New igus materials for the food industry | Industry update manufacturing media

2021-11-08 09:45:59 By : Ms. Emily Chen

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The static dissipative iglidur AX500 tribopolymer ensures maintenance-free applications in contact with food

In bearing points in the food and packaging industries, temperatures and speeds are often very high. Ensuring reliable operation of the mechanism requires durable sliding bearing solutions that can continuously handle friction and heat. Another challenge is electrostatic charge. Treotham's igus iglidur AX500 provides customers with a new wear-resistant material for high-temperature applications that also has ESD properties.

How are ten grams of gummy bears packed in a small bag? The dosing system is equipped with a highly sensitive mechanism. This mechanism can fill thousands of bags at once. The slide and belt then move the candy into a box. At such high speeds, all packaging mechanisms, especially their bearings, are subject to wear.

Plain bearings made of Treotham's new iglidur AX500 high-performance polymer help to make the bearing points maintenance-free and durable. The new material is electrostatically dissipative, ensuring that the bags will not stick to each other and employees will not be shocked. In dusty environments such as flour processing, sparks can also cause dust explosions.

Safe and wear-resistant bearings, even at high temperatures

iglidur AX500 is also particularly suitable for high temperature ranges, making it suitable for applications such as oven and bottle cleaning. Its good chemical resistance means that corrosive cleaning agents will not damage the bearings. If iglidur AX500 comes into contact with food, there is no problem, because the tribologically optimized polymer and its embedded solid lubricant do not require additional lubrication.

On the test bench: the abrasion test iglidur AX500 obtained better abrasion results than the long-running food material iglidur A500. The wear of iglidur A500 and iglidur AX500 was tested in rotation on a stainless steel shaft in the 3,800 square meter in-house laboratory of igus in Cologne. The wear coefficient of the new material is three times that of the old material.

Special sizes for injection molding can be provided within a few days

Treotham currently offers new igus materials in standard sizes (6-20 mm diameter), with or without flanges. For special sizes that are needed quickly, users can also use the FastLine service. The expansion of internal tool manufacturing allowed igus to manufacture and deliver special-sized Treotham's iglidur polymer sliding bearings within a few days at low parts prices.