Our market leading SH clamp has been designed to offer a wide range of benefits, helping you find effective solutions to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Made specifically for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries where joint cleanliness and efficiency are of paramount importance, the SH clamp offers the following solutions:

• Ideal for use in incredibly demanding environments, including high pressure and high temperature manufacturing processes
• Ability to cope with manufacturing environments which experience and temperatures and pressures of up to 150˚C and 50 Bar (g)
• Innovate design which has undergone rigorous testing and 30 years of continuous development and refinement
• Now available with an anti-gall option

ACL clamps use a variety of thread sizes which have been selected for the clamping force requirement of each size and style of clamp. The torque figures for our clamps are based on the following assumptions:

• The torque values given are for the common sanitary union design.
• Torque figures are based on maintaining ASME-BPE SG-4.2 CAT II Intrusion.
• The figures are based on the maximum working pressure (MAWP).
• Ferrules and gaskets must conform to recognised industry standards and enable the correct assembly of the union with minimal gasket crevices.
• Polymeric gasket unions should be re-torqued after allowing some time for the gasket to creep.
• The torque figure can be reduced if the MAWP is reduced and ASME BPE categories of intrusion are adhered to. However, a minimum of 2Nm should be considered.
• Torque is applied in a slow and steady manner up to the required figure.
• A suitable sanitary lubricant must be used for threads on unions where PTFE is the seal material.

Sanitary clamps are an integral part of your hygienic processing system. As they are the component that is most likely to be disassembled and reassembled during maintenance works, they are often the component that is most likely to undergo a continued schedule of cleaning cycles.

The cleaning of the clamps should always be carried out in line with the SOP’s of the facility. The below is a general guide for the cleaning of the SH Clamp:

1. Remove the nut from the eyebolt.
2. Wipe with Spor-Klenz saturated lint-free wipes.
3. Wipe with 70% IPA saturated lint-free wipes.
4. Wash using CIP COSA 72 (acid) and CIP COSA 95 (caustic)

Our Hexagon Flat Nut has been designed to replace the Domed Hexagon Nut by providing an innovative solution which reduces the risk of galling. The Hexagon Flat Nut offers the following advantages:

• The contact point of the hexagon flat nut is only on the face of the clamp segment; as a result the force is applied only to the nut face
• Galling tends to be reduced as the tip of the nut is not deformed – this often results in a tighter thread, as seen on multiple clamps
• The hexagon flat nut maintains the perpendicularity of the thread to the clamp body, reducing off collinear misalignment of the thread and further reducing the tendency to gall

All common sanitary clamp unions utilise similar parts. The majority of the component parts do not experience the usual types of degradation that other engineered systems experience. The majority of the degradation is experienced by the threaded fasteners and their contact points.

The removal and thus retightening of threaded fasteners results in a detrimental effect on the achievable bolt pre-load. As the bolt pre-load is the determining factor in the sealing integrity of the sanitary union, it should be considered as the critical component in the assembly. The bolt pre-load is the force that clamps the union together and prevents gasket blow out and movement of the constituent parts.

Our bubble traps have been designed to provide an innovative solution – helping you improve efficiency and reduce costs. Ideal for use in pharmaceutical and process applications, ACL’s bubble traps offer the following:

• Specially designed with minimal crevices to help prevent the build-up of bacteria
• All threads are self-enclosed for easy wipe down, whilst shouldered tie rods ensure correct O-ring compression, allowing for straightforward reassembly and maintenance
• All welds are removed, smoothed and polished to reduce areas where bacteria can accumulate and to facilitate easy cleaning
• The perfect solution for helping you meet ever-changing, rigorous hygiene standards

We produce a growing range of special items, designed to provide innovative solutions for use in the pharmaceutical, hygienic, and related process industries. Our range of special items can help enhance efficiency:

• Male and female threaded adaptors and hose tail adaptors, designed to provide an incredibly versatile solution, regardless of which industry you are in
• Bespoke items manufactured on request and ideal for applications where a ‘one-size- fits-all’ approach doesn’t work
• When used in conjunction with our clamps and other standard products, our special components allow for the development of incredibly modular pipe systems, designed for efficient pipe changes, additions and replacements
• Enhance your pipe system, not least in terms of increased flexibility but also in efficiency, helping you to reduce costs