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Food and Pharma: Improve Packaging Efficiency

Posted on June 4, 2013

The basic function of a vacuum cleaner is to pick up dust and dirt. Higher-efficiency industrial vacuums with the proper filters and motors can collect hazardous materials, combustible dust and even liquids. What about an ivac for picking up defective chocolate bar wrappers or the plastic film from a pharma production line?

“Trim” vacuums are designed to quickly and safely remove excess lateral trim and scraps during the packaging process. Integrated with a packaging/blister machine, the vacuum cleaner can continuously collect waste and improve production time. Some models include a turbine on the bottom that produces high vacuum pressure to compress collected debris to  optimize the collection capacity. A viewing window at the top of the machine will help the operator determine when the collection container should be emptied.

Your industrial vacuum supplier should be able to recommend the right solution (power and capacity) for your facility by the size and nature of the trimmings you’re collecting. Other features to look for:

  • Coarse trimmings can be collected into nylon bag filters but polyester bag filters (such as those that have an efficiency of 99.7% at 1.5 microns) should be used  for the general collection of fine dusts.
  • Stainless steel construction for easy sterilization and prevention of cross contamination.
  • Motor protection switch (overload) and pressure relief valve to provide secondary cooling air source to prevent motor burnout, making the vacuum reliable for continuous duty applications.
  • For general clean-up, the vacuum cleaner should be mounted on wheels for easy maneuverability but your supplier should also offer models for fixed installation and process integrated applications.
  • Quiet operation for user comfort.

Products to consider: R Series

For more information on industry- and application-specific vacuum cleaners, visit www.nilfiskindustrialvacuums.com.