Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Drum motors protect against salmonella poisoning
Drum motor drives on conveyors eliminate the risk of bacterial contamination since the entire drive mechanism is located in a sealed unit.
Chris Middleton, Managing Director of BDL Drum Motors (UK) warnsagainst using conventional conveyor belt drives in the food,beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Distributing contaminatedfood, knowingly or unknowingly, can spell disaster formanufacturers. In addition to the lost value of batches returned,a producers reputation could be irretrievably shattered withbuyers moving acquisitions to other competitor sources.
However,time and technology has moved on and it is now possible to usemodern and competitively priced production equipment that canvirtually eliminate contamination in processing.
The food,beverage and pharmaceutical industries make special demandsregarding hygiene and cleaning in production areas and, that iswhy machinery design looks to be crevice free to prevent dirttraps and are often manufactured from non-corrosive materials.Contamination is a major issue in the food and dairy sectors,including the soft cheese industry.
Here, manufacturers areconfronted with clostridia (spindle shaped bacterial cells).Various strategies exist such as UHT heating, adding salts,pre-melting, or introducing repressive substances such as nisin.But if the raw products used to produce these cheeses arecontaminated themselves, even these measures can proveineffective.
Such highly resilient bacteria can then easilyaccumulate in production equipment.
Conventional conveyor drivesa source of contamination However, traditional conveyor beltdrives comprising of the classic geared motor, chain and pulleyare still in widespread use in the food, beverage andpharmaceutical process and packaging industries, but they do posea potential contamination risk to products transported by them.Where guarding and obstacles create limited access to standardgeared motors on production lines cleaning cannot be thoroughlyundertaken and as a result, it is not uncommon to see coolingribs completely clogged with product residues or belt lubricants.Even the fan cowling attract process dust and needs frequentremoval for effective cleaning.
A recent report from UdoEigenfeld, CEO of BDL Maschinenbau GmbH remarked that a foodmanufacturer recently became aware of this fact during a recall.Although chain motors are often placed under a protective guardand cover, fine dust particles can still accumulate on the chain.Unfortunately, most covers leave the undersides of the mechanismsexposed and are a far cry from complying with stringentprotection standards such as IP65 or IP66.
It was found that thesource of contamination was actually the grease used to lubricatethe chain.
Although this substance is physiologically harmless,it can nevertheless accumulate dust.
Dust containing protein isthe basic foodstuff for germs, bacteria and salmonellae, whichoccasionally break free from the chain due to normal processvibration and can end up in food.
Drum motor drives eliminate therisk of contamination since the entire drive mechanism is locatedin a sealed unit.
The easy to access, space saving and compactdrum motor drives, eliminate the risk of contamination, since theelectric drive motor and integrated precision gearbox are allcombined and enclosed in a crevice free, sealed rotating drum.With maintenance free bearings there is no need to lubricate thedrive elements and the absence of chains and cooling fan, hasalso removed further possible sources for dirt, dust and germs toaccumulate.
The obvious consequence is that drum motor drives arethus able to comply with the highest standards of hygiene andeliminate the risk of food contamination due to dustaccumulation.
Drum motor drives offering IP66 protectionclassification can be cleaned using high pressure hosing withoutthe need for subsequent lubrication or maintenance.
This not onlyreduces the risk of contamination but also the total cost ofownership.
Independent study confirms lack of hygiene - a studyconducted by the _Frauenhofer Institute for ProductionEngineering and Automation_ confirmed problems with levels ofhygiene in food production.
More than half (52%) of foodmanufacturers found hygiene to be inappropriate duringproduction.
The main cause for concern was traced back toconveyor belt drives.
It was found that older external gearboxdrive mechanisms in particular, often had areas that were hardlyaccessible and were thus difficult to clean.
( A copy of thestudy can be obtained from the Frauenhofer IPA in Stuttgart,Germany.
Source: open automation 2/2002, p.54f).
A further optionprovided in particular for the food, pharmaceutical and cleanroom industries is 'burnt-in' identification plates onthe end of drum motor covers.
These new identification plates areformed by electrolysis.
This procedure enriches carbon moleculesnear the surface of the stainless steel housing, causing a changein colour - similar to the process used on some knife blades.
Incomparison to the traditional method of attaching a separatestainless steel identification plate to the motor, this methodprovides considerable greater degree of hygiene.
It's nowimpossible for capillaries to form behind the plate and avoidsthe plate being ripped off, as can be the case with adhesiveidentification plates.
BDL Drum Motors (UK) located at Corby haveundertaken various trials in conjunction with customers and OEMsto demonstrate energy saving claims of between 32% (loaded) and47% (unloaded) in comparison to conventional geared motor drives;clean hygienic profile features of drums with quick changeoverand no maintenance requirements; developing new drive solutionsfor new belting materials, etc.
Working closely with industry,BDL have evolved the drum motor to be a serious contender toreplace geared motor drives.
Chris Middleton, Managing Director of BDL Drum Motors (UK) warnsagainst using conventional conveyor belt drives in the food,beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Distributing contaminatedfood, knowingly or unknowingly, can spell disaster formanufacturers. In addition to the lost value of batches returned,a producers reputation could be irretrievably shattered withbuyers moving acquisitions to other competitor sources.
However,time and technology has moved on and it is now possible to usemodern and competitively priced production equipment that canvirtually eliminate contamination in processing.
The food,beverage and pharmaceutical industries make special demandsregarding hygiene and cleaning in production areas and, that iswhy machinery design looks to be crevice free to prevent dirttraps and are often manufactured from non-corrosive materials.Contamination is a major issue in the food and dairy sectors,including the soft cheese industry.
Here, manufacturers areconfronted with clostridia (spindle shaped bacterial cells).Various strategies exist such as UHT heating, adding salts,pre-melting, or introducing repressive substances such as nisin.But if the raw products used to produce these cheeses arecontaminated themselves, even these measures can proveineffective.
Such highly resilient bacteria can then easilyaccumulate in production equipment.
Conventional conveyor drivesa source of contamination However, traditional conveyor beltdrives comprising of the classic geared motor, chain and pulleyare still in widespread use in the food, beverage andpharmaceutical process and packaging industries, but they do posea potential contamination risk to products transported by them.Where guarding and obstacles create limited access to standardgeared motors on production lines cleaning cannot be thoroughlyundertaken and as a result, it is not uncommon to see coolingribs completely clogged with product residues or belt lubricants.Even the fan cowling attract process dust and needs frequentremoval for effective cleaning.
A recent report from UdoEigenfeld, CEO of BDL Maschinenbau GmbH remarked that a foodmanufacturer recently became aware of this fact during a recall.Although chain motors are often placed under a protective guardand cover, fine dust particles can still accumulate on the chain.Unfortunately, most covers leave the undersides of the mechanismsexposed and are a far cry from complying with stringentprotection standards such as IP65 or IP66.
It was found that thesource of contamination was actually the grease used to lubricatethe chain.
Although this substance is physiologically harmless,it can nevertheless accumulate dust.
Dust containing protein isthe basic foodstuff for germs, bacteria and salmonellae, whichoccasionally break free from the chain due to normal processvibration and can end up in food.
Drum motor drives eliminate therisk of contamination since the entire drive mechanism is locatedin a sealed unit.
The easy to access, space saving and compactdrum motor drives, eliminate the risk of contamination, since theelectric drive motor and integrated precision gearbox are allcombined and enclosed in a crevice free, sealed rotating drum.With maintenance free bearings there is no need to lubricate thedrive elements and the absence of chains and cooling fan, hasalso removed further possible sources for dirt, dust and germs toaccumulate.
The obvious consequence is that drum motor drives arethus able to comply with the highest standards of hygiene andeliminate the risk of food contamination due to dustaccumulation.
Drum motor drives offering IP66 protectionclassification can be cleaned using high pressure hosing withoutthe need for subsequent lubrication or maintenance.
This not onlyreduces the risk of contamination but also the total cost ofownership.
Independent study confirms lack of hygiene - a studyconducted by the _Frauenhofer Institute for ProductionEngineering and Automation_ confirmed problems with levels ofhygiene in food production.
More than half (52%) of foodmanufacturers found hygiene to be inappropriate duringproduction.
The main cause for concern was traced back toconveyor belt drives.
It was found that older external gearboxdrive mechanisms in particular, often had areas that were hardlyaccessible and were thus difficult to clean.
( A copy of thestudy can be obtained from the Frauenhofer IPA in Stuttgart,Germany.
Source: open automation 2/2002, p.54f).
A further optionprovided in particular for the food, pharmaceutical and cleanroom industries is 'burnt-in' identification plates onthe end of drum motor covers.
These new identification plates areformed by electrolysis.
This procedure enriches carbon moleculesnear the surface of the stainless steel housing, causing a changein colour - similar to the process used on some knife blades.
Incomparison to the traditional method of attaching a separatestainless steel identification plate to the motor, this methodprovides considerable greater degree of hygiene.
It's nowimpossible for capillaries to form behind the plate and avoidsthe plate being ripped off, as can be the case with adhesiveidentification plates.
BDL Drum Motors (UK) located at Corby haveundertaken various trials in conjunction with customers and OEMsto demonstrate energy saving claims of between 32% (loaded) and47% (unloaded) in comparison to conventional geared motor drives;clean hygienic profile features of drums with quick changeoverand no maintenance requirements; developing new drive solutionsfor new belting materials, etc.
Working closely with industry,BDL have evolved the drum motor to be a serious contender toreplace geared motor drives.
# posted by Medical Information : 2:59 AM
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