FDA-compliant energy chains in hygiene-sensitive mushroom-harvesting system

The mushroom industry has traditionally struggled with a shortage of mushroom pickers who are needed for harvesting.
For this reason, Axis Technology and Development Ltd has developed a mushroom harvesting system that can take over several steps of the harvesting process.
As soon as the mushroom picker has selected the mushrooms from the growing bed, he places them on so-called mushroom holding fingers on a harvesting conveyor. The conveyor transports the mushrooms to a processing unit, which cuts the mushroom stalk to the desired length. Depending on its size, the mushroom is then placed in one of six boxes. As soon as the carton reaches a predefined weight, it is ejected and then transferred to the dispatch area for wrapping and palletising.
This process is on average 3 - 4 times faster than conventional mushroom harvesting. Or to put it in kg: While conventional harvesting methods can harvest around 21 kg of mushrooms per hour, the system manages an average of 60 - 75 kg.
As with all automation, the challenge in designing the system lay in the choice of components. This is because every movement and every mechanism must function perfectly in order to avoid time-consuming and expensive manual intervention by engineers. All of this had to be guaranteed under difficult environmental conditions: typical environments in mushroom cultivation rooms are operating temperatures of 18 - 20 degrees, but the room and equipment are sterilised twice a month using steam at 80 °C. Due to the hygienically sensitive environment, hygienic design products were also required to minimise the germ load and facilitate cleaning work.

Where there is movement, bearing technology and energy chains are often used. In addition to linear bearings of the drylin® W type, Axis used a special energy chain to fulfil the high hygiene standards in the system.
Several blue TH3 energy chains with FDA conformity were installed in a suspended position and each cover a distance of 3 metres at a speed of 30 - 40 mm per second for cable routing. The space conditions in the plant were not the only critical factor. The TH3 was also chosen due to the strict requirements for simplicity and speed of installation.
However, the main focus when selecting the energy chain was on hygiene. The energy chain has been specially developed for contact with food. The system's compliance with FDA regulations was crucial for the customer. The entire system is regularly washed and sterilised under hot steam. The energy chain not only has to withstand the environment permanently. No parts should fall into the processed product either. If fragments of the material do fall off, the blue colour of the material enables rapid optical detection before contamination of the food can occur.
The hygienic design of the TH3 is evident at all points of the energy chain. For example, it has rounded corners and threadless connections to avoid dead spaces where dirt and germs could accumulate. The design of the energy chain also avoids overlapping surfaces, which prevents abrasion and material wear. The blue material is not only FDA-compliant, but also highly resistant to chemicals and aggressive cleaning agents.
The initial order for the TH3-energy chain comprised 32 conveyor belts with a total of 96 metres of chain. For the cables running in the energy chain, the company opted for chainflex® resolver cable type CF211.038 and servo cable type CF210.UL.15.15.02. TH3-energy chain and internal chainflex® cable were supplied ready for installation as a readychain® energy chain.