Posted to News on 9th Jul 2010, 10:04
Clean Design pneumatic cylinders for food industry applications
Festo is launching a new generation of 'Clean Design' pneumatic actuators that are a cost-effective alternative to specialist components for the food and beverage industries. The actuators employ 'Clean Design' principles to help minimise contamination risks and are suitable for use in aggressive environments where frequent wash-downs are encountered. The first products in this new range include corrosion-resistant round and guided cylinders that use FDA (USA Food and Drug Administration) approved seals and USDA (USA Department of Agriculture) approved H1 food-grade lubricants.
The new Clean Design cylinders are intended to help OEMs building food-safe automation overcome the apparent dichotomy between expensive custom components and off-the-shelf equipment that does not comply with relevant standards. Festo believes that there is a market for automation components that use a combination of standard parts, specialist materials and state-of-the-art fabrication technologies.
Festo's new CRDSNU round cylinders and DGRF guided cylinders are the first products to embody these principles, following extensive research into surface friction, lubrication and wear, materials analysis, and computer-optimised design. Both product families are characterised by very smooth, corrosion-resistant body profiles that are free from protrusions to facilitate efficient wash-down and removal of contamination.
CRDSNU stainless steel round cylinders
The CRDSNU stainless steel round cylinder is available in eight ISO 6432 sizes (12-63mm bore) spanning stroke lengths from 10-500mm. The cylinder uses Festo's patented PPS self-adjusting pneumatic cushioning technology that automatically adapts to the prevailing load and speed conditions to provide optimum end-position cushioning. This technology offers maintenance-free operation and has the additional advantage that, by eliminating the need for a manually-adjustable cushioning screw, it helps to preserve the cylinder's clean wash-down lines and ensures optimum machine operation with minimal noise.
DGRF guided cylinders
For applications that involve high torque moments, Festo is introducing the DGRF guided cylinders that feature lateral piston rod support guides. These cylinders offer a choice of six different bore sizes from 20-63mm and are available with stroke lengths from 10-400mm.
As standard, Festo's CRDSNU and DGRF cylinders are equipped with FDA-compliant lubricants and wiper seals for use in environments involving direct contact with food products. However, for particularly aggressive applications demanding frequent detergent-based wash-downs, the cylinders are also optionally available with UHMWPE (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) self-lubricating seals. These non-toxic seals combine high resistance to abrasion with an exceptionally low coefficient of friction, which helps to ensure a long service life when 'dry-running' operations are encountered.
Follow the link for more information about the Festo products.
