three (or more) different grades of chocolate on the go simultaneously without the need to clean the machine. You can swap from one to the other as you need with virtually no downtime, especially if you have extra depositing heads. As before, your batch size can be anywhere from 10-60kgs.

Configuration 4: AML-1A + AX + MT1000-P

The AX has a tempering capacity of 200 kgs/hr and the AML can easily handle 600 moulds per hour, so for 100g bar moulds, you can continuously produce 180kgs of chocolate bars per hour. You can keep this up until you run out of melted chocolate. The big benefit of this configuration is that you use a dedicated Infinity MT1000-P melting tank for melting your chocolate instead of tying up your AX.

This configuration is ideal if you do long runs using just a single grade of chocolate.

Notes & Assumptions

In some of the configurations above, you can swap an Infinity MX for the AX. The main differences are highlighted below:

 AXMX
Tank Capacity60 kgs75 kgs
Tempering MethodFully automaticManual, seed method
Tempering Time22 mins30 mins
Melting Time3–4 hours to 42˚c3–4 hours to 42˚c
ConvenienceVery easy, with pre-set programs for each grade of chocolateNeeds more operator skill to adjust quantity of seed based on chocolate grade and environment
Cost£13,950£8,400
 
Our recommendation:
If you do not have a temperature-controlled environment (at or below 20˚c) or if you are constantly swapping from one chocolate grade to another, we recommend an Infinity AX for convenience. If you always use the same grade under fairly constant conditions, an Infinity MX will do the job perfectly well provided you have a skilled operator to temper the chocolate.
 
Other Assumptions:
Minimum DepositIdeally no less than 15g per cavity with an AX or no less than 5g per cavity with an MX
Max Depositing SpeedThe AML is normally configured to run at up to 600 moulds/hr but can be set to run at up to 900 moulds/hr (full tank of 57kgs in under 15 minutes)