PDP-4 Nabisco 19640420

This document describes Nabisco's groundbreaking implementation of a computer-controlled batching system in its Chicago bakery, marking the first such application in the baking industry. The primary goal is to ensure consistent quality and taste for its massive daily production, including millions of pounds of Fig Newtons and hundreds of miles of Saltine crackers.

Key aspects of the system include:

• Pioneering Technology: Foxboro Company proposed a digital computer control system, a novel approach compared to the analog systems typically considered.
• Precision Batching: The computer precisely controls the selection, metering, and weighing of tons of dry (flour, sugar, chemicals) and liquid (water, shortening, syrups) ingredients, ensuring accuracy down to one pound in twelve hundred.
• Automated Delivery: Ingredients are moved pneumatically from storage bins to scale-hoppers, then gravity-fed into mixing machines, all under computer direction.
• Complex Sequencing: A significant challenge was sequencing the delivery of various ingredients with high accuracy (0.1%), involving numerous steps and feedback signals.
• Real-World Challenges: The article highlights practical problems encountered, such as bakery dust interfering with electrical contacts, "cavitation" causing false signals from chemical level switches, and accidental over-delivery due to initial human error. These issues were resolved with specific engineering solutions (e.g., capacitors to clear dust, new circuitry for chemical demands).
• Operator Interaction: While the system is largely automated, human operators still play a role, particularly in controlling mixing time and initiating batching sequences in semi-automatic mode.
• Future Expansion: Nabisco considers the system experimental but successful, with plans to extend computer control to ovens and packaging. The article also notes similar computer system adoptions by other major bakeries like Pillsbury and Sara Lee, underscoring the shift towards advanced automation in food processing.

Overall, the document showcases how Nabisco utilized cutting-edge industrial electronics to achieve unprecedented quality control and efficiency in large-scale baking.