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Millennium Plastics - Website Article

CIP RECIRCULATION COUPLING

A major logistical challenge for local dairy farmers is overcome by the innovative use of Acetyl plastic resin.

Dairy Farmer Dilemma Solved With Plastic

A recent initiative in the New Zealand dairy industry, designed to speed up milk flow from farm vat to tanker and reduce collection times, was recently implemented. To achieve faster flow speed, the outlet valves on the milk vats and the tanker couplings were increased from 2.5" to 3".

The outlet valves on the vats were upgraded and the couplings on the collection tankers replaced. However, this still posed a major logistical challenge for local farmers, who had legacy CIP (Clean in Place) systems using 2.5" recirculation couplings. The cost to replace the existing CIP couplings with stainless steel units amounted to a substantial investment.

Dairy Technology Services Ltd (DTS), a leader in this field, turned to Millennium Plastics for an innovative solution to the problem. Based on their brief, Millennium developed an initial design from which several rapid prototype samples were produced. This allowed DTS to cost-effectively refine the design and fully prove the concept before committing to actual production.

Millennium worked closely with DuPont NZ for technical support in selecting a suitable polymer for the product. A specialist grade of Acetal resin was chosen, providing a unique combination of strength, toughness and stiffness, along with dimensional stability. The application also required the material to be extremely hard-wearing and abrasion-resistant and able to cope with the harshest treatment handed out on the farm.

In addition, Acetal is chemical resistant and handles a wide temperature range from -4 degrees C up to 100 degrees C. These are both essential material properties, as chemicals and hot water are used to flush and clean the milk vats daily. Being a dairy application, the couplings had to be manufactured from approved food-grade material.

A critical aspect of the design was to ensure that the O-ring seal remained in place at all times. With an extremely high tolerance and attention to detail in the tool development process, a subtle flare was incorporated into the O-ring flange that allowed it to sit snugly in place, no matter what. By developing the CIP coupling in plastic as opposed to stainless steel, DTS was able to reduce the unit cost by over 75%, whilst still retaining all of the performance capabilities and durability of the previous stainless units.

As only one aspect of a major industry upgrade project, it was critical to the overall project that development and delivery milestones were met. The CIP coupling project, from design concept to final production, was successfully completed within a very tight timeframe.