An impeccably hygienic production environment is absolutely essential for sensitive beverages like teas and juices, so as to guarantee reliable stability and flawless quality of the drinks concerned. In order to be on the safe side here, it is advisable to separate the filling and closing zone from the production environment.
Krones has already translated this into engineered reality in numerous projects for PET lines all around the globe. Increased demand has meanwhile been encountered for an expanded hygienic concept for cans as well. This is why Krones has for its Modulfill Bloc FS-C canning block developed a special hygiene concept that scores highly in several aspects:
Its enclosed construction, in conjunction with the integrated ventilation system, enables an overpressure to be generated inside the filler and to be maintained throughout, thanks to appropriate sealing. This prevents the production hall’s ambient air from penetrating into the direct filling zone and thus coming into contact with the product.
Compared to a system erected with conventional free-standing machine guarding, the footprint is reduced by 35 per cent. What’s more, an installed height of 3.5 metres can be achieved with the new concept.
The new hygiene concept minimises not only the space actually required in the hall, but also the sensitive filling and closing zone. Whereas this latter comprises roughly 80 cubic metres for a filler with a large cleanroom roof, it now comes to a mere eight cubic metres, thus substantially reducing both the air volume involved and concomitantly the number of filters required, too.
Since the new hygienic design features an enclosed can treatment zone, it will in future be possible to clean the filler’s exterior and its interior in parallel – using a closed-cycle cleaning system that covers the treatment zone, the filling valves and the additional piping. This means
| Pitch circle diameter (mm) |
2,160 | 2,550 | 2,880 | 3,600 | 4,320 | 5,040 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed (cans per hour) |
45.000 | 60,000 | 80,000 | 95,000 | 110,000 | 130,000 |
