Maintenance-free and cost-saving thread and bearing technology in the Ishida tray sealer

What was needed: A low-maintenance and hygienic implementation of format adjustment and conveyor technology in the Ishida tray sealer

Requirements: Reliable bearing support with high humidity, temperatures between 0°C and 40°C, and aggressive cleaning. An FDA-compliant solution was also required.

Industry: Packaging industry

Success for the customer: By using dryspin lead screw technology, the customer extends the maintenance intervals in format adjustment from 600 to 800 to 8,000 to 9,000 hours compared to a ball screw. This saves the customer £3,000 in maintenance costs per machine per year.

The QX-500 from Ishida is a compact tray sealer that is characterised by high speed, efficiency and easy handling by the user. The system is primarily used in the food industry, but can also be used in the pharmaceutical industry, for pet food, personal care products or hardware.

Products that meet the high demands of the food industry had to be found in a wide variety of areas, such as conveyor technology or format adjustment.

For example, the operating environment required lead screw technology, plain bearings and knife edge rollers that are able to withstand high humidity. In addition, possible food contamination of the goods by the bearing technology had to be avoided. Due to strict hygiene requirements, tray sealers are subject to stringent cleaning processes using caustic solutions. These processes put additional strain on the components in the machine and, in addition to the chemical influence, also lead to temperature fluctuations of 40°C to 0°C.

More than 30 of our bearing technology products are used in Ishida's tray sealer. The most important aspect was the realisation of the format adjustment for the changeover to different tray sizes. To enable quick and cost-effective adjustment, the decision was made in favour of dryspin lead screws and lead screw nuts. The advantage: The products do not need to be lubricated externally. The lubrication-free and adjustment-free operation extends the maintenance intervals to 8,000 to 9,000 hours compared to 600 to 800 hours for ball screws. This equates to annual savings of £3,000 in maintenance costs per machine. In addition, the dryspin lead screw nuts were purchased at 50% the cost of recirculating ball nuts. Ishida's development process included extensive testing on a customised test rig, on which the lead screw technology achieved more than 7 million cycles without failure.

After extensive consultation with our sales department, Ishida decided in favour of a lead screw nut made from iglidur A160, which is FDA-compliant and therefore meets the high hygiene standards of the food industry.

In terms of transport technology, Ishida also opted for knife edge rollers made of iglidur A250, a particularly wear-resistant all-rounder material for the food industry. The rollers enable tight deflection radii and are designed for direct food contact.

Finally, lubrication-free and maintenance-free iglidur plain bearings of various dimensions and drylin liners for round shafts are also used at various points on the machine.