Pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry places particularly high demands on cleanliness, hygiene and the reliability of machine components. Timing belts and conveyor belts must be adapted to the respective production conditions and, depending on the application, offer specific properties such as low abrasion, good cleanability and resistance to moisture, chemicals and cleaning agents.
Alphabelt develops customised timing belts and speciality belts for various conveying and drive applications in pharmaceutical production and packaging, even for orders starting from just one piece.
By using selected materials, specialised coatings and targeted finishing processes, we optimise the properties of our belts for specific applications. For suitable material versions, manufacturer documentation confirming FDA and EU compliance for food contact is available.
When standard belts cannot meet the technical requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, we work with our customers to develop customised solutions. We pay particular attention to cleanability, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance and other functional properties to ensure reliable conveying and drive processes.
Examples of special Alphabelt features for the pharmaceutical industry:
Easy to clean
Timing belts that are in contact with pharmaceutical products must be easy and thorough to clean. To avoid poorly accessible spots where dirt and moisture could accumulate, we use belts with closed lateral edges. In these applications, we also dispense with the winding nose, a groove in the base of the tooth that would promote contamination and corrosion, which is otherwise common in timing belts. In addition, coatings can be applied endlessly, i.e., without seams and splices.Enhanced corrosion protection
Depending on the substances the belts come into contact with, materials and designs with high acid resistance and corrosion protection are often required. In appropriately designed timing belts, the steel tension members are completely enclosed by the polyurethane belt body. This reduces direct contact between the tension members and moisture or other external influences. Such designs are particularly suitable for applications requiring enhanced corrosion protection.
Resistant to cleaning agents
When machine components are regularly cleaned and disinfected, certain cleaning agents and disinfectants can damage conventional polyurethane materials. Specially developed polyurethane compounds offer increased resistance to selected cleaning agents and improved hydrolysis resistance, depending on the material version. This allows timing belts to be specifically adapted to demanding cleaning and operating conditions.
Low abrasion
UIn order to produce and transport pharmaceuticals in the cleanest possible conditions, extremely low abrasion of the system components is required. When selecting belt materials for the pharmaceutical sector, Alphabelt therefore relies on high-quality, wear-resistant materials.Antistatic coatings
To protect against any unnecessary contamination, the use of antistatic coatings is advantageous, as they significantly reduce the adhesion of dust.
Regulatory Requirements and Material Compliance
In pharmaceutical production, belts and conveyor belts must be adapted to the specific hygiene requirements and process conditions. Important factors include material properties, cleanability and resistance to the substances and cleaning agents used.For appropriately designed belts, manufacturers' declarations of compliance are available in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 and Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011, as well as the applicable FDA requirements for food contact. These declarations document material compliance under the specified conditions. Suitability for pharmaceutical applications must additionally be assessed according to the specific requirements regarding product contact, hygiene, cleaning and production processes.
Suitable Belt Connections
Joining the ends of timing belts after production should be avoided wherever possible to minimise areas where contamination could accumulate. In practice, however, such connections are sometimes unavoidable. In these cases, it is important to use materials suitable for pharmaceutical applications.
One possible solution is a pin-joint connection, in which stainless steel pins connect the belt ends. Whether this type of connection is suitable for a particular pharmaceutical application depends on the requirements for hygiene, cleanability and mechanical load capacity.