Precision, high-performance, lubrication-free engineered plastic gear systems from Intech Power-Core™ replace traditional belt-driven cutting systems or nylon 6 or 6.6 gears to handle the demanding, repetitive slicing of frozen food products. Traditional belt-driven cutting systems often suffer extreme wear and a high rate of failure caused by the repetitive start-stop stresses and frequent temperature extremes between the sub-freezing processing operations and hot wash-down cleaning cycles. At the same time, the worn belts become prone to particulate instability and necessitate frequent tensioning and disruptive emergency maintenance procedures.
The use of nylon 6 or 6.6 gears can result in premature wear and dimensional stability problems caused by moisture absorption and associated internal stresses and tensile strength variations within the freeze-thaw cycles that occur throughout the frequent wash-down and sub-freezing processing operations. Physical property and dimensional changes in the gear material—combined with process and load variation, including shock loading and vibration—may cause tooth cracking, breakage, and wear. These problems often necessitate frequent line stoppage, manual adjustments, the use of additional lubrication, and emergency maintenance repairs.
In contrast to the belt-drive system or other plastic gear drives the precision machined, self-lubricating, “green” Power-Core composite gear system from Intech features a non-hygroscopic, dimensionally stable composite material that is not affected by sub-zero temperatures or harsh wash-down chemicals and maintains consistent performance throughout the demanding, repetitive, high-torque precision cutting and wash-down operations. The Intech gear drive is often configured with precision Power-Core gears running in mesh with steel or stainless steel gears. A corrosion-resistant stainless steel core provides safe, secure attachment to the shaft to assure reliable high torque transmission. The self-lubricating Power-Core gears—which do not require any external lubrication and are not a source of either lubricant-contamination or particulate-contamination—are especially well-suited for use in high purity food-cutting, process, and packaging operations.
For more information contact Georg Bartosch at (201) 767-7797. Visit online at [www.intechpower.com].
