Motor types for food industry compared
A study of the University of Parma compares drum motors and gear motors in the food industry.
The Department of Food Science at the University of Parma in Italy, in collaboration with the Interroll Group, has carried out a comprehensive system comparison between two distinct drive technologies in the food processing industry: traditional gear motors against Interroll drum motors. The results speak loud and clear.
In 2015, the Interroll Group announced its collaboration with the Department of Food Science at the University of Parma to carry out a comprehensive system comparison between two distinct drive technologies in the food processing industry: gear motors against Interroll drum motors. Under a research contract between the Interdepartmental Center SITEIA at the University of Parma and Interroll, Prof. Davide Barbanti, Associate Professor at the University of Parma and Scientific Chair of SITEIA.PARMA, and his research team conducted a far-reaching comparison along six evaluation criteria: hygiene, installation and maintenance, energy efficiency, noise, working temperature and space requirements.
"For this study, which included scientific measurements and experimental trials, our aim was to carry out a comparison between state-of-the-art components. We designed three distinct use cases to simulate the different areas of a food processing plant, from a washdown application to a packaging line. A total of 36 different experiments were run over a nine-month period and yielded interesting results, showing the drum motor as a particularly attractive technology for conveyor belts in the food industry," Prof. Davide Barbanti explains.
From a food safety point of view, the study found that drum motors offer significant advantages in terms of hygienic design and cleanability in place, which not only reduces the risk of soil accumulation and cross-contamination but also results in time and cost savings due to shorter cleaning times.
Furthermore, the University of Parma study confirmed concrete advantages of drum motors regarding installation and required space: As all components are embedded inside the drum motor, fewer parts are needed for installation and considerable space is saved.
“Food safety is a critical matter for all players in the food processing industry but too often we still find gear motors that don’t satisfy the key principles of hygienic design in areas where food is processed. Supposedly such choices are dictated by economic reasons. We hope that the research, which we were able to conduct with the support of Interroll, and the resulting study will be considered by decision-makers in the food industry as practical recommendation for their equipment choices regarding their processing and packaging lines.” Prof. Davide Barbanti concludes.
For Dr. Ralf Garlichs, Executive Vice President “Products & Technology” of the Interroll Group, the study’s conclusions are an important confirmation of the benefits of Interroll’s drum motors for the food processing markets. “First of all, we would like to thank Prof. Davide Barbanti and Dr. Giampaolo Betta and their team at the University of Parma for their great efforts. This system comparison is without a doubt of great value for Interroll but more importantly for our customers in the food processing markets,” Garlichs says. “We consider food safety a global topic that has always been at the heart of our product development. The results of this study are highly motivating for our engineers as they prove the quality of our drum motors. At the same time, we consider them as an encouragement to bring further product innovation to the food industry.”
