Due to the increasing demands for productivity in the food industry, the speeds of the systems and therefore the demands on the machine elements are constantly increasing. This is also a challenge for knife edge rollers that deflect the production belts of pasta products, for example. Igus has developed a new material for precisely this application in the field of plain bearing technology. "With the new tribopolymer Iglidur A250, we now have a plastic in our range for the first time that meets the strict hygiene requirements of the FDA and EU10/2011 regulations and is also suitable for high belt speeds," explains Lars Braun, Head of Industry Management Food and Packaging Technology at Igus.

This makes the high-performance plastic ideal for knife edge rollers. The new rollers made from Iglidur A250 only require a low drive power due to the minimization of the friction coefficient. The polymer is free from external lubrication, dust and dirt-sensitive and easy to clean. Thanks to its blue color, it is also visually detectable.

The new material was able to prove its long service life and wear resistance in the Igus test laboratory. Here it was shown that Iglidur A250 has a service life up to ten times longer than other FDA materials at the highest belt speeds.

Knifeedge rollers for safe conveying
Knife edge rollers made of Iglidur tribopolymers have been tried and tested solutions in the food industry for years when it comes to conveying products in the food or packaging industry over knife edge transitions where space is limited. If two conveyor belts for particularly small products are joined together, the radii of the deflection rollers create a gap between the belts.

A problem for pasta products such as raw croissants, cookies or cakes. They can quickly slip into the gap between the conveyor belts. To ensure that the pasta is transferred safely from belt to belt, the deflection radii between the conveyor belts must therefore be kept small. This is where knife edge rollers come into play, as they are compact and deflect the belts safely. In addition to Iglidur A250, Igus also offers the materials Iglidur H1, P210 and other food-grade solutions such as A180 and A350 in its range of knife edge rollers. as