Habasit® Cleandrive proved more cleanable than a vented modular belt for nearly $15k in savings.
A food processor was conveying a variety of beans through a series of washdown conveyors, equipped with vented modular belts, to remove natural debris from the harvesting process. Portions of bean skin would become caught in the crevices between modules or in the vent slots. During cleaning cycles, the sanitation crew required more time and water than desired to dislodge the debris from the tops and bottoms of the belts.
To solve the lengthy sanitation challenge, the customer required a food-safe belt with a more cleanable top and bottom design and an open area pattern that captured less debris while permitting dewatering of the product. Habasit satisfied this requirement with Habasit Cleandrive CD.M25, which features a perfectly smooth top-side design. The bottom side consists of hygienically designed drive bars that capture less debris and are easily cleaned. To support dewatering, Habasit engineering designed a suitable pattern of 1/8" circular perforations.
Once installed, the perforated Habasit Cleandrive belt reduced sanitation time and water consumption.
Overall, the monolithic style belt and calculated perforation pattern created substantial benefits:
- 175,000 gallons of water saved annually
- 10-minute reduction in sanitation time per installed belt
- Annual sanitation labor reduction of more than 300 hours