One of the largest steel-producing companies in the world recently called on its industrial distributor to find a mechanical adjustable speed drive for a belt filter press within a wastewater treatment facility. Used to remove a high percentage of solids from wastewater at its Detroit plant, the company’s former transmission provider no longer produced a mechanical adjustable speed device for the application.
“They needed a new replacement and went with an industry leader in that product category – the Reeves MotoDrive,” said Mike Kelly, Business Development Manager at Master Power Transmission.
A rugged mechanical adjustable speed drive, the Reeves MotoDrive transmits very high torques over a speed range up to 10:1. Units are offered with parallel shaft reducers, right angle reducers or as a non-reducer drive. It also comes as a pre-engineered electronic variable speed drive package known as the Reeves INNOVAdrive.
While visiting the Detroit facility, the plant maintenance manager showed Kelly a problem they had been having with a parallel helical gear reducer on its lime slaking system. Over time, the manufacturer of the gearbox shortened the output shaft, causing the sprocket to not fully sit, wearing the end to a point where it would simply snap off. The extra load capacity led to a breakdown about every nine months.
The steelmaker plans to order five of the versatile Master APG for its lime feeder system in Detroit. This long-lasting parallel helical gear reducer is produced in single, double and triple gear head configurations. Available as both foot mount and flange mount units, Master APG is a low maintenance, serviceable design.
“They are starting with five, but we’re going to start looking at lime feeders at all their locations,” Kelly said.
The steel producer has 22 facilities in North America, one in South America and another plant in Europe.
