Giving Clean a New Meaning: Standard Parts in Hygienic Design

Maximum cleanliness is one of the most basic prerequisites wherever food is produced. However, hygienic requirements also play a major role in other industries, from medical technology and the pharmaceutical industry to the production of dispersion coatings. Almost everywhere today the aim is to make products without preservative additives – this requires production environments with a high level of cleanliness.

At first glance, most standard parts seem to be far away from the actual critical work areas, but airborne spores of microorganisms are able to spread quickly and far. Since even the smallest weak points can lead to contamination of entire production lines, Ganter has developed an entire product family of special standard parts. They combine minimal contamination tendency with optimum cleaning ability and thus meet the very high requirements of the 3-A sanitary standard, the EHEDG and the DGUV test.

As the latest addition to the “Hygienic Design” product family, Ganter now offers the spacers GN 6226. These standard parts easily avoid duplicate mounting surfaces, which are problematic and time-consuming in terms of cleaning and sealing. The HD product range therefore continues to grow, with new parts joining the existing range of knobs, U-handles, hand levers, indexing plungers, latches, cover sleeves, leveling feet and screws.

In all cases, stainless steel with vibratory finished or polished surfaces is used as the material. This means that the maximum surface roughness remains below Ra 0.8 μm so dirt particles cannot settle and can be reliably removed during cleaning.

Another central feature of the Ganter standard parts is the absence of dead space. No substances can accumulate inside the components.

A hygienically safe sealing concept verified by software simulation ensures that the FDA-compliant H-NBR or EPDM elastomer seals fit flush everywhere after assembly and fulfil their function over the long term. This prevents any hygienic problems from arising unnoticed. Ganter provides detailed information on professional installation and suitable cleaning procedures in the attached instructions.

“Hygienic Design” standard elements reduce the effort required for cleaning – which can be carried out more easily and, above all, faster via the “Clean in Place” concept. The bottom line: plant operation becomes more cost-effective over the long term.