Companies around the world have come to rely on screw conveyor drive systems for reliable drive solutions to meet the demands of transporting bulk material. For these critical applications, open, two-way communication between OEMs and end-users is essential to help drive customers with an accurate assessment of each individual application. To understand the demands of industry, a manufacturer’s goal should be to provide users with a drive assembly that will reliably serve the needs of a plant for many years to come.
For example, NORD’s screw conveyor packages, with their rugged output seal and innovative CEMA drive-shaft, are designed for reliable performance in screw conveyor applications. Some of the industries that rely on screw conveyors include agriculture; oil and gas; chemicals processing and handling; stone, glass, and concrete, food products, and wastewater treatment.
BUILDING A MORE RELIABLE DRIVE ASSEMBLY
NORD’s industry leading ratio range allows for the elimination of external rotating components such as V- or synchronous-belt drives. Eliminating the belt drive results in a safer and more reliable drive assembly. By combining high quality gearing with a leak free design, NORD delivers reliable transmission of power to the driven shaft.
Depending on the type of conveyor, different applications can see significant benefits right away. For example, shaftless screw conveyors have proven ideal for handling sticky and sluggish bulk materials and are equally well-suited for material with high moisture content.
In addition, screw feeders and live bottom conveyors incorporate either a single or multiple gearbox design and provide a means of moving a wide variety of material from bins or hoppers at a constant and controlled rate of flow. This type of conveyor is one of the most accurate and efficient to meter bulk materials. Lastly, vertical screw conveyors are ideal for elevating dry to semi-fluid materials from free-flowing to sluggish at very steep inclines and are totally enclosed for dust and vapor-tight requirements.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL SCREW CONVEYOR DRIVES
The NORD Screw Conveyor Package offers a compact and cost effective alternative to traditional screw conveyor drives. Closely stepped speed reduction ratios combined with a directly coupled gearmotor or NEMA C-face input design eliminates the need for top motor mounts, pulleys, belts, or guards. Minimizing parts and eliminating the belted input systems provides for easier system maintenance, increased reliability, and superior drive performance. NORD screw conveyor drive options feature a UNICASE™ reducer housing, Quadrilip™ reducer shaft sealing and optional high capacity output bearings with CEMA standard flange mounting and CEMA drive shafts ranging from 1-1/2 to 3-7/16 inches.
The Screw Conveyor Package (SCP) design is available for both CLINCHER™ Parallel Shaft gear units and Helical-Bevel Right Angle gear units. The CEMA flange assembly offers superior protection against unwanted debris with its dual Viton™ gap seals (0.03 inch gap) on either side of the grease filled felt packing seal. Drive shaft material evacuation ports in the flange help protect the drive system from debris. A slight lead taper on the reducer shaft provides for easy mounting and removal, allowing for some screw pipe misalignment and reduced bearing loads.
BENEFITS FOR END-USERS
For end-users, the NORD Screw Conveyor Package offers many benefits even beyond the reduced cost, from the large ratio range to direct drive motor options (Integral or C-face). Furthermore, there is no belt maintenance or belt guarding required. The advanced design means reduced parts, higher reliability, and space savings while also providing higher efficiency and more direct torque transfer. More than just an alternative to tradition, the NORD Screw Conveyor Package is a step beyond.
Alie Foy is marketing specialist for NORD Gear Corporation and can be reached at alie.foy@nord.com. As a privately-held, family owned company, Nord believes in the long term with a global perspective—providing a broad range of products, the highest quality standards in mechanical and electronic technologies, continued reinvestment into production, and a global presence. For more information, visit www.nord.com.
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MODERN PUMPING TODAY, October 2015
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