The deposition of dairy powders on equipment surfaces during the drying process has several undesirable effects. These include the cost of cleaning (materials and down-time), product degradation due to incorporation of oxidized debris in the product and ultimately the risk of a fire or explosion due to burning of the deposited powder. The present investigation concentrated on the adhesion force of whole milk powder to a polished stainless steel surface using an established centrifuge technique. The effects on adhesion bonding strength of particle size, temperature and consolidating force were studied. The powder used in this investigation was an agglomerated whole milk powder with particles ranging from 20 to 250 mu m (based on the calibration using alumina powder). Microscope and image acquisition techniques were used to acquire data from the centrifuge experiments. Powder composition and particle size had an effect on the adhesion force and increasing powder temperature from 40 to 60 degrees C increased adhesion.