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Operational Improvements
December 11, 2024
The range and flexibility of lubrication and sealing technologies continues to expand as companies look to scale down production times while increasing productivity. The industry is focused on environmental impact, automation and compact systems. Here’s just a few of the latest technologies in the industrial market:
Freudenberg Updates Food & Beverage Sealing Solutions
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is adding further engineering plastics to its portfolio of materials for worldwide use in the food and beverage industry. Among others, these include the two high-performance PTFE materials Y002 and Y005, which now have all global food-specific approvals and can safely withstand drastic temperature fluctuations as well as aggressive media.
When it comes to processes in the food and beverage industry, there are no uniform legal requirements on a global level regarding which ingredients may be present in materials that come in contact with the products. As a result, manufacturers of products for the global market face major challenges, since seals, for example, cannot be used universally. This situation creates an advantage for materials that meet all globally applicable conformity requirements to the highest degree possible. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies offers an extensive and continuously updated portfolio of elastomers and engineering plastics to meet these requirements. The latest additions include the two reliable PTFE materials Y002 and Y005, which are now also approved for global use in the food and beverage industry. They are remarkable for their very high purity, wide temperature range for applications and high resistance to almost all media.
An overview of the new compounds and proven range of materials for the process industry recently took place at Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, Germany. In April, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies presented materials for various sealing requirements in food and beverage production. These included materials such as 70 HNBR 254067, which is particularly well-suited for applications with high mechanical stresses and is certified according to EG (Reg.) 1935/2004 and the FDA, blue food-grade PTFE G224 with high media and temperature resistance, and the versatile polyurethane 94 AU 21730. The exhibition also highlighted the white material 70 EPDM 38596, which is an especially good choice for contact with aqueous products and dairy products with a low-fat content, and the white 75 Simriz 38581, which features the highest media and temperature resistance.
The highlights of the product presentation included the extensive range of radial shaft seals for the process industry and sealing solutions from the product line for hygienic plants such as the hygienic pressure seal. Specifically designed for higher pressures, these seals are used, for example, as rod seals in pumps or valves.
SKF Offers Compact Oil Filtration System
SKF RecondOil’s technology, which removes even the smallest impurities from circulating oil, is now available in a compact form.
RecondOil Box is a smaller version of SKF’s industrial scale DST systems, which have previously been applied in large applications in metalworking and quenching. The smaller system is suitable for a broader range of industries and applications, to name a few: general manufacturing, pulp and paper production, metal production, metal processing and energy production.
While conventional filters typically only remove particles in the micron range, the RecondOil Box features Double Separation Technology (DST), which can remove particles down to nano-size from an oil. It acts as a mechanical ‘kidney’ in a machine’s oil circulation system, where it regenerates the oil by progressively removing contaminants, and then returning the oil back into circulation. As the oil is in a closed loop, it’s kept at a highly clean state continuously.
By keeping the oil continuously clean, RecondOil Box can significantly extend oil change intervals.
“When DST-regeneration is combined with lubrication management and condition monitoring, oil can be circulated and re-used for much longer,” says Erik Råwall, program manager at SKF. “Sometimes, it can be circulated indefinitely, allowing a circular use of oil.”
So, as well as reducing the cost of replacing oil, it can also deliver an environmental benefit. A life cycle analysis performed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute calculated the climate impact of a conventional oil cycle at 3,830 kg CO2 equivalent per m3 of oil – compared to 8.2 kg CO2-eq with RecondOil Box.
The nano-clean oil can also improve machine performance across a range of applications. As well as filtering out impurities, RecondOil Box removes free, emulsified and bound water. It also prevents premature oil degradation by removing oxidation products and soluble and insoluble varnish.
Customers interested in the RecondOil box will be able to obtain the DST system itself, as well as oil condition monitoring, filter changes and other services.
Schaeffler Single-Point Automatic Lubricator Offers New Advantages
CONCEPT1 from Schaeffler eliminates the need for time-consuming manual lubrication procedures, while preventing lubrication mistakes such as over- or under-greasing that can cause unplanned plant equipment downtime.
“Approximately 60% of electric motor failures can be traced to bearing-related problems that are typically due to lubrication issues,” said David French, product manager for Industry 4.0 solutions at Schaeffler. “Accordingly, we designed CONCEPT1 to provide our customers with a versatile and easy-to-use solution that delivers the right grease in the right quantity at just the right intervals.”
Schaeffler’s CONCEPT1 single-point lubricator uses an electrochemical reaction to precisely and continuously supply the proper amount of lubricant to rolling bearings inside electric motors and other industrial machinery. Easy to install and operate, CONCEPT1 can reduce plant maintenance costs by as much as 25% when compared to manual lubrication procedures.
CONCEPT1 is available pre-filled with Schaeffler’s line of Arcanol greases, or customers can have CONCEPT1 filled at the factory with an extensive selection of name-brand and special-order lubricants. Alternatively, customers can purchase empty lubricant cartridges for CONCEPT1 and use their own grease. To reduce waste and help protect the environment, CONCEPT1 can be refilled up to three times using Schaeffler’s specially designed refill kits.
The lubricator can offer optimal benefits to electric motors, bearing housings, fans, blowers and more.
