Food
& Dairy Bearings and Bushings:
Bearings and bushings can be found in almost
every step in food or dairy processing industries. Polymers are a popular choice
for bearings and bushings in the food and dairy
industry, both at the design stage and when retrofitting. Because they
are greaseless, the can provide a more sanitary environment for food
processing. They don’t require the maintenance that metal bearings and
bushings require, thus reducing downtime for maintenance. Their
durability results in longer mean times to failure. They are usually much
more resistant to corrosion and much less chemically reactive than metal bearings and bushings. They also weight much less than
equivalent metal bearings and bushings.
Non-stick Applications
These are all good reasons to use polymer
bearings in the food and dairy industries, but what about situations where one
of the design requirements is non-stick bearings?
That is not a problem at all. There are, in fact, two specific plastics that
are commonly used in these situations: PTFE and UHMW PE.
PTFE
PTFE, or Teflon, is well known for
its anti-stick properties due to its use as a coating for cooking
utensils. In fact, even Geckos
can’t hang on to PTFE.
PTFE is also hydrophobic. It is usually known among engineers for
having the lowest coefficient of friction any polymer or metal in
existence. It is also the least chemically reactive polymer, and has
excellent wear properties. It absorbs a minimal amount of moisture.
PTFE, in its virgin form, is odorless and tasteless. It has FDA
approval.
UMHW PE
UMHW (ultra-high molecular
weight) PE (polyethylene)
is known for its toughness, including the highest impact strength of any
polymer currently available. It has no moisture absorption. Its
coefficient is low enough to be comparable to PTFE. More importantly, like
Teflon, it provides a non-stick surface. It is often chosen because of its ability
to resist material hang-up. Among its other properties is an abrasion
resistance that is 10x that of carbon steel. UMHW PE is
tasteless, odorless, and nontoxic. It has been approved by the FDA, USDA,
Canada AG and 3A dairy.
Conclusion
If you are designing equipment for the food
and dairy industry, or looking to retrofit existing equipment, and require
non-stick bearings or bushings, look no further than PTFE and UHMW PE.
Tags:teflon ptfe,UHMW,food industry
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