Hygienic Bearings for Food and Beverage Plants

NORTH CANTON, OH — The Timken Company, a supplier of engineered bearings and power transmission products, is helping customers engineer a stronger line of defense in food processing plants where harsh chemicals and aggressive washdowns can spell equipment troubles. Already including corrosion-resistant and greaseless bearings, the Timken portfolio of solutions for food and beverage makers now features hygienic housed units to combat common safety hazards.

Safer by Design

Hygienic bearing design considers several factors unique to food processing such as chemical contamination related to lubricant leakage, oxidation and corrosion. It also accounts for physical contamination from foreign bodies or loose or broken machine parts. Preventing microbiological contamination from bacteria that develop in dead volumes is another point of emphasis. 

Timken hygienic housed unit bearings have been designed to comply with the most stringent industry requirements. New to the company’s line of safer solutions are:

• Timken Hygienic Ball Bearing Housed Units that are interchangeable with standard mounted bearings from 20 to 50 mm (3/4 to 2 in.). These units feature smooth surfaces (having no reinforced bolt holes) and are available with food-grade Solid Lube that eliminates the need for re-greasing. Standard is a metal-detectable cage that significantly improves foreign particle detection probability, and customers have the option of an optically detectable blue thermoset housing that further increases the accuracy and resolution of contaminant detection.
  Ideal for: conveyors, mixers, metal detectors, check-weighers, tumblers, slicers and breaders.

• Timken Hygienic Poly-Round Housed Units that are engineered with a special polymer insert to prevent water ingress and corrosion (the most common failure mode for bearings in food processing plants). These plain bearing units are interchangeable with industry-standard designs from 20 to 50 mm (3/4 to 2 in.) and can outperform ball bearings where a stronger solution is needed. Optically and metal-detectable inserts are available, and an optional QuiKlean housing helps avoid dead volume between the housing base and machinery, allowing washdown from all sides (perfect for HACCP/HARPC positions and meeting FDA food contact compliance).
  Ideal for: modular belt conveyors, dumper pivots, horizontal mixers, chillers and freezers.

Notable is that Timken hygienic housed units and Poly-Round inserts are certified according to ANSI/NSF/3-A SSI 14159-1-2014 requirements. These globally recognized standards help improve food safety by mandating the use of chemically resistant materials and by requiring that bearings are easy to clean (e.g., smooth surface, laser marked, minimal crevices). The housings and inserts are further certified as Accepted Equipment by the USDA under the Meat and Poultry Equipment Review Program.