A major manufacturer of truck-mounted hydraulic fracturing pump units needed reliable couplings for use on the engine cooling fan drives. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that extracts natural gas from underground shale formations. The process utilizes high-pressure pumping equipment that injects a specialized mixture of water, sand and chemical additives into vertical, horizontal or multi-lateral well bores.

TB Wood’s Dura-Flex WE50 couplings were selected over competitive units due to their superior performance and weatherability of their urethane elements in rugged oil field operating environments. The couplings are mounted to a vertical motor shaft that drives a cooling fan for the main engine, which powers the large capacity pumps. WE50 units have a torque rating of 7,650 in.lbs. and an operating range of -40°F to 200°F. The couplings accommodate up to 3/32-inch parallel misalignment and 3° of angular misalignment which helps minimize vibration and prevents damage to the connected drive components.

Dura-Flex couplings feature a “split-in-half” element design which allows for easy element installation/replacement without moving connected equipment or disturbing the shaft connection. The patented design of the urethane bond to the leading edge of the steel shoe bolted to the hub, and the high quality of the urethane element itself, provide the heat, moisture and chemical resistance required in this tough application.

Highlights: WE50 units feature torque rating of 7,650 in.lbs. Highest operating range of -40°F to 200°F Designed for easy install/replacement High moisture and chemical resistance

US (Application Assistance) 1-888-829-6637 press#7  www.tbwoods.com

Asia Pacific For a list of our AP sales offices: altramotion.com/contactus

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Excerpted From Taking the Strain

Over the past 20-30 years, the main technological development in brakes for mine hoists has been the replacement of less efficient drum brakes with hydraulic disc brakes.

These offer many advantages and, along with the introduction of AC motors for soft starting/stopping plus advances in control systems, brake components have become smaller (due to reduced stresses) with longer life cycles. As a result, there are significant cost savings associated with brake design, installation and maintenance.

Brake Selection

When selecting brakes for mine hoists, it is important to consider factors such as the depth of the shaft, number of levels, stopping profile, drum design and payload in order to calculate the braking torque required for each application.

Twiflex, which produces braking systems for mine hoists, is part of the Heavy Duty Overrunning Clutch Brake division of Altra Industrial Motion. Steve Powell, product manager for Twiflex, explains: “Our selection is based on providing enough braking torque to deal with the static out-of-balance load, in addition to considering the dynamic stopping duty. Modern control systems offer lower hoisting cycle times and high production levels, all of which affect the brake selection. The limitation for brake manufacturers is the friction material and the brake-pad swept area, which needs to be carefully chosen for the operating cycle.”

The Twiflex VKSD and VMS modular brake ranges are typically used in mine hoisting. These are spring-applied, hydraulic-release fail-safe brakes, which have a ‘parked off’ feature, meaning they can be adjusted to remove all stored energy. With zero spring-load and no hydraulic pressure, Twiflex says that the brakes are 100% safe for pad replacement and maintenance.

The modular design comprises two off-spring modules that are mounted each side of a plate.

Mono-spring or ‘floating’ versions are also available.

For mine hoisting, brakes are typically rated between 62kN and 320kN braking force, at a nominal 0.4 coefficient of friction with a 2mm gap between brake pad face and brake disc.

At this rating the Twiflex modular range is designed for over 2 million braking cycles to meet exacting hoist requirements.

In addition to testing the braking torque at the start of each shift, hoist operators carry out visual checks for oil leaks and condition of the disc surface. To assist with maintenance, Twiflex brakes incorporate a monitoring system to signal brake-pad wear and loss of braking force.

“All Twiflex modular brakes are subject to a cycling test and pressure test before leaving the factory,” explains Powell. “For mine hoists, all critical brake components undergo non-destructive testing.

New Products/Installations

Powell says: “The main limitation for brake manufacturers is the friction material and the brake pad swept area, which needs to be carfeully selected for the operating cycle.” With this in mind, Twiflex is continually investigating new materials to address this problem, and has installed new test equipment at its plant in Bedford, UK.

Twiflex VMS3/SPS hoist brakes have recently been selected for use at a gold mine in northern Canada. The mine is projected to produce 600,000 oz/y of gold over a 15-year lifecycle.

The order was for VMS3/SPS calipers for use on a 6.1m diameter, double-drum, single-clutch mine hoist that has two brake discs; one positioned on the fixed drum and one on the clutched drum. Each brake produces 240kN of braking force with a 2.5mm air gap.

The VMS3/SPS design also integrates small pistons for quicker reaction times, coupled with an improved drainage system and a reduced retraction pressure of 160 bar (depending on rating).

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For a list of our AP sales offices:
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The newly improved machine design features all stainlees steel construction to ensure compliance with the very high hygiene standards in bakery facilities.

Bauer 1.5 kW aseptic motors were selected to drive the machine’s powerful rotatingbrush bands due to the motor’s reliability and special paint coating that causes water to drip off the surface (“lotus effect“). This yields superior hygiene properties, better than stainless steel, which is hydrophilic. The aseptic coating is acid and alkali resistant to stand up to the harsh cleaning agents utilized in regularly scheduled machine washdowns. The Bauer aseptic paint is FDA and NSF listed.

The Bauer aseptic motors also feature a unique housing design which eliminates the motor cooling ribs and fan areas where dirt and debris gather, are almost impossible to reach, and where washdown solutions cannot drain off. The unit’s smooth surfaces (roughness value R ≤ 0.8 μm), all slope at least 3° to ensure fast and complete cleaning.

Highlights: • Units are ideal for use in food processing, washdown environments • Aseptic paint coating causes water to drip off surfaces (lotus effect) • Paint is acid and alkali resistant • Coating is FDA and NSF listed • Unique motor housing design eliminates cooling ribs and fan areas • Units feature a high degree of standard protection (IP 67); IP 69K is also available • Motors comply with IE3 energy efficiency class

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Prämab, the engineering firm that was awarded the conveyor systems contract, called their Bauer sales representative, Bernd Petrasch for technical assistance. In the course of several project meetings, Prämab mentioned that the annealing furnace contact was awarded to Mioba, a central German industrial furnace manufacturer.

Mioba had already started to plan and design the system using competitive motor drives. Together with Miroslav Slawik (global account manager at Basic Metal), Petrasch designed a new more cost-effective layout using Bauer BG Series gear motors. It turned out that, instead of the 2.2 kW power maintained by the competition, in fact, only 30 watts was necessary, which provided additional cost reductions. Another advantage was the BG Series’ ability to perform in an ambient temperature of 80°C.

In the end, Mioba, who had now become a Bauer customer, decided on the design change utilizing the Bauer gear motors. In October 2012, the furnace was put into operation and runs to the satisfaction of all.

BG Series compact, economical gear motors feature high-tensile cast housings Complies with NA and International standards, including NEMA, IEC, CSA, and CE Torque rating to 18500 Nm Low noise gearing IP65 Enclosure (Standard), IP66 (Optional) Completely enclosed, sealed against dust and moisture Corrosion protection CORO1, CORO2, CORO3 Connection Standard with CAGE CLAMP®

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