FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY FOCUS FIVE 9s BRING CABLE PROTECTION TO THE FORE
As the industrial internet of things (IIoT) expands, protecting data and power cabling in the harsh environment of food processing plants, while maintaining strict hygiene standards, is vital states Tim Creedon, sales and marketing director, Flexicon
W
e are increasingly seeing machines relying upon machines in modern
interconnected production plants. The failure of just one seriously impacts upon, if not closes, an entire production line. Indeed, as production is increasingly geared to the needs of the customer, the failure of one component can potentially affect the entire supply chain and have huge implications for your reputation and future business. In the USA food processing industry they refer to the five 9s, or having 99.999% reliability to maintain operation. It is just as good a mantra for the UK food processor, and puts cable protection into perspective when you consider that just one failed connection could halt the entire line and that a modern plant could have thousands of power and data cables.
ADDED PRESSURE The number and magnitude of hazards faced by cabling only adds to this pressure. Consider a typical plant, the temperature can range from well below freezing to over 100˚C, there will be high pressure water and or steam cleaning, caustic cleaning agents, crushing forces, vibration and possible tensile forces. And this is in an environment that
demands the highest levels of hygiene, where every cable and cable interface into equipment can be a potential food or debris trap allowing the growth of micro- organisms. Traditionally food processors have turned to expensive specialist cables and fittings to ensure ongoing connectivity. A better, more hygienic and cost-effective answer is
PACKAGED SOLUTIONS FOR EASIER CABLE INSTALLATION
Flexicon recently launched its hygienic conduit range comprising eight different Food Grade liquid tight conduits and a range of Food Grade fittings to make cable installations faster, simpler and safer for food processing applications. The company has also introduced packaged solutions
for hygienic cable protection applications, called i-Packs. They contain everything that the engineer will need for most applications in one easy to use solution. Where there are unusual or bespoke hazards faced in an
installation, Flexicon also has over 60 different metallic and non-metallic conduits and fittings available and can develop individual solutions to meet requirements.
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to route power and data cables through a hygienic flexible conduit system. Using the flexible conduit to protect
against mechanical and other hazards allows you to group standard cabling and use fewer components. Fewer connections mean that there is less risk of installation error and also less glanding space so you might not need such a large enclosure for equipment. And if cabling needs replacing or adding in the future, then the installer can easily feed this through the conduit and the existing fitting, causing less disruption.
INGRESS PROTECTION Exactly what cable protection to specify depends on what hazards are present and the magnitude of those hazards. Water ingress is one obvious risk, with equipment regularly washed down using high-pressure steam jets to ensure hygiene. Check exactly what ingress you need to protect the cabling from, while IP69 is the common requirement for food installations, such a requirement does not mean that it will automatically have
Correctly specified hygienic flexible conduit systems will help keep the production line operational over its life
Tim Creedon is sales and marketing director at Flexicon
Using flexible conduit to protect against mechanical and other hazards allows you to group standard cabling and use fewer components
protection at lower IP levels. While IPX9 specifies protection from steam jet cleaning or high-pressure wash downs, IPX8 protects against long term immersion under water. Each has different tests. It is why our own hygienic range is labelled IP66, 67, 68 (2 bar) and 69 to show that it has passed each requirement. Using flexible conduit to group cables into one protected system also minimises the number of potential food traps where debris, bacterial or fungal growth could occur. Here, the design of a hygienic cable protection system is important. Food grade, flexible conduit systems are
designed to avoid food traps, with the conduit having smooth wipe clean surfaces and fittings designed using the principles given in EN 1672-2: Food Processing Machinery – Hygienic requirements and EN ISO 14159. Particular care must be taken with the
fittings because the interface between the equipment and power and data could trap microscopic material.
PREVENTING BACTERIA GROWTH Flexicon’s food grade stainless steel (316L) fitting, for instance, is as round as possible with a minimum area of flats for tightening. It also includes a number of blue coloured compression seals to prevent any ingress of material or bacteria developing between the fitting, equipment and conduit. The conduits are manufactured using FDA approved materials. When combined with one of our food grade conduits it forms a complete liquid tight hygienic system. Getting cable protection right is critical for a food processing plant and must not be an afterthought. Correctly specified hygienic flexible conduit systems will keep the production line operational over its life and help ensure the 99.999% uptime that you should aspire to in a modern interconnected world.
Flexicon
www.flexicon.uk.com
PROCESS & CONTROL | JULY/AUGUST 2017 37
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