When a food manufacturer needs to inject liquid ingredients into products, filler tubes do the work fast and efficiently. However, filler tube reliability can suffer without proper maintenance. For example, if wear occurs, the tube is also likely to incur friction. Sticking — another frequent issue — can cause food ingredients to go to waste. Ultimately, inefficiencies from both wear and sticking will impact the bottom line. To keep metal parts like filler tubes operating reliably, you need an effective surface treatment.

Serving Up Liquid Ingredients for Packaged Dinners

Recently, a food manufacturer asked us to help better protect the filler tubes it uses to dispense liquid ingredients into its packaged dinners. The ingredients flow through the tubes and are accurately dispensed to achieve a specified ingredient ratio. The customer sought a surface treatment that will provide effective wear protection as well as improved release properties versus its previous approach. We recommended Plasmadize® to keep the tubes performing their best.

Plasmadize thermal spray coating is a true composite that combines various metals, ceramics, polymers and/or dry lubricants to suit the application. Dry lubricants are especially effective for increasing wear resistance and reducing friction. Plus, they also offer excellent stick and release properties. In fact, Plasmadize’s wear resistance characteristics exceed those of chrome plating or heat-treated electroless nickel processes. Our suggested Plasmadize surface treatment delivered these benefits and is also one of the many USDA- and FDA-compliant coatings in the family. In addition:

• Some Plasmadize types can seal all surface voids to eliminate porosity and provide superior corrosion resistance.
• Some coatings have exceptional mold-release characteristics.
• Plasmadize can resist acids, alkalis, chlorides, most organic solvents, sulfites, thiosulfites and pulp bleaching chemicals.
• The Plasmadize family is ideal for protecting or restoring metal parts.

Six months after we applied Plasmadize, the customer reports that the filler tubes are working well. The company has sent us another set for coating and plans to send us sets every six months.

Keep Your Juices and Other Liquid Ingredients Flowing

Filler tubes used in food manufacturing equipment cannot slow down for wear-related sanitation and release issues. At Magnaplate, we engineer our coatings with proprietary polymers and other materials to address wear, sticking and other common food processing issues. With a Magnaplate surface treatment like Plasmadize customized to solve your application’s challenges, your metal parts will perform as intended and productivity won’t go down the tubes.

For more information about Plasmadize thermal sprays, please visit our product page.