Nercon said that it has developed a new lowering solution for the food, baked goods and confectionery processing industries that is easy to maintain.
A spokesperson for Nercon told FoodProductionDaily.com that the design of the equipment enables easy dismantling with each tray having a spring loaded mechanism for quick removal.
‘There are few lowering or elevation solutions with this level of cleanability,” stated the company.
Tighter margins are driving increased efficiencies for businesses across the food sector. For confectioners and bakers, equipment that is easy to clean and maintain could reduce input costs.
The lowerator, designed to lower fragile products, uses a diagonal pin placement in chain and tray design that insures trays remain horizontal as they transport goods both horizontally and vertically, according to the company.
The company said that products are delivered onto the servo-controlled flights of the lowerator by an infeed conveyor, with each shelf timed to receive the product from the belt conveyor.
“At the discharge, shelves travel underneath a fixed blade that wipes the product onto the takeaway conveyor. This blade, made from UMHW, is also removable for cleaning,” explained the company.
Nercan said that the machine at 3 x 5 feet has a small footprint, can travel between floors at a height of 16 feet and can convey 10 to 45 products per minute.
“Greater throughput is possible depending on the height of the package relative to the number of flights that can be added to the design,” said the packaging and process conveyor manufacturer.
The manufacturer said that it will be showcasing the horizontal lowerator at Pack Expo in Chicago in November along with other new developments in its product range including a new conveyor design that it claims meets the sanitary equipment requirements of the meat, poultry, bakery and dairy industries.
The manufacturer said the new conveyors can be customised in terms of width requirement and they incorporate most plastic belt and table top chains.
Again, the company claims the focus of the design was hygiene related:
“The lift up idle pulley allows slack in the belt, so the plastic belt can be raised, exposing the inner frame for wash down. No tools are required to remove and clean the carry and return wear strips. The clean out ports and extra wide frame design gives entry to all areas for cleaning.”
The company added that all motors, bearings and supports of the new conveyors are spaced out from the side frame on solid welded stand offs also for ease of cleaning.