According to most industry standards, there is a zoning model for food conveyors, different from the zoning model applied to food processing plants.
Zone 1 Food Contact (Conveyor belt, motors in direct contact with food items)
Zone 2 Non-food contact but close to the food product (Belt Drives, Rollers…)
Zone 3 Non-food contact (Conveyor frame)
Zone 4 Non-food contact (Drains, walls, doors)

Oil-free drum motors are especially recommended in applications with direct food contact, i.e. Zone 1, and are a viable option in Zone 2 as well, where both motors with or without oil can be used.

Oil-free motors can also be found elsewhere in asynchronous version. According to our extensive tests, oil-free asynchronous motors do not work due to extreme overheating inside the shell. The result is a huge power reduction and a dramatic loss in available torque. Synchronous motors, instead, are by nature very efficient, which means less heat losses and a much higher power density. Therefore it only makes sense to make synchronous motors oil-free.

- The oil-free motor’s performance is only minimally impacted by the different type of lubrication. Also, compared to a standard asynchronous motor, oil-free synchronous motors are stronger and more performing. But they require a frequency inverter.

- Why does it matter? Speed and torque are slightly reduced compared to a standard synchronous motor lubricated with oil. However, high-speed applications are still possible if the belt pull force is enough. This is also true for low-speed applications. If top speeds and torque values are of paramount importance, customers should go for the regular drum motor with oil.

- Oil-free motor typical applications include transportation and packaging of lightweight goods, i.e. candy, chocolate, pralines.

Or any application where the belt moves slowly, i.e. when the production process is in steps and accuracy is of paramount importance, like portioning and cutting for instance.