A customer in the textile industry called on the Westin Drives team to work on a mangle.
The mangle was powered by a
40+-year-old 9.5kW Elektra-Faurndau
variable speed brushed AC motor direct
coupled to a W.Bothner & Co gearbox.
The motor's commutator had failed badly,
resulting in the speed not varying as it
should.
Whilst this would have been repairable,
it would not have been a quick task, and
the machine would have had to be offline
whilst the motor was in the workshop.
A retrofit solution was opted for to
minimise downtime, and the Westin Drives
team assembled a WEG 5.5kW IE3 motor
with Force vent kit and a Radicon K-Series
Helical Bevel gearbox. To vary the speed,
a WEG CFW500 IP66 inverter was used
and controlled from a potentiometer on a
dancing arm which created a very efficient
system.
The shaft centre height was maintained,
so no significant modifications were
required other than the existing coupling
being machined to suit the new shaft and four new holes added for the feet.
With the mangle back in operation and
with the benefit of time, the old unit will now
be repaired as a spare for another machine.
westindrives.com