Modified Stepseal® in Turcon® MF helps coffee machine maker

Professional coffee machines need to brew up to 300 cups of coffee per hour. This puts high demands on all components, especially their seals.

Sealing issue:

In professional coffee machines, components are metal, as opposed to the plastic of the domestic models.

Harder surfaces combined with abrasive coffee beans mean that seals tend to wear quickly. A leading professional coffee machine producer worked with Trelleborg Sealing Solutions to maximize seal life with a target of 100,000 cycles before maintenance.

Sealing requirements:

• Cope with wear from abrasive coffee beans
• Compatible with fat and acids in process media
• Operate at a pressure of 16-bar/2320 psi in hot water
• Withstand CIP media
• FDA compliant

Solution:

To achieve the abrasion resistance the customer requested, the Turcon® Stepseal® surface was modified. Additionally a FDA compliant MF grade material was selected which was compatible with process the media, could withstand cleaning regimes and operate at high pressure.

Result:

In tests, the modified Turcon® Stepseal® design achieved the required cycles and is now fitted in a number of coffee machine models.

More information on Turcon® MF
Find out about Turcon® Stepseal® 2K