Collection of metal shavings after production
Hello,
I work in the QA department in a pet food company that produces pouched products and pet food tubes. Normally during the sanitation process all the magnets we have in place are cleaned thoroughly to not only get rid of meat, but any metal shavings and the such from that days production. I was given a project where now I need to try and gather these shavings and create graphics to kind of form what is an acceptable amount left over. Now I have been doing some research on a good way to collect these shavings in a safe and logical way. I came across something called a demagnetizer and I really like its applications. However during my research I could not find enough data to prove that demagnetizing our magnet would cause permanent damage.
Any information you guys can share would be helping. Perhaps tips on how to get the metal shavings off better or general information on demagnetizers.
Removing metal fragments from magnets is quite an easy task - you remove the magnet from the product stream & wipe down the length with a soft cloth to remove the fragments. Assuming that you would eventually be asking production operatives to perform this task it may be easier to stick to this protocol.
However if you still believe a demagnetiser would be useful for you operation I would advise you speak to the supplier of your magnets as the use of a demagnetiser might affect your warranty for the magnets so it would be good to check this before you make your decision?.
I have to ask, have you looked at the root cause of the metal shavings? Assume this is a regular occurrence. It's fantastic that your magnet is doing the job........but just wondering about elimination vs collection
I have to ask, have you looked at the root cause of the metal shavings? Assume this is a regular occurrence. It's fantastic that your magnet is doing the job........but just wondering about elimination vs collection
I'm sure MJacobsen will advise on his specific process but I do remember metal being a known problem in incoming meat, and also in grain. I'm not sure why this is, but I suspect it's because primary producers/suppliers don't have the control that manufacturers & processors do?...
The grain makes sense............sort of..........augers don't usually touch the elevator they are sitting in, but I guess could be the milling operation (although I still find this questionable)
In Canada at least, meat that is destined for animal food has to be fit for human consumption.............so metal shavings would never be acceptable
A thought on your findings- I audited a supplier (top grade GFSI certified) who did grinding and thus had metal on metal contact and expected metal to be collected on the magnets. There, they had done some study as to what was an expected amount of metal to have on a given magnet based on several years of production. If that amount was exceeded by a percentage margin they had chosen, that would then be considered an abnormal condition and would trigger a root cause analysis.
Being both a farmer and a miller...there is a ton of metal in the grain. We were able to tell a supplier his combine was breaking down before he knew it from a load of grain. Once inside, there's airlocks, bucket elevators and mills that may all have filings in them as grain and flour are both rather abrasive.
If you are looking to collect the metal from your magnets, I have found a piece of white paper cut in to strips and wrapped tightly on the magnet will do a pretty good job for cleaning them off....given that you can take the magnets out and do this in a controlled environment. All of our rare earth magnets are removable and round. We clean them regularly, because as I said above, they provide a pretty good indication of where you may be having problems.
I have also read about using tape backwards, same principle as the paper, and then the filings stick to the tape when they are removed.
With any of these the important part is getting between the magnet and metal so you can break the bond. Best of luck!!
I have to ask, have you looked at the root cause of the metal shavings? Assume this is a regular occurrence. It's fantastic that your magnet is doing the job........but just wondering about elimination vs collection
Throughout the process the shavings normal come from a variety of causes. Normally its from a grinder blade. We have table with a metal detector attached to it that scans frozen blocks and we also have a inline metal detector after the grinding process plus protocols in place should we get excessive kickoffs. However there isn't a graphic or process to determine how much metal throughout the day is too much that is why this was given to me to figure out. Thanks to everyone that gave back feed back.
Being both a farmer and a miller...there is a ton of metal in the grain. We were able to tell a supplier his combine was breaking down before he knew it from a load of grain. Once inside, there's airlocks, bucket elevators and mills that may all have filings in them as grain and flour are both rather abrasive.
If you are looking to collect the metal from your magnets, I have found a piece of white paper cut in to strips and wrapped tightly on the magnet will do a pretty good job for cleaning them off....given that you can take the magnets out and do this in a controlled environment. All of our rare earth magnets are removable and round. We clean them regularly, because as I said above, they provide a pretty good indication of where you may be having problems.
I have also read about using tape backwards, same principle as the paper, and then the filings stick to the tape when they are removed.
With any of these the important part is getting between the magnet and metal so you can break the bond. Best of luck!!
Adam your suggestion really helped. I tried the paper and it worked great. I haven't tried the tape yet. I don't want to assume, but I'm guessing scotch tape would be the best to use?