Enclosure Solutions for Food Processors

Food processing facilities are designed to be hygienic and clean, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of hazards floating or splashing around that can ruin electronics.

Just like many organizations, food processors depend on electronics like scanners, microscopes, network gateways and printers to produce and package products. Those airborne particulates, splashing liquids and falling dust found in every facility, no matter how spic-and-span it appears, will eventually destroy those electronics, possibly resulting in unplanned downtime, a lack of product traceability and even a breakdown in quality control.

Food processors have options though–replace or repair gunked-up equipment when it fails, move equipment to a “safe” location away from the hazards or protect the equipment with an enclosure.

Regularly replacing or repairing equipment can be costly, though. Moving equipment can save the equipment, but it can also decrease efficiency because those electronics are no longer in the line where they’re needed.

On the other hand, protecting the critical electronics with a quality enclosure can save costs while also improving efficiencies.

Here are some ways an enclosure can help a food processor.

Protect Equipment

As mentioned earlier, a quality enclosure is key to protecting critical electronics from a variety of hazards found throughout any facility, even food processing. It doesn’t matter if the organization bottles colas, makes and bakes bread, is involved in meat processing or prepares fresh produce for market, there are a variety of splashing liquids and airborne particulates that can get into equipment and destroy it from the inside out. Even processes like water reclamation can send chlorine particulates into the air, which can then get into equipment and cause the metal components to rust.

An enclosure will greatly mitigate the equipment’s exposure to those hazards, in turn extending the electronics’ life.

Promote Traceability & Quality Assurance

Traceability is very important in the food processing industry. Officials and organizations need to be able to easily and reliably use RFID labels and bar codes to track food in case of contamination. To ensure that’s possible, RFID labels and bar codes must be properly printed and adhered to the product. Enclosures make this possible by keeping dust from clogging up print heads.

In addition, many food processing organizations rely on electronics like scales and microscopes to ensure quality in their products. Just like other electronics, these machines are susceptible to particulate intrusion and can benefit from being housed in an enclosure. In addition to helping the electronics last longer, this will also protect the organization’s calibrations and setting–they won’t have to redo them every time dust clogs the machine and it has to be repaired or replaced.

Maintain Optimal Operating Conditions

Some electronics, such as label printers, need certain conditions to operate correctly. Too cold and the labels won’t stick properly. Too hot and the printer can overheat. Organizations can customize enclosures with a heater or air conditioner to help maintain the proper operating conditions inside. This means organizations can set up their label printer in the meat cooler or somewhere similar without any worries.

 

Simply put, an enclosure can help food processors improve their efficiencies by keeping critical electronics on the line, not separate, while also protecting their processes and quality controls.

DustShield offers enclosures that are custom designed and built to match the equipment it’ll house. In addition, DustShield builds enclosures from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which is a common thermoplastic polymer that is certified by the FDA to comply with FDA 21 CFR 181.2. This means ABS plastic is approved to use in food processing facilities. It can be easily wiped or washed down for cleaning, as long as the cleaner is careful to not let water intrude into the enclosure via the filter system. And unlike stainless steel, ABS plastic won’t corrode when exposed to chemicals like chlorine, which can be found in water treatment areas.

DustShield can also customize an enclosure with accessories like a fan, heater or air conditioner to meet an organization’s needs even further. And for processors that are organic certified and therefore can’t have glass or acrylic in their facility, we will upgrade the doors to polycarbonate.

Lastly, we design our label printer enclosures with a slot for the label to be dispensed. This means that employees can grab the printed label and attach it without even opening the enclosure door.

DustShield has a solution for virtually any and every electronic at virtually any food processing facility. From computers to label printers to touchscreen monitors to microscopes, we can protect your valuable equipment so you can focus on producing quality food products. To learn more, contact our specialists at 417.736.3746 or sales1@amprod.us.