Not only is stud welding a key operation for the construction industry, including composite construction with shear connectors in bridges, roads, and other infrastructure, it’s also utilized on smaller manufacturing scales for equipment like electrical enclosures, food grade instruments, and commercial kitchen appliances. In the food industry, stud welding serves an important purpose when it comes to manufacturing factory processing systems and equipment. Because stud welding creates clean results and strong welds without marking through on the reverse surface, it can be used to build smooth surfaces with full wash-down capabilities. If you’re working with food grade welding for the production of food industry or commercial food equipment, Northland Fastening Systems has the supplies you need for drawn arc, capacitor discharge (CD), and short cycle welding. We provide tools for rent and purchase, studs in a complete range of dimensions with custom options available, welding accessories, automation support, the advice of our own skilled technicians, and services and repairs for most models.
Food Grade Welding Makes Equipment Easier to Clean
Food grade welding with studs makes equipment easier to clean, helping commercial kitchens and food production facilities maintain sanitation practices and support good hygiene. Food products made on an industrial scale can be one of the main sources of foodborne illness epidemics. To eliminate the risk of food contamination, stud welding reduces the potential of harborage.
What is Harborage?
In the food industry, harborage occurs when particles are trapped in crevices, bends, and other hard-to-clean nooks and crannies in equipment. Not only does this introduce rotting or pathogenic food particles that can damage the integrity of other products; it can also increase the risk of rodents and insects in a facility. Stud welding reduces harborage by removing the crevices potentially left by other types of fastening systems.
Connection Points are Clean
Stud welding connection points are clean, smooth, and fully fused. Food grade stud welding processes also use antiseptic stainless-steel surfaces that resist corrosion or oxidation. With most designs, stud welding engineering can also reduce external angles and corners, eliminate risks of overstressed surfaces, and fully seal connection points from microscopic pitting.
Where Can Harborage Occur?
Harborage can occur in equipment that is not manufactured to the highest food safety standards in several areas, including control panels, equipment legs, cracks, crevices, hardware, moving parts, HVAC equipment, multiple surface types, and any wet areas. To fully remove problems with harborage in these areas, stud welding systems should be installed whenever possible.
Full Wash Down
With a tight connection point and no crevices, zero marks on the opposite side of the weld surface, low-stress surfaces, and corrosion-resistant materials that are compatible with full wash down capabilities, food grade welding can significantly reduce the risk of harborage in industrial processing and commercial kitchens.
For more information about fastening systems for food equipment and the welding supplies we provide, contact Northland Fastening Systems at (651) 730-7770, or request a quote online to get started with us today.