Chocolate machine repairs and custom cocoa processing builds.

We repair and build practical bean-to-bar chocolate production equipment for small factories, chocolatiers and food producers in Cape Town: cocoa roasters, crackers, husk and nib separators, winnowers, tempering machines, turners, tumblers, controls and stainless production fixtures.

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Technical illustration of cocoa roasting, cracking and winnowing equipment separating cocoa nibs from husk

Cocoa separation explained

Good cocoa nib separation is not just a fan. It is roast, crack size, density and airflow working together.

In a bean-to-bar chocolate process, roasting develops flavour and helps the cocoa shell release from the nib. The cracking stage should open the bean without grinding it into powder. From there the cocoa winnower uses controlled airflow, vibration and screen size to separate the lighter husk from the heavier nib.

If the winnower fan is too weak, husk stays in the nibs and the chocolate can taste papery or bitter. If the fan is too aggressive, good nibs get stolen into the waste stream. If the cracker gap is wrong, the machine creates fines and dust, then even a strong separator struggles. The best result comes from balancing roast profile, cracker gap, tray vibration, air velocity, duct path and collection bins.

Technical illustration of custom cocoa cracker, winnower and nib separation equipment

What we can repair or build

Chocolate machines designed around flavour, flow and production reality, not only the motor.

Chocolate equipment fails electrically, mechanically and through process problems. We look at product behaviour, batch size, heat load, motor load, bearing condition, cleaning access and control logic before choosing the repair route or custom-build approach.

01 Cocoa roaster repairs

Drum motors, heating elements or burners, thermocouples, airflow, chaff handling, temperature stability and repeatable batch roasting.

02 Winnower and separator repairs

Cocoa cracker, husk and nib separation using screen size, vibration, fan speed, duct design and collection layout matched to your throughput.

03 Tempering machine repairs

Heating, cooling circuits, probes, controllers, stirrers, augers, scraper blades, bowl motors, pumps, relays and SSR faults.

04 Turners, tumblers and panning machines

Variable speed drives, gearboxes, bearings, belts, chains, alignment, bowl angle, motor load and repeatable rotation control.

05 Melangers, refiners and conches

Stone or wheel pressure, belt tension, gearbox noise, overload trips, heat build-up, motor protection and mechanical wear.

06 Custom chocolate machinery controls

Timers, temperature controllers, probes, contactors, control panels and practical automation for older or custom chocolate equipment.

Technical illustration of chocolate tempering machine, auger, probe, motor and turner equipment for service

Tempering and turning

Temperature control is the difference between glossy chocolate and expensive rework.

A tempering machine is a heat-transfer machine as much as it is a mixer. The probe must read the real chocolate temperature, the scraper must keep chocolate moving across the bowl surface, the heating and cooling must respond cleanly, and the motor must keep the mass moving without slipping, overloading or creating hot spots.

On chocolate turners, tumblers and panning machines, the fault can be mechanical even when the symptom looks like a product problem. Wrong speed, worn bearings, gearbox drag, poor alignment or a slipping belt changes how the chocolate coats, polishes or tumbles. We check the drive train and the process result together.

Custom chocolate machinery

Need a cocoa roaster, husk separator, nib separator or custom chocolate process machine built to your space?

We can custom build chocolate machinery around your batch size, available power, cleaning method, production room, operator workflow and desired output rate. A good custom machine needs more than stainless steel: it needs service access, food-safe surfaces, protected wiring, realistic motor sizing, airflow control, dust capture where needed and controls that a production team can use every day.

For a proper design discussion, send:

Current machine photos and the data plate if it exists
Batch size, target kg per hour and product type
Power supply available on site
What the product problem looks like: husk in nibs, poor temper, slow output, dust, overheating or uneven turning
Room layout, cleaning requirements and where the machine must fit

Book an assessment

Send the chocolate machine fault, photos and what you are trying to produce.

The more process detail you send, the faster we can tell whether it is a repair, adjustment, control issue or a custom-build problem.

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