Electricity and Control April 2025

Safety of plant, equipment + people: Products + services

Engineering production lines to ensure product safety

The pressure on beverage manufacturers to produce their goods hygienically is increasing, consumer demands for product safety are growing and global standards issued by authorities such as the FDA (US Food & Drug Administration) are becoming stricter. As a result, machine and system components are also required to meet stricter demands. To enable machine builders and operators to achieve hygienic, low-maintenance and fail-safe production, igus has introduced a lubrication-free drylin linear and drive technology in hygienic design, including a design study for a ready-to-install SHT linear axis. This meets FDA and EU requirements, as well as the EHEDG guidelines regarding cleanability. As regulations become stricter, companies in the beverage industry need to ensure that their equipment for filling, labelling, packaging and inspecting bottles and cans can be cleaned easily and thoroughly. This also applies to machine components such as linear technology, which is used for the adjustment and movement of filling heads, label dispensers and camera systems, among other things. “The demand for linear technology in hygienic design is increasing rapidly. Machine manufacturers are looking for ways to further reduce the risk of contamination in their systems, and reduce the cleaning eort and thus operating costs, at the same time,” says Michael Hornung, Product Manager drylin® Linear and Drive Technology at igus. For this balancing act, igus oers a growing product portfolio which is being developed in accordance with the guidelines of the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG). These require that components must either have a gap-free design or be encapsulated accordingly. “This way, we can support the safe and eicient operation of production facilities in the beverage industry,” says Hornung. SHT linear module for hygienic positioning tasks Among its new products, igus recently showcased its design study of a ready-to-install SHT linear axis in hygienic design, which has been optimised for better rinsing. It is suitable for filling stations,

for example, allowing for precise and hygienic movements to position bottles and cans. The axis uses stainless-steel round shaœs as guidance and relies on dryspin lead screw technology from igus made of corrosion-free stainless steel for the drive. The truss assembly consists of two housing halves, sealed with an FDA-compliant silicone flat gasket and hygienic screws. Specially developed wiper seals protect the shaœs and prevent dirt and moisture from entering the shaœ end support. In addition, igus has designed the lead screw nut on the lead screw in such a way that there are generous gaps. This prevents deposits and makes it possible to clean them eiciently. Hornung says, “We are working on developing more products consistently in accordance with the hygienic design guidelines. We have also joined the EHEDG so we can facilitate new types of certification for open moving parts.” A growing portfolio Last year, igus presented the world’s first sliding carriage for linear guides in hygienic design, which is made of 100% food-grade plastic with FDA and EU 10/2011 approval. Here, too, the design is completely open and free of dead space, making the system fully flushable – even using aggressive cleaning agents. The carriage is suitable for format adjustment in beverage-bottling plants, for example, to handle dierent bottle sizes without interchangeable parts. With solid lubricants integrated into the high-performance plastic, the carriage works hygienically with low-maintenance dry operation and does not require external lubrication. Lubrication-free drylin linear and drive technology from igus is designed according to the EHEDG guidelines.

APRIL 2025 Electricity + Control

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