A major drive to boost productivity at a platinum mine in Limpopo has resulted in drive engineering specialist SEW-Eurodrive supplying a number of complete drive systems with industrial gear units to the project.
The drive packs are specifically for three different conveyor systems, Rudi Swanepoel, head of projects at SEW-Eurodrive, explains that the first drive system has two 220 kW drives, while the remainder have three 360 kW and one 300 kW drive respectively.
The drive systems form part of the OEM’s X series, covering torque ranges from 6,8 to 475 kNm. The large quantity of predefined accessories available also allows for a great deal of flexibility in catering for diverse mining applications.
“A special requirement on this project was the extremely short delivery time, placing us under tremendous pressure to have the first drive system assembled and on the mine by the due delivery date,” explains Swanepoel.
The tight timeframe was due to the fact that the mine has specific shutdown periods for proactive maintenance requirements. In order to facilitate the schedule, the complete drive systems were assembled at the company’s Nelspruit facility and then transported directly to the mine.
The X series industrial gear units feature high and low-speed couplings, motors and base plates. These preassembled units represent significant cost-savings and reduced downtime, as the power pack is supplied with the input coupling shaft alignment already completed, a major benefit for the client in terms of rapid on-site installation and commissioning.
Swanepoel comments that this platinum-mine project represents a major coup for SEW-Eurodrive’s successful introduction of the X series: “It is quickly establishing a footprint, as they are the preferred industrial gear units that we are specifying in the mining industry at present. We also maintain a comprehensive stockholding, including critical spares, for full customer support and aftermarket backup.”
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