FOREIGN BODY REMOVAL BY MAGNETIC SEPARATION

Phil Black - PII Editor 17/06/2011

200 2 minutes read

Listen to this article

Manufacturers take extensive measures to ensure contaminated product does not enter the market. However they still may not be doing all they can to protect their businesses, satisfy legal and audit requirements or safeguard their process machinery –and they might be spending too much in the process. Given the potential consequences of product contamination, this is one area where it pays to seek expert advice.

A range of equipment is used to provide all round protection to process lines: vibratory sieves, magnetic separators, metal detectors and x-ray machines. With the correct selection, location and use of such products, the whole process line is protected: from raw materials at good inwards, at key points in the line to protect against line-generated contamination, to final product inspection as packaged goods leave the premises.

Goods inwards
The integrity of raw materials cannot be relied on so it is essential that these are subject to inspection before entering the process line. Vibratory sieves provide a first line of defence for powders: larger contamination of all types is excluded by the screen, while smaller ferrous contamination can be removed by an optional integral grid magnet. Magnetic separators, such as grids, used for granules and powders, or conveyor types, used for bulk items, are located at good inwards to remove ferrous contamination from larger amounts of product.

Key process points
It may seem that a metal detector or x-ray machine at the end of a line is sufficient to remove any contaminated product but this overlooks the benefits and extra safeguards provided by magnetic separators installed at key points. Ferrous particles, such as rust or those generated by wear, can be too small for a metal detector to detect but are removed by magnetic separators. Magnetic separators remove contamination from ingredients whereas detectors reject contaminated product so product is not wasted. Ferrous contamination, such as corrosion or loose parts, picked up by separators within the process line can warn of impending machinery failure before it becomes critical. Removal of such contamination can protect subsequent machinery from damage.

End of line
Metal detectors and x-ray machines at the end of lines provide a final safeguard of product integrity. Complete packaged products are inspected, and rejected (subject to the units’ capability), if they are contaminated by many different types of foreign body e.g. ferrous, and non-ferrous metals, wood, plastic, rubber, textiles, minerals, biological matter etc.

The most complete protection is provided by a combination of different Foreign Body Removal (FBR) products. The choice and application of necessary units is dependent on a large number of factors. Product type, volume, flow rates, transportation systems, expected levels and types of contamination, and the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) all have to be taken into account. A knowledge of the capabilities of available FBR products is also required. In short, it pays to consult a Foreign Body Removal specialist who can address the total requirements of your entire process line.

Sheffield based Eclipse Magnetics provides just this type of service, along with a full range of FBR products for almost all product types and process lines. It is the only supplier operating in this field with ATEX type approval. This means that ATEX approved products can be supplied directly, avoiding expensive external testing, reducing turnaround and costs. The company offers free site audits, assessing Foreign Body Removal requirements and advising on the steps required to satisfy increasingly stringent food safety and audit requirements.

To book a no obligation, free audit now, please contact:

Michael Atkins at Eclipse Magnetics Ltd, Sheffield, South Yorks.
Tel: (0114) 225 0550
E-mail: matkins@eclipse-magnetics.co.uk
Web: www.eclipse-mmagnetics.co.uk