New Stainless Steel-Infused Plastic Guard Presented by Ew Guarding Solution for Food and Medical Industries
Faztek, LLC, an industrial custom safety guarding manufacturer, announced its release of its metal detectable 1/8” ABS plastic. This material is intended to be used when guarding light duty hazard locations in the food or pharmaceutical industries where an all metal guard would traditionally be required. The stainless-steel infused material is detectable with a magnet to avoid food contamination, and guards in this material are available in blue only to follow the current industry practice of using a highly visible material.
Previously, metal detectable plastic was exclusively available for injection molded parts, and this is the first time that a metal detectable material was able to be thermoformed. This new material has several advantages over traditional stainless steel by providing a lighter material that is easier to remove for maintenance, can deaden sound, and will never rust. In collaboration with Machine Guard & Cover Co., Faztek is able to provide unique guard solutions with this material as well as standard covers for 2-Bolt, 3-Bolt, 4-Bolt, Pillow Block, Round Flanged Cover and Conveyor Roof guards.
IZOD Impact Resistance ASTM D256 testing has been performed on the material with an average strength of 2.5 foot pounds per inch. Metal detectability testing has resulted in a sample of 3mm x 3mm x 2mm returning positive results comparable to a 1mm mild steel sphere. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers a physical contaminate with a dimension of 7mm or larger to be a potential choking hazard, significantly larger than the detectability rate of this material.
Liquid line systems typically are setup to detect between 0.5mm and 2.5mm mild steel test spheres depending on the pipe size and product signal and packaged products typically are setup to detect between 1.5mm and 4.0mm mild steel test spheres depending on the aperture size and the product signal.
The materials in these guards meet the following Food and Drug Administration criteria for the following standards:
- 21 CFR 176.170(c)
- 21 CFR 177.1340
- 21 CFR 177.1520
- 21 CFR 178.3620
- 21 CFR 178.2010
- 21 CFR 178.3860
- 21 CFR 181.24
- 21 CFR 181.32
For more information, please visit: https://faztek.net/.
