Transitioning from pneumatic to electric linear motion in food processing facilities

Hey everyone, has anyone here gone through the switch from pneumatic to electric linear actuators in a food processing setup? A while back we had this older line running on air cylinders for pushing trays and sorting stuff, but the constant leaks and having to keep the compressor going were driving maintenance nuts. Plus during washdowns everything felt risky with potential air moisture issues sneaking in. Thinking electric might cut down on that mess and give better control for variable speeds, but I'm curious—what surprised you most when you actually made the change? Any gotchas with integration or hygiene regs that tripped you up?

Funny how these little motion bits quietly shape the whole workflow. Lately I've noticed more facilities tweaking their setups toward less noisy, more contained systems overall—probably because downtime from a burst line or cleanup from contamination hits harder than ever with tight schedules. You spot those old pneumatic racks still chugging away in some places and it almost feels dated now, like rotary phones in an office. Kinda makes you wonder what else we'll phase out next as things keep evolving.

Yeah, I've dealt with a similar shift on a packaging line couple years ago. At first the upfront cost stung a bit, but once we ditched the air compressor and all those leaky hoses, things got way quieter and cleaner—no more oil mist worries around food zones which was huge for us. Precision improved too; we could tweak positions on the fly without messing with pressure regulators. If you're looking at heavy-duty options that handle wet environments well, I ended up liking some of the industrial ones out there. Someone pointed me toward automation actuators https://www.progressiveautomations.com/en-eu/pages/industrial-linear-actuators and their stuff seemed solid for tough spots—high IP ratings and no fluids involved just feels safer in food areas. Honestly though, it's more about the long-term savings on energy and downtime than anything flashy. Just my two cents from messing around with it.