To get fresh food to the shelves as quickly as possible, it must be processed and packed very fast. Innovative motor solutions in hygienic design provide packaging machines with maximum flexibility for all applications. How do you decide which products end up in your shopping bag during your weekly shopping? The price is for sure the most important factor, followed by the longest possible shelf life. But how does fresh food get to the shelves of our discounters so quickly? Innovative weighing, labelling, and packaging lines in the food industry ensure that food products can be quickly and safely packed and shipped to discounters and other retailers. Intelligent and highly efficient drive solutions installed in those systems provide the necessary speed and flexibility. At the same time, they must meet the high requirements in the food and beverage industry and enable hygienic cleaning. With a modular product portfolio provides Dunkermotoren, a brand of AMETEK, individually configurable drive solutions for all areas in primary, secondary and transport packaging. Hygiene – the Alpha & Omega in food processing and packaging To meet the high requirements in the food and beverage industry, the drive technology manufacturer offers both its rotative brushless DC motors and highly precise linear motors with special stainless-steel housings. The design with its smooth surface allows easy and thorough cleaning. The material is exceptionally resistant to corrosion and does not suffer damage even from frequent contact with disinfectants or detergents. Thus it is particularly well suited for use in food processing. Especially when raw foods are portioned, weighted, and packed, thorough cleaning of the machines is essential. Stainless steel is very robust and ensures bacteria and fungi not to adhere. The Dunkermotoren linear motor series SL 38 STL (stainless-steel) is the perfect match for packaging, bottling and transfer systems in the food industry. With an acceleration of over 200 m/s2, the stainless-steel solution can bring the system output to a maximum and works extremely precisely. Combined with special glands and hygiene seals it allows protection classes up to IP69K and prevents splash water from penetrating the motor while cleaning the system. For maximum flexibility and a changeover to alternative product and packaging formats during operation, it should be used the intelligent BLDC motor series. Motion profiles and parameters can be easily programmed in C via the Dunkermotoren Motor Control Platform (MCP). Since the electronics is fully integrated into the motor housing, the drive solution can be installed inside the packaging machine and can communicate to a higher-level controller via CANopen or Ethernet interfaces such as EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP and PROFINET. The configured solution including motor, electronics, gearbox, brake, and encoder can optionally be built in a continuous stainless steel housing, allowing the drive to meet the hygiene and design requirements in the primary packaging sector. Speed and intelligence ensure freshness and competitive pricing Compared to slowly working screw drives, linear motors can reduce the production costs of a product significantly. On the one hand, the acquisition costs are higher than for alternative drive concepts. But, on the other hand, its extreme speed and positioning accuracy ensure a maximum output of the bottling or packaging process, thus resulting in lower costs and competitive pricing. Additionally, the high speed of modern bottling and packaging lines lead to shorter cycle times so that fresh food can be shipped faster to discounters and retailers. You as a consumer, in turn, benefit from a long shelf life and special freshness. When intelligent BLDC motors with integrated motor electronics are used, smart services from the IIoT brand nexofox enable features such as real-time monitoring and alert management which allow an optimized motor operation in terms of minimized wear. An analysis of operating data additionally offers the possibility to early detect maintenance requirements and prevents machine failures which could lead to the destruction of entire batches, in the worst case. Thanks to decades of experience with always new, challenging projects for food processing and packaging, Dunkermotoren and nexofox can offer its customers field proven state-of-the-art solutions to manage the challenges you are facing for your application – today and in future. Author: Stefanie Tröndle, Content Marketing at Dunkermotoren GmbH Downloads Professional Article (PDF)

The Food & Beverage market includes all enterprises which are processing raw or semi-processed food products for future packaging and distribution purposes to commercial or private customers. Besides human food, this also covers beverages, animal and pet food, and tobacco products. Besides already high quality and safety requirements current megatrends are pushing sustainability and transparency of both the ingredients itself, and the supply chain and manufacturing process in the background. Cost pressure and labor shortage are completing challenges to be met by executives in the food and beverage market. To get in line with all this, smart and reliable as well as robust drive solutions for different demanding environments become increasingly important components. Automation – the answer to current megatrends and challenges Today, consumers are increasingly interested in the origin of their products, in logistic routes, and supplements added during processing. A rising per capita income allows many to spend more attention on sustainability and organic ingredients. QR or RFID tags furnished on the end product by automated packaging lines enable traceability over the whole manufacturing process as well as detailed information about the level of sustainability of a product. Innovative components such as energy-efficient drive solutions used in the production equipment are decreasing the energy consumption, thus avoid unnecessary CO2 emissions, and improve the end products ecologic footprint. The flexibility and intelligence of this components is an important factor to increase the productivity of machines and automated lines, thus decreasing the production costs per piece. This allows companies to stay competitive in price-driven markets and times of global inflation. At the same time, automated processes result in lower skilled labor demands, as e. g. complete production and packaging lines can be operated and controlled by only one employee. Drive technology – the heart of automated processes To stay aligned with the mentioned challenges companies are required to be highly flexible in their production and consequently on the equipment involved. It has to be increasingly responsive, adaptable, and energy efficient. Simultaneously, the process must fulfill the highest safety and hygiene regulations which are immense, and basis for healthy and high-quality food products for the world market. Today, all these requirements can be met thanks to technology and to the hygienically designed plants and equipment. The regulations in terms of quality, in turn, are fulfilled via process monitoring and control devices. Intelligent drive solutions are the heart of such high-tech production equipment. They have to fulfil the same conditions and regulations as the machine itself. Especially in areas of primary processes when the component is in close contact with food a specific design which delivers hygiene as well as wash down functionality is essential. Dunkermotoren, a brand of AMETEK, is a drive technology manufacturer with more than 70 years of experience in the food and beverage market. Combining intelligent, brushless DC motors with gearboxes, encoders, and motor electronics enable customized drive solutions from 1 to 5,000 Watts and supply voltages of 6 to 325 VDC. Thus, Dunkermotoren solutions can be used in both small, low noise cutters in local butcheries, as well as interconnected labelling and roll shear cutting machines. When reduced cabling or a stand-alone operation is necessary, the motor can be fully integrated into the equipment and communicate via CANopen or Ethernet interfaces such as EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP and PROFINET. The innovative Motor Control Platform provides the required flexibility in terms of motion profiles and parameters. Selecting the proper electronics enables the drive solution to work in position, velocity or torque mode, whereas the integrated functional safety feature STO contributes to the safety of the developed application. In case of strict hygiene requirements are necessary for operating in close contact with food e.g. primary and secondary process, Dunkermotoren designs solutions with specific design, surface and highest protection classes (including IP69K). Both linear motors as well as rotative motors can be provided as robust, sealed and hygienic stainless-steel version. Intelligent Components – a push to high performance When using smart BLDC motors with integrated motor electronics Dunkermotoren, even more options are available to increase the power savings and energy-efficiency. New smart service solutions offered by the IIoT brand nexofox enables real-time monitoring and alert-management and, thus, an optimized motor operation in terms of power consumption and efficiency. By monitoring motor operation, and analyzing these data, proposals can be made for even more economical motor operation. With its state of the art components, which support manufacturer to solve challenges even in special environments and be in line with mega trends as well as its expertise in application and advice Dunkermotoren can be understood as a competent and reliable partner von manufacturer. Downloads Professional Article (PDF)