Magnaplateengineered surfaceenhancementcoatings meet toughchallenges forcontact surfaces infood and drugindustriesDemanding ChallengesFood and drug packaging andprocessing equipment must meetnumerous rigid standards drawn from along menu of performance criteria.General Magnaplate – a pioneer in thesurface enhancement of metal parts tomeet the rigors of space exploration –applies its expertise in surfaceenhancement to these down-to-earthapplications.

Actual case histories show that whateverthe situation – from the automatic

packing of raw beef to the extrusion of dryice pellets; from forming, cutting, cookingand baking foods to filling and sealingpackages, General Magnaplate’s coatingswill make production more efficient, cost-effective and profitable. Our technicaltalents are focused on solutions to manyvaried but critical food and drugprocessing and packaging problems.

In addition to coating existing parts toimprove wear andperformance, GeneralMagnaplate also has a“One Stop Shop” program.By working with selectqualified partners, we canprovide turnkey solutionsto have new partsfabricated and coated, orhave damaged or wornparts repaired and coated.

Coatings criteria infood and drugapplications:■ Surface hardness should

produce long service life for parts and surfaces by protecting against wear, abrasion, corrosion, friction and galling.

■ Coatings must complywith USDA, FDA and AgriCanada codes.

■ Coating surfaces must benon-oxidizing in adverse environments when processing equipment is idle.

■ Sanitary clean-up must bethorough, easy to perform and, ideally, non-polluting.

■ Surfaces must be dense andnon-porous to prevent growth of mold and bacteria.

■ Coated surfaces should benon-stick to prevent producthang-up and assure efficient mold release.

■ Coating must notcontaminate product.

■ Surfaces must be non-reactiveto atmosphere and spills.

■ Where chrome plating hastraditionally been applied, coating should eliminate chrome’s dangers and its effluent headaches.

■ Specialized surfaces such asblades, knives and slicers should stay sharp despite heavy use.

FDA, USDA and AgriCanadacompliant coatings on metal partssolve sanitation, maintenance andperformance problems

Food and Drug Packaging and Processing

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Magnaplate coated a feeder auger with NEDOX to provide it withexcellent release properties to prevent dough from sticking.

Preventing Sticking and Wear ofRotary Cookie MoldsA cookie manufacturer suffered excessive downtime because wet cookiebatter was sticking in the impressions ofthe brass cookie molding rolls. Also, asengraving in the expensive rolls woreaway due to the continuous abrasion bythe dough, the identifying patternembossed on each cookie becamedimmer and dimmer.

A quick but long-term solution wasneeded. The manufacturer’s engineersturned to General Magnaplate, whoapplied a NEDOX

®coating that

hardened the surfaces of the brass rollsand provided them with critical wearresistance. The coating also gave theroll surfaces anti-stick, anti-corrosionperformance that prevents hang-up ofthe wet batter.

Substantial savings were achieved byreducing production downtime requiredto clean the rotary molds, and byextending their life cycles.

Candy BarsWarm caramel was sticking to slitterblades during candy bar manufacturing,causing buildup and strips of caramel tojump out of alignment. A coating ofLECTROFLUOR

®was applied to the

long round blades, eliminating the needto have an employee monitor themachine and constantly scrape the blades.

Cleaning of Pasta-MakingMachines Made EasierAutomatic forming, filling and cuttingmachines for making ravioli at a pastamanufacturer were questioned by aninspector because heavy structuralsections were made of cast iron. Theinspector considered the components toodifficult to sanitize effectively.

The company and General Magnaplateworked together to solve the problem.First, about 80% of the cast iron andsteel parts were thoroughly cleaned by aspecial process. They were then coatedwith NEDOX to make themimpervious to fats and oils, easy to cleanand non-corrosive. Bronze parts andstainless steel rollers were also coated tocreate non-stick surfaces and improvecleanability.

The manufacturer saved thousands ofdollars by avoiding the need to purchasenew machines.

Ice Cream PackagingA creamery was having problems withcorrosive attack on a packagingmachine’s turntable holding plates.Caustic cleaners were causing thealuminum parts to pit and corrode.Sanitary clean-up was also a time-

consuming procedure furthercomplicated by the need toresponsibly dispose of spentcleaning and sanitizing solutions.By having TUFRAM

®applied to

the holding plates, the creamerywas able to avoid these troublingproblems.

CerealA fruit and sugar coating on acereal product was sticking to achute, causing the cereal to backup onto conveyors during transferto packaging lines. The sticky

topping also lead to a prolongedcleaning process. NEDOX was appliedto the chute to ease product flow andsignificantly reduce cleaning time.

TortillasWet, sticky tortilla dough was searing topress plates making them difficult toremove in one piece. Several conventionalsolutions were tried such as oils and sprayswithout success. A TUFRAM coatingwas applied, giving the press plates therelease properties necessary.

Baked BeansA set of three hoppers, sitting one ontop of the other, feeding into the onebelow, measure cooked beans by weight.A sticking problem was causing thecustomer to have to re-tare the scaleevery few runs. PLASMADIZE

®on the

hoppers enabled the beans to fallthrough, helping the customer towardstheir goal of about 3000 pounds ofcooked beans per minute.

CookiesA customer with steel dough troughsused to mix cookie dough needed asolution for corrosion resistance andeasy clean-up. PLASMADIZE providedsuperior release from the dough. Twinaugers were then coated with NEDOX,which gives the added benefit of lowerenergy usage due to less “drag” on thecoated augers while mixing the dough.

Food Applications

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Brass rolls for molding cookies on a high-speedproduction line were coated with a NEDOX®

“synergistic” coating to give longer life to theexpensive rotary molds, to prevent dough hang-up byproviding mold release, and to make the molds easyto clean.

These bronze forming rolls for dog biscuits require a non-sticksurface and resistance to abrasion from the product. Bothcharacteristics are provided by a NEDOX® surface enhancementcoating.

Coating Solves Severe MoldRelease Problem A contract packaging services companyproduces thermoformed plastic sheetswith multiple cavities for individualtablets, capsules and caplets. After thecustom-designed cavities are filled andsealed with foil, the sheets are cut intostrips and packaged either for OTC saleor for use as physician’s samples, hospitalunit doses, or clinical study packages.Individual cavities can also be die cut.

The problem they faced is that the filmstend to stick to the aluminum toolingafter being thermoformed. Becauseeach sheet of thermoformed filmcontains numerous cavities, and even ifonly one cavity is ruined because thetooling sticks to and tears it, the entiresheet of film must be discarded.

General Magnaplate’s NEDOXprovided a dry lubricating coating thatsolved the problem. NEDOX creates adense, non-porous surface, alsoeliminating the potential growth ofmold and bacteria.

Aluminum Fillers with theToughness of SteelA supplier of packaging equipment tothe pharmaceutical and cosmetic industriesmakes extensive use of Magnaplatecoatings for improving wear characteristics,reducing friction, and providing inertsurfaces where chemically active materialmight contact the equipment components.

One application is a filler designed tohandle irregularly shaped containers. Itsreciprocating head is timed to movewith the conveyor belt so that the fillingnozzle can enter, fill and leave thecontainer without touching it. Theywanted to use aluminum for the fillerheads, but could not until GeneralMagnaplate applied a TUFRAM coatingthat allows the aluminum heads towithstand the friction encounteredbetween the moving parts of the assembly.

Preventing Corrosive Attack onCentrifuge BasketsWhen engineers at one pharmaceuticalequipment manufacturer embarked on are-evaluation of their manufacturingfacilities, they focused on an 8’ diametercenter slung centrifuge, featuring aperforated basket that holds in-processpharmaceuticals.

They anticipated corrosive attack fromacids, bases and solvents. To prevent theattacks, the centrifuge was treated with acorrosion-resistant LECTROFLUORcoating.

Faster Production Speeds onPouch Packing LinesA packaging equipment manufacturersupplies a variety of pharmaceuticalcompanies with vertical and horizontalform-fill-seal machines for pouchpackaging of viscous and aqueous liquidproducts, tablets, pre-moistenedapplicators and sterilizable hospitaldisposables in seal and peel-openpouches.

The machines feature sealing headcomponents and other key partscoated with a variety of GeneralMagnaplate’s coatings to increaseoperating speeds without excessivewear of the parts.

Aspirin TabletsForming rolls which create blisterpackages are coated to prevent pick-

up of freshly printed ink on the passingfilms. The throat of the machine is alsocoated to prevent dust accumulationfrom the motion of the tablets as theyare conveyed from hoppers. Thecoating also prevents marking of thetablets, which would occur if they wereexposed directly to the metal.

Blister PackagingA manufacturer needed to protect a three-piece mold which thermoforms blistersfrom PVC/PVDC laminates inform/fill/seal machines. MAGNAPLATE

HCR® provided the non-stick propertiesand resistance to the hydrogen chloridefumes given off from the laminate in thepre-heat station.

Pharmaceutical Solutions

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Pill guide plates used in pharmaceuticalform/fill/seal machine. NEDOX prevents producthang-up, keeping flow rates steady.

NEDOX was used on these lipstick mold parts toease clean-up of residues left from the moldingprocess. The smooth NEDOX surface increasedproduct quality and appearance by minimizingpinholes and blemishes on the lipstick.

HCR was used on this forming tool for form/fill/seal blistermachines because it is highly resistant to gases emitted fromPVDC laminates film.

Magnaplate Coating and Repair Program for Sealing EquipmentSqueezes the Most Out of Your Tooling Dollar!

Keep Cutting Edges Sharp withGOLDENEDGE®

Magnaplate Sealing EquipmentRepair CapabilitiesGeneral Magnaplate’s surfaceenhancement coatings create a super-hard, dry-lubricated surface on heatsealing equipment parts. Thesepermanent, non-stick coatings protectsealing bars, jaws, dies and other sealingparts against abrasive wear and corrosion,dramatically extending their service life.They eliminate the need to constantlyapply and reapply “non-stick” tapeswhich wear out rapidly and frequentlybecome messy. Their slippery surfaceprevents plastic and other materials fromadhering or bonding to the parts andfacilitates cleanup and sanitarymaintenance, without the use of causticsor harmful chemicals.

Exclusive Benefits ■ “One Stop” service for seal tooling

requirements — manufacture new parts and coat, or repair and coat existing tooling at a fraction of the cost of replacement

■ Extend wear and service life ■ Avoid downtime and cost of replacing

“non-stick” tape■ Improve wear resistance ■ Enhance release properties through

dry lubrication■ Resist corrosive attack from chemicals■ Many meet FDA, USDA and

AgriCanada codes■ Reduce bonding of plastic to metal

Some Examples:■ A large manufacturer and refurbisher

of packaging machinery had severe abrasive wear problems with sealing jaws used to seal potato chip bags. The abrasion was caused by the foil bags continuously sliding over the sealing jaws. A NEDOX wear resistant, non-stick coating resulted in dramatic improvement in wear life and in the ability to eliminate residue buildup.

■ A pharmaceutical manufacturer was experiencing difficulties caused by glue adhering to seal bars during the heat sealing of polyethylene bags. A PLASMADIZE coating with a very high coefficient of friction was applied which totally eliminated any sticking and also accelerated operating speeds.

■ A food manufacturer had sticking issues and a premature end to the service life of hot knife seal bars on their packaging machines. The application of Magnaplate’s LECTROFLUOR coating gave the knife bars superior release properties and eliminated the sticking problem. It also dramatically extended their service life.

© 2009, 2004, 2000 General Magnaplate Corp.

Printed in U.S.A. 13-909-5M

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Ultra-hard, micro-thin GOLDENEDGEon the cutting edges of blades, knives,slicers and other sharp-edged devicesresists wear and abrasion, extendingservice life by as much as 20 times.

GOLDENEDGE Benefits■ Increases surface hardness up to an

equivalent of Rc85■ Resists corrosive attack by acids and

alkalis

■ Meets USDA, FDA and Agri-Canada codes

■ Non-stick surface cleans up easily, with just water

■ No resistrictions on shapes of cutting surfaces

■ Permanent mechanical interlocking with substrate

Increase blade life and improve productionspeeds during operations such as:

shredding, cutting, dicing, die cutting,disintegrating, flaking, forming,eviscerating, filleting, deheading, gutting,grinding, scaling, peeling, packaging,pulverizing, sawing, slicing … and manyothers.

800-852-3301 ■ Fax: 908-862-6110E-Mail: info@magnaplate.comWeb Site: http://www.magnaplate.com