Electricity + Control March 2021

DRIVES, MOTORS + SWITCHGEAR : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Food Safe motors withstand >1 000 washdown cycles

Rigorous testing at a state-of-the-art hygiene laboratory has verified that ABB’s Food Safe stainless steel motors can withstand frequent sanitation. The motors emerged in full working order after being subjected to tests simulat- ing years of operation in harsh wash- down environments.

with acid once each week. Temperatures up to 55°C and pressures up to 25 bar were used. In all, a total of 158 cycles were performed, corresponding to 1 106 daily washdowns or 418 total hours of testing. Two IEC stainless steel Food Safe motors were sub- jected to the tests and were largely unaffected and still in full working order at the end of the test programme. In particular, no water, condensation or indication of cor- rosion was found inside the motors. All the three main O-rings and drain plugs remained tight. For comparison purposes, a standard painted alu- minum motor was also tested. It started to deteriorate very quickly and failed well before the end of the test. The paint on the housing blistered and flaked off and the shaft and other steel components suffered severe corro- sion. Washdown chemicals penetrated the terminal box and the main housing, causing short circuits between the phases and ground. The aluminium rating plate became detached from the motor. “Paint flakes, rust and particles could contaminate food products, leading to an expensive recall,” Helpio explains. “Some plants try to get around these problems by protecting their standard motors with shrouds, but the shrouds actually cause other issues. Food particles can collect inside the shroud, hidden from view, providing the potential for bacteria to grow.” Food Safe stainless steel motors eliminate the need for motor shrouds, providing 360° access for inspection and sanitisation. The easy-to-clean surfaces also mean less water and chemicals are needed. The tests demonstrate that Food Safe motors successfully withstand washdown conditions, and thus give plant operators the confidence that they will help to reduce unscheduled downtime. and, with their sturdy and compact design, and protection class IP30, they can be used in an extended temperature range of -40°C to +75°C, making them well suited for applications in industrial environments. The switches can be mounted flexibly, either on the DIN hat profile or on the control cabinet wall. One of the many benefits of the new LÜTZE E-CO Switches is the integrated intelligent energy management. This ensures the creation of energy-saving Ethernet net- works. Energy-efficient Ethernet (EEE) is implemented in compliance with the IEEE 802.3az norm. The result is con- sistent energy savings compared to conventional switches. For more information contact Friedrich Lütze. Email: wolfram.hofelich@luetze.de Visit: www.lutze.com For more information contact ABB Motion. Visit: www.abb.com

Maintaining product safety in food and beverage plants requires strict hygiene standards. Frequent wash- downs are required to avoid contamination. The chal- lenge is that electric motors used in these facilities can be damaged by aggressive cleaning. Motors specifical- ly designed for such applications can help ensure food safety, improve reliability and reduce the risk of unsched- uled plant downtime. ABB Food Safe motors address the washdown challenge. They feature stainless steel housing to resist corrosion and IP69 ingress protection to ensure high- temperature, high-pressure spraying will not cause damage. They are also easy to clean, with a smooth, self-draining outer surface that has no angles where contaminants could gather. Tero Helpio, Global Product Manager, IEC Food Safe motors at ABB Motion, says, “Our Food Safe motors are already in use at a number of customers’ plants. In or- der to prove their long-term performance under realistic washdown conditions, we worked with a state-of-the-art hygiene laboratory in Västerås, Sweden to devise a set of tests replicating industrial-type sanitising procedures.” The test regime reproduced typical cleaning practic- es in the food and beverage industry with a seven-stage cycle representing a full week of daily washdown pro- cedures. Detergent and sanitiser were applied during every stage, with acid applied once per cycle. This re- flects the common industrial practice of washing down Automation specialist LÜTZE, based in Weinstadt, Germany, has introduced E-CO Switches, a plug-and- play family of fast gigabit Ethernet switches suitable for industrial applications. The LÜTZE unmanaged E-CO (Ethernet Compact) switches with 5, 8 or 16 ports are suitable for universal network communication in all conventional Ethernet envi- ronments and field bus systems, such as PROFINET-IO or EtherCAT. In addition to the enhanced performance with QoS (quality of services), auto-negotiation, auto-crossing and an error message for the redundant power supply,

ABB worked with a Swedish hygiene laboratory to devise tests replicating

industrial type washdowns.

Compact switches with intelligent energy management

The new E-CO switches offer top performance including energy savings.

the switches offer an ac/dc wide range supply for dc 12 V to 48 V and ac 24 V. As the switches can also run on ac voltage, they can be integrated easily into building automation applications

18 Electricity + Control MARCH 2021