The development of food manufacturing machinery has at its forefront the requirements of hygienic design.
The food industry places extreme demands on plant and machinery, from the processing itself through to primary, secondary and final packaging. There are a number of challenges faced when designing plant and machinery for use in these applications and they are as complex as they are far reaching.
Many design challenges are similar to those of plant and machinery used in other manufacturing environments. For example, downtime reduction, energy efficiency, total cost of ownership, standards compliance, operational safety and commissioning simplicity. Forward-looking technologies are essential in order to meet the growing demands for flexibility and modularity. The use of IO-Link-compatible sensors and actuators can be a big step in the right direction.
