Bühler OLFC Oilseed Flaker Processes Up to 500 Tonnes a Day

Bühler has launched the OLFC, a new flaker for soybean, canola and sunflower processing that the company rates at up to 500 tonnes per day. Announced on September 22, 2026, the machine is available worldwide after prototype validation in U.S. soybean plants.

Oilseed flakers compress cracked seeds into thin flakes before extraction. Thickness and consistency influence how efficiently oil can be recovered later in the process, while continuous production makes reliability and service access commercially important.

Bühler says the OLFC uses a reinforced frame, cast components in the bearing unit, larger pulleys, stronger roll shafts and revised motor mounting. Together, those changes reduce vibration by up to 25 percent compared with the company's predecessor equipment.

The rolls measure 820 millimeters in diameter, compared with what Bühler describes as an 800 millimeter industry standard. The company says the larger diameter and extended usable surface increase roll service life by 150 percent, which could reduce replacement frequency.

An upgraded hydraulic system is designed to absorb sudden pressure spikes, including events caused by foreign material entering the machine. A timing belt replaces a conventional belt arrangement, with Bühler claiming energy use up to 4 percent lower than predecessor systems.

For maintenance, an auxiliary drive turns the rolls slowly during grinding. Bühler calculates that saving two hours of service time can preserve about 41 tonnes of processing capacity per flaker, although the realized benefit will depend on a plant's operating rate and maintenance practices.

The automation package includes a new touchscreen, integrated sensors and access to Bühler Insights for monitoring. Operators can compare data across multiple flakers, track longer term performance and use the information to plan maintenance before a problem becomes critical.

The OLFC is most relevant to high throughput oilseed processors where uptime, energy use and roll replacement intervals materially affect operating costs. Bühler has not published a standard price, so buyers will need a site specific quotation and should evaluate the capacity claim against their crop mix, preparation line and extraction system.