Interroll drum motors provide the ultimate hygiene drive

Chris Middleton, Managing Director of INTERROLL warns against using conventional conveyor belt drives in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries

Distributing contaminated product, knowingly or unknowingly, can spell disaster for manufacturers. In addition to the lost value of batches returned, a producer's reputation could be irretrievably shattered with buyers moving acquisitions to other competitor sources.

However, times and technology has moved on and it is now possible to use modern and competitively priced production equipment that can virtually eliminate contamination in processing. The food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries make special demands regarding hygiene and cleaning in production areas and, that is why machinery designs looks to be smooth-lined and crevice free to prevent dirt traps and is often manufactured from non-corrosive materials.

Drive against contamination Traditional conveyer belt drives comprising of the classic geared motor, chain and pulley are still in widespread use in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical process and packing industries, but they do pose a potential contamination risk to products transported by them.

Where guarding and obstacles create limited access to standard geared motors on production lines cleaning cannot be thoroughly undertaken and as a result, it is not uncommon to see cooling ribs completely clogged with product residues or belt lubricants.

Even the fan cowling attracts process dust and needs frequent removal for effective cleaning.

The easy to access, space saving and compact drum motor drives eliminate the risk of contamination, since the entire drive mechanism is located in a sealed unit. With maintenance free bearings there is no need to lubricate the drive elements and the absence of chains and cooling fan also removes further possible sources for dirt, dust and germs to accumulate.

The obvious consequence is that drum motor drives are thus able to comply with the highest standards of hygiene and eliminates the risk of contamination due to dust accumulation. Drum motor drives offering IP66 protection classification can be cleaned using high pressure hosing without the need for subsequent lubrication or maintenance.

For further information contact: Drives & Rollers: Liam Preston (01536) 748531 Interroll Ltd., Brunel Road, Earlstrees Industrial Estate GB-Corby, Northants, NN17 4UX Fax: +44(0) 1536 748 515 e.mail: [email protected] Website: www.interroll.com