The global food industry is one of the largest economic systems in the world. Its success relies on intricate webs of distribution lines. With a world population of almost 8 billion people, the demands on the food industry to support access to everything from safe, nutritious foods to international delicacies are immense. When it comes to the industrial equipment used throughout the food industry, reliability and hygiene are some of the most important factors that engineers and fabricators should build into any design. For many kinds of automated food production equipment used in factory settings, stud welding provides strong, clean fastening systems without risk of harborage or corrosion. If you are working with food grade welding studs to build your food production equipment designs, Northland Fastening Systems has the tools and supplies you need. We provide a complete range of welding tools, studs, and accessories, as well as repair services and the advice of our own welding technicians.
Food Production Equipment
There are many different purposes that various types of food production equipment serve. One of the most essential systems in an automated facility is the conveyor belt operations. To prevent the risk of contamination in the complex parts of a conveyor belt, food grade welding with stainless-steel studs is used to build many components on an automated production line.
Conveyor Belt Systems
Conveyor belt systems meet a wide range of automated food production needs. In the process of moving goods from one operation to the next, most facilities need to maintain precise control over the product quality and load. Some aspects of a conveyor system built with sanitary stud welding include:
Laning and sorting:
Products moving downstream from operation to operation need to be accurately sorted into lanes or sections of a conveyor system. This keeps the production line running smoothly and prevents cross contamination, damage, or unnecessary loss of goods.
Stacking:
In many parts of processing in the food industry, products need to be handled in multiples. For the packaging industry in particular, food items often need to be stacked on top of each other while they move seamlessly through a factory. With sanitary automated stackers, production lines can reduce human error and contamination.
Transfers:
Like sorting systems, transfers also need to occur as products are moved on a conveyor system between different stages. Transfers built into an automated conveyor system keep the process running quickly through lateral or multi-level moves.
Rejection:
Most factories today are incorporating intelligent rejection systems to remove damaged or misshapen goods. These reject systems use laser measurements, weight, imaging, and other smart technologies to determine if goods meet the correct specifications and remove flawed products from the production line. With a reject system on a conveyor, automation can continue through that stage of processing.
Food grade welding contributes to the sanitation and quality of many operations that can be incorporated into a conveyor belt system and an automated production line in general. To learn more, contact Northland Fastening Systems today at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online.