The increasingly high electricity costs that affect industry should make Movigear the mechatronic drive system of choice for most industrial companies this year, says drive technology company SEW Eurodrive.

The Movigear is designed for materials handling systems that run continuously, but which have varying loads. The ability of Movigear, for instance, to deliver peak torque for five seconds and 200% static torque for five minutes, followed by 100% static torque indefinitely, lends itself to application in baggage handling conveying systems, notes SEW Eurodrive, which adds that the user-friendly motor is easy to install and has energy-saving capabilities.

“If you take into account that 100% of possible energy saving comprises 60% mechanical optimisation, 30% electronic and 10% motor optimisation, the Movigear, as a complete system, is between 84% and 88% efficient – depending on the size of the motor being used. The motor design has been used as the benchmark for the IE4 efficiency rating or super premium effi- ciency,” SEW Eurodrive Electronics and product manager Paul Strzalkowski tells Engineering News.

SEW Eurodrive points out that the Movigear motor is ideal for the food and beverage industry, as many beverage plants worldwide are installing bottling and filling systems driven by Movigear. This, says the company, is as a result of the motor’s efficiency and hygienic design, which does not allow germs and dirt to become trapped in any crevice or corner of the casing. “The design of the casing is such that any liquid will run right off it. There is no motor fan to push germs and bacteria around, which can contaminate other processes accidentally. Movigear has also been successfully installed in the glass-bottle manufacturing industry and has been used by glass manufacturer Consol Glass at its Johannesburg and Bellville factories, in Gauteng and the Western Cape respectively.

As with all products launched by SEW Eurodrive, service assistance and backup assistance are an important focus and partly why customers choose SEW Eurodrive, states the company.

“When there was demand for the release of Movigear, the local assembly branches of SEW Eurodrive could not rely solely on the support and service of Movigear from Germany. Readily available and fast local service and support for all SEW Eurodrive users are important to the company and to end-users. It was a unanimous decision among shareholders to develop a complete Movigear assembly and service facility in Cape Town,” explains Strzalkowski.

Recently, Cape Town became the loca- tion for a complete service and repair facility for local servo drives. The Movigear motor is a servomotor, despite not being equipped with an encoder in most cases. As all the local gearbox and motor assemblers are experienced in assembling the FA27- and FA37-size gearboxes, which have the same construction and gearing as Movigear, it was a natural progression for them to do the complete Movigear assembly.

The current grounds of the Cape Town branch exceed 10 000 m2, with the com- plete store and assembly plant taking up 2 200 m2 of this footprint. Strzalkowski points out that there is no shortage of space for future expansion and little chance of overcrowding.

“Our Movigear assembly plant has the capability to service and assemble Movigear systems for the whole of Africa. SEW Eurodrive can also provide any additional technical and project-planning support that might be needed for the selection and design of Movigear-driven systems anywhere in Africa,” he adds.

Movigear was displayed by SEW Eurodrive at the Industrial Showcase Cape Exhibition, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, from July 3 to 5 this year.

Expanding into Africa
SEW Eurodrive says it has also gained measurable market share in the Southern African conveying industry through its range of locally manufactured X series helical and helical-bevel gear units.

“Having achieved significant success in smaller applications, SEW Eurodrive successfully entered the mining sector and, currently, the company is specified as the preferred solutions provider for several end-users and original-equipment manufacturers operating in the platinum and coal sectors across Southern Africa,” says SEW Eurodrive sales and engineering GM Conrad Pilger.

He states that the robust range of X series helical and helical-bevel gear units can be optimally adjusted to perform a task, owing to finely stepped torque ratings. The universal modular system concept of the series also sets new standards with respect to availability, while also offering a range of options, he adds.

The X series is an invertible gearbox; therefore, the range can be used for left- and right-handed applications. “The gear- box can be flipped 180º on its axis and boasts some of the best thermal ratings and characteristics in the market, as the Southern African climate makes the functioning of gear unit applications in ambient tempera- tures critical,” explains Pilger.

He points out that the South African branch of SEW Eurodrive has a dedicated engineering department that assists customers with a complete drive package and custom-designed solutions. Drive packages for customers include components such as industrial gear units, motors, couplings, brakes and base plates.

Pilger remains optimistic that SEW Eurodrive will continue to achieve sustainable growth throughout the African conveying industry. “We are projecting the same kind of growth that we recorded in the past financial year. Industrial gears will continue to contribute the most towards our growth, particularly in the coal and iron-ore sectors,” he highlights.

SEW Eurodrive MD Ute Boremann adds that the company has supplied about 80% of all industries in Africa, including food and beverage, materials handling, petro- chemicals, iron-ore, steel, sugar and aviation, as well as pulp and paper.

“The company’s main focus, in addition to its traditional operating areas, will be on entering the coal, gold and ports and harbours sectors. With the support of nearly 350 international SEW Eurodrive researchers and developers and more than 1 400 employees worldwide, the company will meet its targets and have a successful financial year ahead,” she concludes.