Unique Demands For Food Safety
RK Rubber has over 125 years of experience in developing rubberized solutions that can withstand corrosive environments, especially in the food and beverage industry. Maintaining FDA compliance is always a top priority, and we have the technology, training, and knowledge to custom engineered products that can always meet demanding food and beverage processing standards. A customer in the Midwest approached us and required a flex connector that could not only withstand abrasion but also resist static charge build-up at the connector’s point of friction.
The Dangers of Sugar On Rubber
In sugar processing, raw sugar is transported from the oscillating feeder to a sifter station. The sugar wreaked havoc on their connector sleeves, causing them to become brittle, lose form, and ultimately flake particulates directly into their mixing stations. In many cases, the sleeves would only last a single shift, resulting in repeated downtime and costly replacement.
They tried to upgrade to a plastic sleeve design, but the solution ultimately failed to meet their expectations. Our team received the task to develop an FDA-compliant sleeve that would address their problems.
To combat the abrasive characteristics of sugar processing, we selected FDA pure gum rubber which is a popular choice for food production. However, we still had to overcome the challenge of electrostatic build-up.
We leveraged our splicing expertise and vulcanizer equipment to integrate wire into each of the sleeves. This would help ground the sleeves and prevent static build-up while allowing the sleeve to retain its original form, flexibility, and strength. The manufacturer fabricated the connections in lengths ranging from 6” to 60” in subsets of 4”, 6”, 8”, and 10” diameters.
Final Design and Implementation
From concept design and prototyping to final installation, the process was completed in only 10 working days. We utilized superior materials and state-of-the-art fabrication techniques in order to meet our customers’ requirements. As a result of our sleeve design, the customer immediately experienced their improved service life, less down-time, and significant cost savings. They continue to order our connector sleeves and we have since honed our manufacturing process in order to deliver them within 3 working days.