Hygienic solutions for the food industry

Food processing places specific demands on machinery and equipment: they must be safe, efficient, and hygienic. Reliable cable routing plays a key role in this context. For cable management in the food industry, Icotek offers various certified solutions that simplify installation and maintenance—offering flexibility, speed, and compliance with standards.

Icotek offers an extensive range of split cable entry systems, cable glands, and cable entry plates for diverse applications in process engineering, packaging technology, and bottling systems. These solutions allow cables, pneumatic hoses, and pre-assembled cables to be routed quickly, cleanly, and in compliance with standards through control cabinet, enclosure, or machine walls—even in hygiene-critical production areas. Depending on the specific model, strain relief and sealing are guaranteed in accordance with EN 62444.

An overview of the possibilities:

• Routing pre-assembled control, motor, feedback, or bus cables into wall-mounted enclosures, control cabinets, and conveyor systems
• Routing pneumatic lines to valve terminals integrated into wall-mounted or small enclosures
• Feeding control cables into gripper systems and vacuum suction units
• Cable routing and strain relief within energy chains

A major advantage is the speed of assembly: many components can be installed without complex disassembly. This saves time during initial installation, facilitates maintenance, and reduces downtime. This is a crucial factor, particularly for pre-assembled cables, as connectors do not need to be removed and subsequently reattached.

For use in hygiene-critical production environments, Icotek offers products featuring the relevant certifications and material properties. Features include ingress protection ratings up to IP66/IP68, UL Type ratings, UV resistance in accordance with ISO 4892-2A, and hygienic design, as well as material compliance with standards such as FDA, EC 1935/2004, and EU 10/2011. This makes the components suitable for applications where sealing, ease of cleaning, and resistance to media are critical.

For pneumatic and hydraulic applications, Icotek also offers cable entry plates with an exceptionally smooth surface. They enable the secure routing of cables and hoses while achieving ingress protection ratings up to IP66/IP68 and UL Type 4X. In food processing, FDA-compliant materials are particularly important to prevent contamination in the event of contact with food. A smooth surface free of dirt traps is equally important to minimize deposits and facilitate hygienic cleaning.

The product range is compatible with standard cutouts for heavy-duty multi-pin industrial connectors as well as round metric cutouts ranging from M16 to M85. This allows the solutions to be flexibly integrated into existing machine designs and new systems.