Case Study: Leading Foods, Dairy, Beverages, Pharmaceutical & Biotech Company achieves SF4 food-grade mirror finish and cuts costs with Proto3000

Mixers & Agitators For Processed Foods, Dairy, Beverages, Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industries

Leading Foods, Dairy, Beverages, Pharmaceutical & Biotech Company faced inconsistent, time-consuming and hazardous final finishing for stainless-steel mixers that needed to meet strict SF4 food‑grade surface standards (Ra <0.375 μm). To eliminate outsourced liquid electropolishing, reduce safety and environmental risks, and achieve repeatable mirror finishes, the customer engaged Proto3000 to apply DLyte PRO500 equipment and the DryLyte surface‑finishing process.

Proto3000 implemented DryLyte on a PRO500 with custom fixtures and a dry suspension media process that preserved geometry while reducing roughness from 0.9–1.5 μm Ra to below 0.1 μm Ra. Measured results: 2.8 g material removed per piece, 8 pieces per 184‑minute batch (180 min processing), media charge treating ~1,785 mixers, daily output of 63 units (3 shifts) and annual capacity ~15,700 units. Proto3000’s solution eliminated outsourcing, cut production costs by over 50% (OPEX €19 + CAPEX €5 per part basis), improved corrosion resistance and cleanability, and simplified waste and worker‑safety management.