In food manufacturing environments, contamination prevention is critical. Processing equipment and machinery components must not only withstand harsh operating conditions — they must also support stringent food safety requirements.
That’s where Ticomp MD comes in.
Part of Dotmar’s advanced PTFE product portfolio, Ticomp MD is a specialised, wear-resistant engineering plastic designed specifically for applications where food safety, detectability and high performance operating conditions intersect.
What does “MD” stand for?
The “MD” in Ticomp MD stands for Metal Detectable.
In food processing and manufacturing environments, components such as wear strips, seals, guides, bushes, scrapers and custom machine parts can be subjected to wear and abrasion, high temperature and harsh chemical exposure. In the unlikely event that a component becomes damaged, breaks or detaches from equipment and enters the food stream, rapid detection becomes essential.
Ticomp MD is formulated so that fragments or loose components can be identified by metal detection systems commonly used throughout the food industry. Detection systems can trigger alarms, stop production lines or prompt operator intervention before contaminated product progresses through the process.
This provides an additional layer of protection within food safety and contamination control programs.
Blue colour for visual detectability
Ticomp MD is also blue in colour, making it visually detectable.
Blue is widely recognised as the preferred colour for food industry detectable plastics because very few natural food products are blue. This creates strong visual contrast, making fragments or foreign material easier for operators to identify during production, inspection or cleaning processes.
Combining metal detectability and visual detectability helps support multiple contamination control methods within food manufacturing operations.
Detectable by X-Ray inspection systems
In addition to metal and visual detection, Ticomp MD can also be identified by X-Ray inspection equipment.
While X-Ray detection is less commonly employed than conventional metal detection systems, it is occasionally utilised in higher specification food production environments where multiple detection technologies form part of the quality assurance process.
This multi-detectable capability enhances the suitability of Ticomp MD for critical food processing applications.
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Food contact compliant performance material
Food industry materials must do more than be detectable — they must also be safe for use in contact with food products.
Ticomp MD complies with FDA food contact requirements, making it suitable for applications requiring compliant engineering materials within food manufacturing and processing environments.
Beyond compliance, Ticomp MD is engineered for performance under demanding operating conditions.
Wear resistance where standard PTFE reaches its limits
The Ticomp range within Dotmar’s PTFE portfolio has been developed as a wear resistant PTFE solution.
Traditional wear materials can struggle in applications involving elevated temperatures, aggressive chemicals or low friction requirements. At the same time, while virgin PTFE offers excellent chemical resistance and temperature capability, it may not provide sufficient wear resistance or mechanical robustness in heavily loaded or abrasive applications.
Ticomp MD helps bridge this gap.
Being PTFE based, it delivers the characteristic advantages PTFE is known for, including:
- Continuous temperature capability up to 260°C
- Excellent chemical resistance
- Very low coefficient of friction
- Outstanding non-stick performance
- Broad resistance to aggressive operating environments
Combined with improved wear performance, this makes Ticomp MD particularly well suited to food industry machinery components operating under extreme conditions, especially where temperature, friction, wear and chemical exposure are all present.
Typical applications may include:
- Wear pads and wear strips
- Bushes and bearings
- Guides and slides
- Sealing elements
- Scrapers and machine contact components
- Custom food processing machinery parts
Local manufacturing with reduced lead times
Unlike many advanced engineering materials that rely on imported supply chains and extended procurement timelines, Ticomp MD is manufactured locally in Dotmar’s Sydney manufacturing facility, that has a dedicated PTFE manufacturing division.
This provides customers with significant advantages, including:
- Reduced lead times
- No need to wait for overseas production schedules
- Minimal or no minimum order quantities (MOQ’s) for many requirements
- Greater flexibility for both development and production applications
Dotmar can supply stock shapes, including:
- Sheet
- Rod
- Cylinder
Or provide fully finished machined components, manufactured to customer specifications.
Engineering support beyond material supply
Selecting the correct engineering plastic involves more than choosing a material from a datasheet.
Dotmar’s qualified engineering team can provide technical support, application guidance and design input to help ensure Ticomp MD is correctly selected and applied for the operating environment.
From material selection through to finished component supply, customers gain access to practical engineering expertise across food industry wear, temperature and compliance applications.
For manufacturers seeking a detectable, food compliant, wear resistant PTFE solution capable of handling demanding operating conditions, Ticomp MD offers a high-performance
