SW861 Cement Case Study.

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SEW-EURODRIVE / Case Study / Hollow Shaft Mounting System

CASESTUDY
Gearmotors: The Efficient
and Economical Alternative
by Bill Wake, SEW-Eurodrive Canada

One of the main benefits of the growing trend towards
modernization in industry is the opportunity to improve
efficiency and cut costs, as production lines are refitted
and new plants are constructed. With this thought in mind,
the switch from traditional belt-driven or direct-coupled
reducers to state-of-the-art gearmotors is seen as a smart
alternative by more and more mill managers.
The advantages are significant, not only from a capital and
operating cost perspective, but because of the tremendous
application flexibility that gearmotors offer. The evolution of
gearmotor design, in combination with today’s latest electronic
drive technology, opens up possibilities that were simply not
available in years past.
Conventional V-belt applications
Traditionally, V-belt drives offered limited capabilities that
addressed certain requirements within the industry. V-belts
were most commonly used for reducing motor input speeds
on specific reducer types, to keep them within their optimum
operating range. In addition, they offered the flexibility to
change or fine-tune speeds in the field after installation.
By adjusting the belt drives, the number of gear ratios used
throughout the mill could be reduced. And V-belts were
sometimes considered an inexpensive method of protecting
gear units in overload conditions.
Why consider eliminating
V-belt drives?
There are some good reasons for eliminating V-belt drives on
the input side of reducers. Apart from the loss of horsepower
and efficiency through belt slippage, V-belts impose overhung
loads which can limit the longevity of motor/reducer bearings.
Their limited flexibility cannot accommodate today’s high
stop/start cycling applications. And there are safety issues –
not only must V-belts be replaced as they wear out, but when
belt guards are removed, exposed V-belts are dangerous
to maintenance personnel. Moreover, the relatively large
dimensional envelope of the complete drive takes up
considerable shop space.

Practical advantages
of AC gearmotors
By comparison, AC gearmotors offer numerous practical
advantages. First and foremost, with modern helical gearing,
gearmotors deliver dramatically better operating efficiency.
Because overhung loads on the motor and reducer-shaft
bearings are eliminated, service life is longer. The maintenance
required to align belts and couplings is also eliminated, as are
the safety concerns.

Today’s compact AC gearmotor designs also save plant space,

not to mention the capital and installation cost savings that
result from smaller, less complicated mounting platforms.
Furthermore, with most designs the motor and terminal box
can be rotated to accommodate electric cable entry from any
SEW-EURODRIVE
Driving the World angle, an advantage in awkward locations.

Modular gearmotors offer

a wide range of gear
configurations.
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SEW-EURODRIVE / Case Study / Hollow Shaft Mounting System

CASESTUDY
Performance advantages of fully integrated gearmotors
By far the best reason for making the switch to integrated
AC gearmotors is performance. In a fully integrated gearmotor,
the motor’s low-inertia rotor is specifically matched to the
characteristics of the gear unit. This results in high dynamic
capability which is especially important for high stop/start
cycling applications. Also, the majority of today’s gearmotors
incorporate an integrated high-performance brake, ideal for
applications requiring controlled deceleration of loads.
Another advantage of integrated gearmotors is that they are
designed to work well with inverters. Using a gearmotor and
variable frequency drive (VFD) in combination, along with
closed-loop feedback by means of encoders mounted on
the motor shaft, indexing and point-to-point positioning
applications are possible. Electronic drives also provide
for fine tuning of speed and control, incorporating features
such as overload protection and adjustable starting torques.
However, advanced features notwithstanding, the biggest
gains in performance come from unlimited combinations
of motors and gear units that can be achieved.

diameters. Special design measures also need to be taken

to reduce inrush currents, which lowers thermal stress and
extends the life of the windings.
Typical inline
helical gearmotor. A wide variety of accessories are available to complement
the application flexibility of today’s gearmotors, such as
brakes, backstop units, force ventilation, feedback units
and temperature sensors, to name a few. Integration
of these and other accessories is optimized through the
gearmotor’s modular design.

Modular gearmotors are used in both simple and complex

Modular gearmotors
Helical gearmotors are the most widely used gear units.
The typical configuration has two or three gear stages
in a single housing. This makes the entire drive narrower
and lower in height, allowing for greater space savings.
The construction of these drives is simple yet robust,
and easily meets the requirements of most applications.
applications, in almost all areas of industrial production,
manufacturing and transportation. In addition to those
discussed above, recent advances in gearing, motor design
and inverter technology have made a large number of control
and process functions available. The result has been the
evolution of the intelligent geared motor.

Modular gearmotors come in numerous gearing configurations,

depending on the criteria of the application. If extreme slow
speed is required, a planetary combination helical gearmotor
may be the answer. At the opposite end of the scale, a
dynamic, high-speed application would require a low-backlash
helical bevel reducer with a servomotor. The wide range
of modular options available today offers customers a vast
selection of pre-engineered drive solutions, to meet the
exact requirements of even the most demanding applications.

In fact, the actual gearing is only part of the equation in arriving

at the ideal drive system. Overall gearmotor performance is
highly dependent on the design and operating characteristics
of the motor. The correct synergy between gear unit and motor
is critical in obtaining high cycling capability. Such favorable
operating conditions require low rotor inertia, which is achieved
by designing high-performance motors with smaller rotor Intelligent gearmotor with integrated frequency drive.
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Integrated drive solutions can be optimized plant wide for performance, reliability and cost.

Changing views and technology
For an example of making the shift from traditional drive
technology to gearmotors, we turn to the sawmill industry.
In the past, primarily due to the absence of any viable alternative,
hydraulic and pneumatic drives have been used for cycling and
positioning control. With the advent of today’s gearmotor and
VFD technology, improved efficiency for applications requiring
high-cycling and positioning control can be achieved electronically.
Equally important, initial costs are lower and payback is faster.
The most obvious reduction in operating costs is in energy
savings. In order to supply the required pressure on demand,
hydraulic systems must run continuously. This means the
electric motors driving the hydraulic power units consume
considerable energy, while a high percentage of the time they
are not in productive use. In addition to the energy cost savings,
one has to consider the complexity of the hydraulic circuitry and
the regular maintenance required to maintain reliable operation.
However, the energy savings alone makes implementing
gearmotors with VFD control an extremely attractive option.
To put things in proper perspective, a local mill performed a
study on converting their SC sorter/trimline from hydraulics to
gearmotors and variable frequency drives. When they compared
power consumption for both systems, they discovered that
the gearmotor/VFD solution would save them approximately
$21,000 per year – and that’s just the energy savings.
There were also important performance improvements in
terms of higher sorter and trimline speeds that translated
into higher production output per shift. The projected payback
period was less than seven months.

Hydraulic vs. Gearmotor/VFD Cost Comparison

Parameter Hydraulic Gearmotor/VFD Difference ($/year)
Energy Savings ($) 57,000 36,000 $21,000
Productivity (lugs/min):
• Sorter 75 120 $500,000
• Trimline 75 90
Downtime (min) 565 56 $5,000
Maintenance:
• Parts & Labour ($) 17,000 2,500 $15,080
• Oil/Cleanup ($) 580 0
Total Savings $541,080
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SEW-EURODRIVE – Driving the World

CASESTUDY

The ability of gearmotor/VFD systems to deliver capabilities such as programmable control for positioning,
torque limiting and current limiting, for example, makes for an extremely reliable, low-maintenance alternative
that can offer substantially greater uptime and improve the bottom line of any mill.

What’s more, such features give gearmotor/VFD technology tremendous flexibility for solving existing production
Ontario bottlenecks in mills, while offering designers a wide range of solutions when implementing new machinery.
SEW-Eurodrive, Inc. Of course everything we’ve discussed here applies equally to pneumatic systems. In the current market
210 Walker Drive climate, high demand for efficiency, environmental issues, wildly fluctuating energy costs and even varying
Bramalea, ON L6T 3W1 weather conditions can all have a negative impact on hydraulic and pneumatic systems – all good reasons
Telephone: (905) 791-1553 to consider a total electronic solution.
Fax: (905) 791-2999
s.marczi@sew-eurodrive.ca
The shift is occuring slowly but inevitably. The broader range of applications in the mill industry, combined
Quebec with the need for greater versatility and control, is forcing operators to look for alternative drive solutions.
2555 Rue Leger At the same time, innovation in materials and technology is enabling drive manufacturers to develop industry-
Lasalle, QC H8N 2V9
Telephone: (514) 367-1124
specific solutions, working with mill owners to optimize their applications as a viable means to diversifying
Fax: (514) 367-3677 their product mix, adding capacity and improving efficiency. Whichever way you cut it, the move to gearmotors
a.peluso@sew-eurodrive.ca is an important business decision that should not be overlooked.
British Columbia
7188 Honeyman Street
Tilbury Industrial Park
Delta, BC V4G 1E2
Telephone: (604) 946-5535
Fax: (604) 946-2513
b.wake@sew-eurodrive.ca

www.seweurodrive.com