What regulations apply to metal detectable and x-ray detectable plastics?
When employing metal or x-ray detectable plastics, it is important to consider the regulations & standards applicable to the country in which the end products will be placed on the market.
There are many factors which can affect the detection levels of metal & x-ray detectable plastics including, but not limited to: the size of fragment in question; the detection system in operation and the settings of detection system; the type of products running on the line.
Unfortunately, there are no international regulations/standards when it comes to detectability and definng a metal or x-ray detectable plastic. The decision as to what constitutes a sufficient level of detection lies primarily with the manufacturer and their customers.
Radical Materials utilises metal detection and x-ray detection systems similar to those used in the food/pharma processing industries and can assist with testing of actual products produced using our compounds or masterbatches to help meet local requirements in the supply chain.
While detectability is itself not regulated, it is important to consider other regulations, such as those for food contact. The end user of the final article into which SCOPIC masterbatches, compounds and additives are incorporated must determine compliance with any specific and applicable regulatory limitations on use and that all relevant migration testing and regulatory demands are in-place to allow use in the specific end-use conditions.
Radical Materials ensure that this process is made easier and the masterbatch/compound/additive itself can be used with much more confidence by supporting, where possible, with a sound regulatory declaration under a defined set of conditions.
Please contact us for individual product declarations.
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READ MOREWhat type of products can be made using metal and x-ray detectable plastics?
Metal & x-ray detectable plastics allow any products which are made from plastics/polymers to be enhanced in terms of their ability to be detectable by metal and/or x-ray detection systems.
Examples of products would include pens, scoops, conveyor belts, seals, mechanical components, cable ties, safety knives, safety glasses, suction cups etc.
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READ MOREWhat are the benefits of x-ray & metal detectable plastics?
X-ray & metal detectable plastics will signifcantly reduce the likelihood of plastic foreign body contaminants in food processing lines.
Plastics/polymers are used extensively in and around food and pharmaceutical processing lines. Such processing lines typically employ detection systems (metal detectors and/or X-ray machines) as part of a HACCP system to prevent foreign body fragments from passing along the line and entering the consumer chain.
Conventional unfilled plastics/polymers will not be detected by metal detection systems and, due to their low density, depending upon conditions, it is often extremely difficult for an X-ray system to differentiate them from food products and reliably detect them.
X-ray & metal detectable plastics are designed to be far more responsive to metal detectors and/or X-ray machines and hence dramatically increase the chances of any foreign body fragments being detected and ‘contaminated’ products being rejected from the line.
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READ MOREAll x-ray detectable plastics are not equal…
It appears that many x-ray detectable plastics are designed to a price point, rather than to detectability targets.
A few of our customers for metal & x-ray detectable plastics had struggled with alternative materials for a while before approaching us, and there seem to be two recurring issues that typically led them to switch…
Some x-ray detectable plastics simply don’t work.
A while ago, we compared three different detectable plastics with our Minebea Dylight. All three were moulded from the same base material and they were passed through the Minebea in a tub of sugar. The results are shown in the photo above.
The middle disc was made with one of our SCOPIC metal and x-ray detectable plastic masterbatches. Very obviously detectable.
The barely discernible disc on the left was a customer’s standard product. Despite being marketed as x-ray detectable, it was missed by the detector (there’s no blue/red square around it indicating detection). That said, it’s by no means the worst we’ve seen 🙁
The right hand disc was moulded with a competitor’s masterbatch. It is only marginally less x-ray detectable and would appear to be a good alternative to SCOPIC. Or was it?
Some x-ray detectable plastics have severely compromised physical properties
Detectability is obviously important, but often overlooked are the implications of detectable additives on mechanical & functional performance. Improving the detectability of a component is of limited value if the component is then so mechanically compromised that failure becomes a certainty rather than a remote possibility. As a matter of course, we subject modified materials to a series of tests to ensure they remain within the required performance parameters.
Watch the video below for a nice example of a truly awful x-ray detectable plastic (ABS) one of our customers was using for some years before approaching us.
Have you encountered products that are mechanically compromised by their detectable additive?
They really don’t need to be… and at Radical Materials we can help make sure of that.
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READ MOREConsidering the impact of UVC sterilisation on plastics
UVC radiation has been used for many years to disinfect water supplies, pharmaceutical products, general surfaces etc. The method is termed Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation or UVGI. In recent times, there has been and will likely further be a dramatic increase in the use of such technology in areas such as transportation, retail, food processing and healthcare, with the aim of killing or inactivating bacteria and viruses on a wide range of products and materials. This is a marked change to the operating conditions of such products and materials and one which would rarely have been considered during original product specifications and developments.
Many materials used in such applications are not designed to withstand UVC, which is higher in energy than UVA or UVB and not present in natural light, due to it being filtered by the ozone layer. UVC exposure can potentially lead to significant material degradation if not designed for and the speed and extent of this degradation is still largely unexplored as well as the doses received in-service being extremely unpredictable. Standard UVA/UVB weathering tests will, unfortunately, tell a manufacturer or user very little about the effect of UVC on a particular material, and it can be a huge challenge to determine whether a material is fit-for-purpose based upon its degradation over repeated UVC exposure cycles.
As well as being able to offer solutions to improve resistance to UVC, Radical Materials now has the capability to expose a wide range of materials to controlled UVC cycles and analyse the impact of such cycles on performance parameters. The new Q-Lab QUV/uvc is specifically designed for UVC testing and precisely controls irradiance at 254nm, to allow accurate exposure to pre-defined UVC dosage levels. UVC testing is still not well standardised but, with the correct application data, cycles can be designed to estimate exposures based upon dosage per cycle and expected cycles per service life of the product.
If you would like to discuss enhancing UVC resistance of materials or need to design for UVC exposure by better understanding the effect of specific repeated cycles on the performance of a material, then contact one of our friendly experts on 01495 211400.
READ MOREPolymer foreign body contaminant detection in the food processing industry
Foreign body contaminants in food products is a major area of concern for food processors/manufacturers. Examples of foreign body inclusions are fragments of metal, bone and glass as well as plastics and rubbers, which find their way into the food production chain from products/equipment/machinery used as part of the processing line. Should such foreign bodies pass through into the consumer chain, then there is significant risk to consumer health as well as huge financial and reputational implications to the manufacturers. Such incidents are reported in systems such as FSA (Food Standards Agency) report and RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed).
To combat the issue and comply with HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) requirements, production lines will employ detection systems at critical control points, these commonly being metal detectors and/or X-ray systems. The difficulty with commonly utilised standard plastics and rubbers is that they possess neither the electrical/magnetic properties to be detected by metal detectors, nor typically the density to be differentiated from food products by an X-ray system. Standard plastics and rubbers are used extensively in machinery and products within food production lines and, as foreign body particles, are often totally undetectable by conventional systems.
It is possible to enhance the detectability of standard polymers, but early revisions relied purely on visual detection to try and prevent foreign body contamination. Polymer products were (and commonly still are) coloured blue to render them easier to visually detect on a food line due to the lack of naturally occurring blue in the bulk of food products.
Further enhancements around the design of filler/additive systems lead to the introduction of modified polymers, detectable by conventional metal detection systems. This still remains as probably the most common format of detectable polymer. A typical balanced coil metal detector consists of three coils, where the induced currents in the coil arrangement are in balance and generate an electro-magnetic field within the detector. This remains undisturbed until a metallic object passes through, causing a disturbance and triggering the sensor/alarm and rejection mechanism. The required additive system in such polymers must be specifically engineered to achieve the optimum response to industrial metal detectors at the lowest possible addition rate, such that other properties are not too significantly affected.
Moving on from metal detection systems, X-ray detectors are becoming increasingly popular in the food industry. Compared to metal detection systems, they have the advantage that they primarily rely upon density differences between food product and foreign body and hence are able to detect a range of additional foreign bodies such as glass, ceramic and bone. Once again, it is possible to engineer polymers such that they are potentially detectable against a range of food products via X-ray systems, but a different set of additive systems are applicable and, for optimum performance, this requirement needs to be treated separately to metal detection.
Polymer materials are and will continue to be used extensively throughout machinery, equipment and products within food processing lines. Components are typically manufactured by techniques such as injection moulding, compression moulding, extrusion or machining. Fragments of these polymers falling into the food line is a real risk and, without due consideration, such foreign bodies could pass through existing on-line detection systems and into the consumer chain totally undetected. There are potentially hugely negative implications to the food manufacturer should this happen. It is possible to modify existing polymers such that they offer strong levels of foreign body detection via either or all of the commonly utilised techniques on existing food lines (principally visual, metal detection and X-ray detection). However, there are many factors to consider up-front (type of polymer, final product, food products on the line, detection technique etc) and these need to be utilised fully and carefully when selecting or developing a well designed detectable polymer material.
If you are currently looking for a detectable polymer solution, please contact Chris Vince at chris@radicalmaterials.com or call us on 01495 211400.
READ MORERadical Materials develops new detectable polyketone
Metal detectable polyketone polymers are a specialized type of thermoplastic material that contains metal additives or pigments, making them easily detectable by metal detectors. These materials are commonly used in applications where it’s crucial to prevent foreign objects from entering the production process, such as food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and medical device production.
Originally developed in the 1970s, polyketone was first commercialised in the mid-90s by Shell under the Carilon trade name. It has historically been an under-utilised polymer despite its unique properties, with Shell, the main global manufacturer, ceasing production in 2000. In recent years, the escalating cost of polyamides has created significant interest in alternative polymers, of which polyketone is a prime candidate. In 2015, Hyosung began commercial production and they remain the only producer of polyketone.
Polyketone is an extraordinarily useful material, with excellent physical properties and exceptional chemical resistance. A perfect alternative for polyamide, it also has a coefficient of friction equal to that of polyoxymethylene (POM), making it ideal for components subject to sustained wear, such as gears and guides. The material’s unique properties, combined with ready availability due to Hyosung’s continued investment, have generated a significant resurgence in interest among companies manufacturing equipment for the food processing industry.
Radical Materials is a well-established supplier of metal and x-ray detectable additives for materials including polyamide, polyurethane and POM, under the SCOPIC® brand. These additives allow material contaminants in food to be identified by existing magnetic or x-ray detection systems, significantly reducing the possibility of contaminated food leaving the production facility and reaching the consumer.
While standard SCOPIC® additives & masterbatches are available for most materials, polyketone presents a variety of challenges, such as the cross-linking effect of excessive shear forces during compounding. Following extensive trials with an array of filling materials, Radical Materials has developed a formulation specifically for polyketone which avoids these inherent complications and provides detectability equal to that of SCOPIC® polyamide additives. This new benefit, alongside the extremely low moisture uptake, abrasion and chemical resistance, further reinforces polyketone’s position as a viable alternative to polyamide or POM.
If you are currently looking for a heat management application for your polymer compound products, please contact Chris Vince at chris@radicalmaterials.com or call us on 01495 211400.
