Automation company focuses on energy efficiency

17th March 2017

By: Johane Turkstra

jornalist

     

Font size: - +

Drive and automation technology company SEW-Eurodrive has standardised all its equipment to be more energy efficient as of the first of this month to cater for the demand of various industries’ energy efficient equipment. The helical-bevel K19 and K29 series gearboxes are the first of such standardised equipment.

SEW Eurodrive sales engineer Nick McKey says the company’s helical-bevel K 9-series is between 95% and 97% energy efficient. This is a major improvement on the worm gearbox, which is an alternative gearbox design. The worm gearbox ranges between 40% and 90% energy efficiency, depending on various factors, he adds.

McKey notes that, although the units are not new to the original-equipment manufacturer as an international company, they are relatively new to the South African market. He explains that SEW-Eurodrive South Africa is planning to establish a local assembly line to assemble the gearboxes. This will enable the company to provide direct after-sales support “within 24 hours” for the helical-bevel K 9-series, if there is a breakdown at a client’s facility. Local assembly will also allow for delivery to customers within three to five days.

SEW-Eurodrive regional sales manager Clive O’Reilly adds that the K 9-series is becoming increasingly popular in the food and beverage industry, with the company having recently supplied the equipment to a newly built bakery plant in Port Elizabeth.

He says SEW-Eurodrive is “well on its way” to supplying more companies in the food and beverage industry with various drive technologies, such as frequency inverters. Frequency inverters are connected to the electrical motor of a gearbox and, by using the hertz, the output speed of the gearbox can be manipulated.

This is useful in the food industry for speed-sensitive applications to ensure optimal product quality. For example, when products are placed on an oven conveyer, the belt’s speed must be regulated. Should the conveyer belt move too slowly when baking bread, the bread will burn; should the belt move too fast, the dough will be underbaked, O’Reilly explains.

McKey concludes that manufacturers in the food and beverage industry choose K 9-series gearboxes because they have fewer breakdowns and defects, combined with maximum operating efficiency.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION