Top Editors ... Conveying innovation centre

Title: Conveying innovation centre
Date: 17/02/2008
Autor: By Claire Rowan

New developments in modular belt technology, cleaning in place, and materials handling were unveiled as part of the
inauguration of Habasit’s new state-of-the-art Modular Belt Innovation Centre in Basel, Switzerland

Designed as a centre of research excellence where the latest conveyor belt technology can be tested in application situations, Habasit’s new Innovation Centre houses a wide range of the company’s latest developments.
“With the acquisition of KVP (the US plastic belt specialist) in 2006, Habasit has become the number two supplier in the plastic modular belt business,” said Giovanni Volpi, chairman of Habasit AG at the opening of the new facility, who explained that the company was also extending its historic technological knowhow from the baking, biscuit and chocolate industries to the wider markets of meat, poultry and vegetable processing. “Our new Innovation & Engineering Centre is the strongest possible evidence of our commitment to the plastic modular belt business.”
The company first began its expansion from traditional belting technology into that of modular plastic belting with the acquisition of Plastomeccanica in Italy, which brought injection molding and mold manufacturing capabilities into the Habasit fold. Now, the company (as of August 2007) handles the entire sales and services for KVP’s modular belts in Europe and Asia.
The Innovation Centre is laid out into individual specialist stations or areas where manufacturers can try out such technologies as the new 30,000 bottles per hour bottling test loop that allows them to operate the HabasitLINK conveyor belt under realistic application conditions. Other elements ready for test include the latest spiral conveying systems, plastic modular belting solutions for handling food and beverages at belt temperatures of up to 240oC; and radius belts with widths of up to 1.5m.
Launched at the inauguration event, Habasit’s new Micropitch conveyor belt is designed to give the tightest and smoothest transfer of goods from one belt to another. It ensures the stability of delicate and small footprint products such as fruit or bakery items during transfer and has been developed to reduce and eradicate damage and loss of product. It can run at speeds of 10 m per minute up to 50 m per minute, and with a minimum nosebar diameter of 7mm, the distance in between the two nosebars can be as little as 15mm. According to Habasit, the small gap between the belts coupled with its optimised belt and nosebar designs ensure that vertical displacement of products is minimal. The company is continuing to test different shapes of nosebar to improve the performance of the Micropitch still further.
Prototypes of the Micropitch were demonstrated to good effect in the Innovation Centre. The first customer tests have proved successful, and commercial systems are scheduled for launch next year.
Also currently being perfected, is the latest integrated cleaning in place (CIP) technology that can reduce water consumption by up to 50%. The HabasitLINK Cleanroller now features a fixed bar with cleaning nozzles attached. It is surrounded by an open cage, which rotates around the bar allowing the belt to pass over it directly above the fixed nozzles.
“By maintaining the nozzles in their fixed position we can guarantee that all the water, directed at high pressure, is correctly targeted at the underside of the belt to ensure optimum cleaning,” said Markus Vetter, product development. “On some other CIP systems, the nozzles circulate around with the roller under the conveyor belt, which means that the cleaning spray does not always hit its target and water and cleaning chemicals are wasted.”
Hygiene played a key role in all the products demonstrated and is now built in to all Habasit conveyors including the new generation HabasitLINK M5060.
Developments include 33% fewer links and pockets that can cause debris to be trapped; oblong holes that hold the conveyor support rods, which allow better water flow and debris release; a dynamic hinge that opens when the belt moves around a sprocket or shaft to release any residual debris trapped between the links; and an optimised sprocket design, which has no tracking tab that might trap debris between the hinges of the belt.
The company has also recently conducted research work in collaboration with institutes such as North Carolina State University, the University of Arkansas and TNO of The Netherlands to develop hygienic solutions such as HabaGUARD belts, which contain effective antimicrobials against biofilm.
“Significant advances in technology have been achieved in the past years such as modular belts, oblong holes for the rods, dynamic hinges, and radiused corners that support the improvement of food safety and cleaning practices,” said Mr Volpi. “The antimicrobial aspect represents an additional aid towards improved food safety. Our challenges are to cope with the growing needs of food safety, hygiene and regulations at the same time as meeting all other performance expectations. We are also actively working on developments to satisfy the need for increasingly versatile (multipurpose) equipment.”