Composite take-up housings for the SKF Food Line are used in the ball bearing unit series listed in table 2. The units incorporate stainless steel insert bearings or insert bearings with zinc-coated rings, both types filled with a food-grade grease. The housings cannot be ordered as separate products.
The composite housings for the SKF Food Line are strong, yet lightweight and chemically resistant. Their hygienic design features make them particularly well-suited for following the highest food safety standards.
The housings remain highly stable dimensionally and maintain their expected physical properties, despite repeated operational and washdown cycles. Particularly in wet environments, the housings are more reliable compared to other materials.
The composite material is reinforced polypropylene, chosen for its dimensional stability and chemical resistance to detergents and contaminants (table 3). Importantly, polypropylene is hydrophobic, distinguishing it from conventional composite housing materials.
The housings feature 40% long glass fibre reinforcement, to reduce the tendency of the housings to creep under temperature and load.
The external surface finish is comparable to food industry requirements for the internal surface finish on hygenic tubing and piping.