Hygiene-sensitive production and packaging processes require sensors that meet the most stringent requirements. Leuze makes this possible with sensor series intended for the food industry and with its many years of application know-how.
There are few industries where the demands placed on the sensor systems are as great as they are in the food industry. Whether sausage or cheese, confectionery or pastries, dairy or beverages: Hygiene is always a key factor when processing and packaging the products. Sensors in these areas must be resistant to intensive cleaning and disinfection cycles. The technology must also be able to withstand considerable fluctuations in temperature. With its new miniature sensors in stainless steel housings, Leuze fulfills all the important requirements of the food industry: chemical and thermal resistance, leak tightness and a hygienic product design. Protection classes such as IP67, IP68 and IP69K as well as
In the food industry, hygiene requirements are most strict wherever the food product or beverage is not yet protected by primary packaging. "This places high demands on sensors that are used for automation in these areas," says
Chemical requirements: high resistance
Cleaning plays a major role in the packaging area of the food industry. Intensive cleaning processes, particularly after production runs, are necessary in order to remove food residue and to prevent bacterial carry-over. There are many cleaning cycles, long exposure times as well as preliminary and main cleaning. Furthermore, the sensor systems must be able to deal with a broad range of different cleaning agents - from
Thermal requirements: major differences in temperature
Major differences in temperature exist particularly when food is placed in its primary packaging. For example: Owing to the sensitive foodstuffs handled in meat processing, the temperatures often range from 5 to 10°C. In contrast, however, cleaning is performed at extremely high temperatures. "Here, we again play it safe with our sensors and always test the products in several ways: in the climate chamber, by thermal shock testing and also by means of a steam jet test," explains
Leak tightness: reliably waterproof
As the sensors are exposed to continuous wet conditions and humidity during cleaning and because high-pressure water jets are additionally used, absolute leak tightness is essential. Leuze always tests all sensors using leak testing equipment. The sensors intended for the food industry meet the demands required for IP69K approval: They are tested using a steam jet with an extremely high water pressure of up to 10,000 kPa and a temperature of up to 80 °C. The distance to the sensor during testing is very close at just ten centimeters. Furthermore, the sensor is exposed to the steam jet from different angles in order to simulate cleaning as realistically as possible.
Materials/product design: hygienic and food-safe
Sensors installed in packaging machines should be made of material that is approved for contact with food. Furthermore, the devices must be designed in such a way that they can be cleaned easily. In addition, no bacteria and no food residue are allowed to accumulate. For this reason, smooth surfaces without gaps and cavities are required.
Leuze meets these requirements by implementing a hygienic product design and using selected FDA-compliant materials. This means that Leuze sensors for the food industry have a stainless steel housing as well as glass-free and scratch-resistant optics covers.
Precise and robust at the same time
The requirements make it clear that suitable sensor systems are needed for hygiene-sensitive production and packaging processes. Leuze has specially developed the 53C and 55C sensor series for this purpose. They are characterized by the housing made of high-quality, particularly smooth V4A stainless steel and the glass-free, scratch resistant optics cover. The sensors can thus withstand demanding cleaning and disinfection cycles as well as large temperature fluctuations.
Sensor systems from the expert
Anyone wanting to be on the safe side when it comes to sensor systems used in the food industry should opt for a sensor manufacturer with extensive expertise in this area.
Food-safe in stainless steel
Leuze has developed the sensors of the 53C and 55C series especially for hygiene-sensitive production and packaging processes. They can be used very flexibly as through beam photoelectric sensors, retro-reflective photoelectric sensors or diffuse sensors. Depending on the model, Leuze solutions reliably detect glass, PET, film or small parts. The fill level of aqueous liquids can also be easily detected. The 53C and 55C sensor series are dustproof and waterproof and meet the requirements of protection classes IP67, IP68 and IP69K. The housing is consistently designed to prevent bacterial carry-overs and contamination. Smooth contours without fastening holes prevent deposits. A special fastening concept of the 53C series in hygienic design also contributes to this: The sensor and the machine have a gastight connection via the mounting trunnion. Useful: The sensors can be configured, operated and maintained via IO-Link.
About Leuze
With curiosity and determination, the Sensor People from Leuze have been creating innovations and technological milestones in industrial automation for 60 years. They are driven by the success of their customers. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. The technology leader's high-tech product range includes a number of different sensors for the field of automation technology. Among these are switching and measuring sensors, identification systems, and data transmission and image processing solutions. As a Safety Expert, Leuze is also focused on components, services and solutions for safety at work. Leuze concentrates on its core industries, in which the Sensor People have extensive, specific application know-how and many years of experience. These include intralogistics and the packaging industry, machine tools, the automotive industry as well as laboratory automation. Leuze was founded in 1963, headquartered in Owen/Teck in
Terek House
St Neots
PE19 8EP
Zubair Seemal
Seemal.Zubair@leuze.com
Leuze France SARL
ZI Nord de Torcy - Rue des Tanneurs
BP62 - Bâtiment 3
77202
Suopyte Solveiga
Phone : +33 (1) 60 05 12 20
Fax : +33 (1) 60 05 03 65
Solveiga.Suopyte@leuze.com
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