Self-lubricating, Hygienic, Low-Abrasion Parts for the Packaging Industry

The Packaging, Food, and Beverage Industry covers general packaging, food packaging lines, beverage bottling and canning, and FDA-Compliance. It includes applications involving cartoners, thermoformers, tray sealers, case packers, forming, filling, sealing, labeling, weighing and inspection systems, all relying on reliable motion and continuous operation.

igus' self-lubricating components help create maintenance-free packaging equipment by eliminating external grease and oil, which reduces cleaning effort and contamination risk near product. igus motion plastics use dry-running, wear-resistant polymers designed for long service life, quiet running and high speeds in packaging, food and beverage environments.

Food and beverage lines must meet strict hygiene standards, food safety regulations and frequent washdown requirements, alongside performance and output goals. Components in these areas are often specified in FDA-compliant and EU 10/2011-compliant materials, and must withstand moisture, chemicals and temperature swings in filling, capping and packaging systems.

Regular washdowns and CIP cycles expose machine parts to hot water, alkaline and acidic cleaners and disinfectants, which can corrode metals and wash out lubricants. To handle this, many designs use corrosion-resistant stainless steel structures combined with dry-running polymer bearings, rollers and linear guides that tolerate cleaning chemicals and remain maintenance-free in wet zones.

Typical motion components include plain bearings, spherical bearings, ball bearings, linear guides and actuators, guide rollers, lead screw assemblies, slewing rings, gears and cable management systems. igus supplies lubrication-free versions of these, such as iglide® plain bearings, igubal® self-aligning bearings, drylin® linear guides, xiros® guide rollers, dryspin® lead screws and PRT® slewing rings, all suited to packaging applications.

Many projects specify FDA-compliant and EU 10/2011-compliant polymers in zones that contact or sit above food and beverages. igus offers dry-running, wear-resistant components in these materials, including bearings, guide rollers, tribotape® wear strips, slewing rings and lead screw assemblies, as well as PFAS-conscious and PTFE-free options where required. This supports hygienic design and helps meet audit and documentation needs.

A common strategy is to replace greased metal bearings and guides with maintenance-free polymer components that do not require relubrication and are less sensitive to dust, dirt and moisture. Pairing dry-running bearings, low-friction guides and continuous-flex cables in carriers can increase service life and reduce unplanned stops across packaging, food and beverage lines.

igus motion plastics are used on conveyors, format adjustment axes, dosing and filling heads, labeling systems, inspection stations and rotary tables, wherever smooth, low-friction movement is needed. In many designs they replace metal parts in sliding, pivoting and rolling points to reduce weight, noise and lubrication while improving wear resistance in continuous-duty environments.

Key igus families for these industries include iglide® plain bearings, igubal® self-aligning bearings, xiros® plastic ball bearings and guide rollers, drylin® linear guides and actuators, iglide PRT® slewing rings, tribotape® wear strips, dryspin® lead screws, plus chainflex® continuous-flex cables and e-chain® cable carriers. Many of these are available in hygienic, FDA-compliant and EU 10/2011-compliant variants.

When standard parts are not enough, engineers can use igus custom parts services, including CNC machining, 3D printing and molding in wear-resistant and FDA-compliant materials. Combined with bar and plate stock for in-house machining and online tools like configurators and service-life calculators, this makes it easier to create custom guides, change parts and wear parts for packaging, food and beverage projects.