SEW-EURODRIVE's hygienic solutions are a cut above the rest

SEW-Eurodrive’s newest portfolio of stainless-steel gear motors are the perfect recipe for success, presenting strong reliability and hygiene to processing lines.

In the food-processing world, there are many examples of conveyor lines brought to a halt by drive units that couldn’t handle the daily dose of high-pressure washdowns and chemical cleaners.

This issue is one that SEW-Eurodrive continues to address with great success.

For example, a meat processing company and a client of SEW, invested in purpose-built, sealed mechatronic drives half a decade ago and since then have experienced the benefits.

The drive systems are still operating today, despite the harsh operating environment.

The longevity of the drive systems in this environment of constant washdowns and scrubbing is due to the fundamental design and fabrication of the units.

In a processing plant of this scale, supplying to both wholesale and retail outlets, the improved reliability and longer lifetime of the drives translate into significant savings.

It’s well-known that in food-processing environments, cleanliness and hygiene are some of the most critical elements for success, and the example above is a good one because the margin for error when it comes to processing meat is zero.

At the end of a day’s meat processing, all conveyor line and drive units are carefully washed and scrubbed clean with approved chemical cleaners and high-pressure hosing.

At processing plants like the one mentioned above, traditionally designed drive systems can be prone to damage from water ingress and frequent exposure to cleaning products.

This can lead to failures early in life, and it’s addressing this issue, and hygiene, where SEW thrives.

The solution used above was a Teflon coated piece, however, SEW now has a new portfolio of stainless-steel servo and gear motors which increases hygiene and reliability.

This is because the property of stainless steel means the units, which are fully enclosed, hold up even better to the rigours of food and beverage manufacturing — where hygiene is critical.

John Gattellari, national industry specialist, Food & Beverage at SEW-Eurodrive, said the benefits of turning to stainless steel were many, and in some cases obvious.

“If you’re looking at hygiene and corrosion, these are two aspects that are immediately addressed using stainless steel because there is no doubt about its robustness against it,” he said.

“Other solutions may have chipping paint, but you can’t corrode or chip stainless steel, so it fits all of the requirements of food producers.

One of the key drivers behind the creation of the stainless-steel suite of products was the continued requests, and feedback, from the industry about a need for it.

“We have been getting more and more requests for stainless steel products because there’s a fear around the risk of contamination,” said Gattellari.

“Having products like this creates peace of mind about the overall outcome. We have companies that have been shut down because of contamination, the risks are real.

“And people have become more mindful of the risks over time.”

The stainless steel gearmotors from SEW come in both KES37 helical-bevel and the RES37 in a helical design. Both are ideally suited for use in hygienic areas and stand up to vigorous cleaning processes.

The two units are made in such a way that their surfaces are particularly easy to clean with the housing constructed entirely from high-quality stainless steel.

The surface is designed to systematically prevent the occurrence of indentations and potential dirt traps, making it easy to clean and the fanless design also ensures excellent hygiene as it prevents swirls of dust and dirt.

The compact design of the KES37 and the RES37 also means they can be used for a variety of sensitive hygiene applications, for example, in the food and beverage industry or the pharmaceutical industry.

Thanks to their design, these gearmotors are also low-maintenance and have a long service life. In addition, the high-quality stainless-steel design protects them against corrosion and gives them high-grade resistance to acid and alkaline.

“With stainless steel units, we are able to extend the life span by a number of years even in the harshest environments.”

SEW has further invested in strengthening its stainless steel portfolio by expanding its range to include the new PSH..CM2H.. stainless steel servo gearmotor range. The new stainless steel servo gearmotors offer exceptional performance and durability in harsh environments. They are specifically engineered to withstand corrosion, moisture and other challenging conditions.

The servo gearmotors have a smooth surface with a lack of rough edges, which in turn helps them resist the rigours of hot steam and corrosive cleaning agents. As a result, they are perfectly suited for clean-in-place (CIP) and sterilisation-in-place (SIP) processes.

The stainless-steel servo gearmotors were also developed to withstand high-pressure cleaning, even at high temperatures and with chemical cleaning agents, reaching a degree of protection of IP69K, thus extending the lifespan.

Importantly, the servo gearmotors adhere to the strict guidelines of the European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEDG) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meaning they also meet the guidelines in Australia.

The host of advantages for the stainless-steel portfolio are also ideal in that they address many of the demands of the industry.

Fast cleaning, a compact design, simple to install and use, and made at a high quality and standard.

The high quality servo technology provides precise control and positioning, making them ideal for applications that require accurate motion control. The compact design allows for easy integration into a space-constrained installation.

SEW also offers flexibility and allows for its gearmotors to be integrated into existing machine designs.

“For us, the ultimate solution is this one because it covers hygiene, corrosion, it covers all the important aspects. And on top of that, our portfolio is expanding to meet all expectations for the most stringent hygienic requirements,” said Gattellari.