Safe, strong and clean

Profile

• What was needed: TH3 energy chain in Hygienic Design
• Requirements: High performance of the machine with an availability of 98.5% requires high-quality energy supply systems with a long service life; jerky movements of the gripper require vibration-resistant components; at the same time, an openly constructed and detergent-resistant energy supply system was sought, which follows the hygienic design of the system.
• Industry: Mechanical engineering, slicing systems
• Success of the customer: TH3 energy chain is easy to clean, FDA-compliant, has no screw connections and is perfectly suitable for aggressive cleaning chemicals; the customer has been using the energy chain for more than 2 years without complaint

The TH3 energy chain ensures hygienic and clean media and energy supply to the individual product grippers. Visually striking: the elegant blue design, which follows the hygiene concept due to better "optical detectability".

Problem

Slicing systems are used for cutting, portioning and weighing a wide variety of meat and cheese products. A completely open design ensures that all surfaces of the unit can be cleaned quickly and easily. The performance of such systems poses a major challenge, above all, for the energy supply to the grippers that guide the cheese to the cutter. The 4-lead screw slicer of the machine builder, e.g. performs up to 6,000 cuts and makes 240 packs per minute with a guaranteed technical availability of 98.5 %. The grippers on the system move back and forth intermittently for 20 hours a day, which puts an immense strain on the energy supply. Furthermore, a solution was sought that was made of detergent-resistant materials and entailed an open design that was easy to clean.

Solution

In the search for a suitable cable guide, they finally found what they were looking for in the e-chains of the TH3 type from igus. This Hygienic Design e-chain is used wherever the highest hygiene requirements apply and cables and hoses must be guided safely. It is easy to clean, FDA-compliant, has no screw connections and is ideally suited for aggressive cleaning agents and chemicals.Today, the customer looks back with satisfaction on the decision to use the TH3 e-chain: "The energy supply systems have been in use with us for more than two years and we have not had any complaints so far. They are exactly what we wanted. The cables are guided safely and the blue chain is also an eye-catcher."