PUR-GARD™ bearing isolators offer the ultimate rotating equipment sealing solutions for the food processing industry. Manufactured with materials that are FDA compliant, metal detectable and x-ray inspectable while utilizing a patented IP66 design, Garlock PUR-GARD™ is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process purity with cost savings through extended equipment and bearing life.

Features & Benefits

• Patented labyrinth design provides bearing protection even in the most challenging environments, extending the life of rotating equipment
• Unitized construction will not come apart during installation
• IP66 in most common design configurations
• Non-contacting design reduces shaft drag and energy consumption
• Available in a broad range of configurations
• Substantially reduced installation time - NO ARBOR PRESS NEEDED
• No metal-to-metal contact
• Metal detectable and x-ray inspectable

Typical Applications

Rotating equipment (pumps, motors, gearboxes) exposed to heavy wash down and/or zone 1 and 2 applications.

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

New Sealing Material HiFluor® FB for Hygienically Sensitive Applications

Be it in the production of food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics or medical devices coming into contact with the human body, excellent purity and media resistance combined with a wide range of robust properties is always required of the materials used for the components in the manufacturing processes. Specifically for these challenging applications, Parker has developed a new sealing compound with very good mechanical properties and excellent permanent elasticity: HiFluor^® FB V8991.

Fluoroelastomeric materials have proven their viability in chemical and food processing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and life science applications involving non-polar solvents, aliphatic compounds, greases, oils and aromatic substances whenever the resistance of standard materials such as hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) and ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) is no longer sufficient.

Innovative “Pure” Sealing Solution HiFluor® FB V8991

As a compound and seal manufacturer, Parker Prädifa, in the light of the growing demands made on sealing elements in the aforementioned markets, has developed a HiFluor^® FB compound with very good mechanical properties and excellent permanent elasticity.

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

A Guide to Selecting the Proper Sealing Material for Food Applications

The substances used in the food and in the chemical process industries are identical in many cases, whether they are of natural origin or synthetically produced.  Irrespective of their type and occurrence – be it in process media, in raw materials for products or in finished products – the materials for seals and engineered components used in production equipment coming into contact with diverse chemical substances have to meet specific purity requirements and be resistant to chemicals under the given process conditions. Purity and stability are therefore basic prerequisites for materials in the chemical process industry and the food industry. The challenge lies in selecting the proper sealing material for an application.

Top Priorities: Consumer Health and Safety

Consumer health and safety are of paramount importance in food, beverage and pharmaceutical production processes. Therefore, the materials have to comply with specific legal requirements and standards, depending on their application. The harmlessness of the materials for the intended uses, such as applications involving contact with foodstuffs and drinking water, must have been certified by relevant approvals and conformities. Equally important to consumer safety is that the materials are free of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), phthalates, mineral oil based plasticizers and animal derived ingredients (ADI).

There are a plethora of choices when it comes to gasketing material.  But if you are in the food processing, it is crucial that every item that makes contact with the gasket is left unaffected.  And although silicone is inherently non-toxic, only a specially formulated food grade silicone is fit for use with consumables.

Silicone is an ideal elastomer to use if you require FDA-approved rubber.  Since there is an emphasis on rubbers being suitable for repeated use in the food processing industry, silicone is ideal being that the material is not susceptible to harmful microbial agents or other contaminants.  Food grade gaskets and seals should be able to function for long periods of time without falling prey to harmful contamination, or degradation.