Pastificio Andalini, which specialises in the production of dry egg pasta both under its own brand and for third parties, combines tradition with a strong drive for innovation. Among its flagship products under its own brand is the “4-minute pasta” line, designed to meet the needs of rapid consumption. In line with this vision, the company has begun developing an innovative system for rapid cooking of dry pasta: a compact, easy-to-use device designed to prepare single-serving portions in a short time. The goal is to offer an efficient and practical solution, suitable for professional contexts such as canteens, fast food outlets or vending machines, combining product quality and optimisation of service times.

To meet the challenge posed by Pastificio Andalini, Romagna Tech brought to bear its advanced mechanical, electronic and IT expertise, developing the architecture of an innovative system for rapid pasta cooking, intended for professional use. The approach involved the design and experimental validation of a pre-engineered demonstrator, based on a preliminary system that was evaluated and approved by the company.
During the design phase, the main technical issues relating to mechanical, electronic and software aspects were addressed and resolved, while for issues related to thermodynamics and the sizing of auxiliary services, it was decided to involve the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Bologna (Unibo), with a view to collaboration between businesses and research. The final result was the creation of a pre-engineered demonstrator, complete with a bill of materials, ready for industrialisation and capable of quickly cooking dry pasta in a professional setting.

Possible fields of application for the technology developed range from rapid cooking systems for catering to controlled heat treatment systems; from controlled cleaning/washing systems for objects to customised electronic control systems with remote connections.