Beverage manufacturers are under increasing pressure for hygienic production. Consumer demands for product safety are rising, as are global standards from authorities such as the FDA. This also places increasing demands on machine and system components. To enable machine manufacturers and operators to achieve hygienic, maintenance-free and fail-safe production, igus will be showcasing lubrication-free drylin® linear and drive technology in a hygienic design at BrauBeviale 2024 in Nuremberg (Hall 7, Stand 436). Design considerations for ready-to-install SHT linear axes, which not only meet FDA and EU requirements but also comply with EHEDG guidelines for cleanability.
In the face of increasingly strict regulations, companies in the beverage industry need to ensure that their bottle and can filling, labelling, packaging and inspection systems can be easily and thoroughly cleaned. This also applies in particular to machine components such as linear technology, which is used to adjust and move filling heads, label dispensers and camera systems. “Currently, the demand for linear technology in hygienic design is growing rapidly.
Machine manufacturers are looking for ways to further reduce the risk of contamination in their systems and at the same time reduce cleaning operations and therefore operating costs,” says Michael Hornung, Product Manager drylin® Linear and Drive Technology at igus. To strike this balance, igus will present at BrauBeviale 2024 its ever-growing product portfolio, which is being developed in accordance with the guidelines of the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG). These require components to be designed without gaps or encapsulated accordingly. “In this way, we support the safe and efficient operation of production systems in the beverage industry,” says Hornung.
SHT linear module for hygienic positioning tasks
One of the new products that visitors to the BrauBeviale can see is a design study for the SHT linear axis, which is hygienically designed and ready to install, and is optimized for improved flushing. It is suitable for filling systems, for example, for precise and hygienic positioning of bottles and cans. The axis uses a stainless steel round shaft as a guide and the drive uses igus® dryspin thread technology, made of corrosion-free stainless steel.
The truss structure consists of two housing halves sealed with FDA-compliant silicone flat seals and hygienic screws. Specially developed wipers protect the shaft and prevent dirt and moisture from penetrating into the shaft end bearing. In addition, igus has designed the threaded nut of the spindle in such a way that sufficient clearance dimensions are ensured. This makes it difficult for deposits to adhere and allows efficient cleaning. Hornung: “We are consistently working on developing more products according to hygienic design guidelines and have also joined EHEDG to enable the certification of new types of open moving parts.”
Growing portfolio proven in numerous applications
Last year, igus introduced the world’s first hygienically designed sliding carriage for linear guides. The carriage is made of 100% food-safe plastic with FDA and EU 10/2011 approval. Here too, the construction is completely open and free of dead spaces, which means that the system can be completely washed down, even when using aggressive cleaning agents. The carriage is suitable, for example, for format adjustment in beverage bottling systems to process bottles of different sizes without changing parts. Thanks to the solid lubricant integrated in the high-performance plastic, the slide operates hygienically, dry-running, maintenance-free and does not require external lubrication. Furthermore, the drylin® hygienic design range has been extended to also include individual bearings.
These are arranged individually on guide rails and assembled into linear slides with stainless steel plates of different sizes, allowing for even more flexible designs. This also includes the drylin® timing belt axis ZLW made of stainless steel with plastic bearings, timing belts and ball bearings in accordance with FDA and EU 10/2011. igus components have already proven themselves in a variety of applications in the food, beverage and packaging industries: from the inspection technology at Krones AG to the robotic kitchen of start-up Cook-e and the fully automatic pizza oven at BistroBox. Hornung: “Thanks to their hygienic design and easy cleaning, our linear and drive technology meets the stringent requirements of the food and beverage industry and contributes to the safety and efficiency of production processes.”