The Situation
The operator of a wastewater treatment works in North West England had suffered a breakdown on an old gearbox unit used in a sludge thickener application. Prior to its failure, the gearbox was running inefficiently with spares being expensive and available only on long lead times. The breakdown had resulted in the site fitter having to manually shovel product out of the tank, by hand.
The Solution
A technical drives specialist from HAYLEY DEXIS answered the call to visit the site and suggest a more efficient, modern solution. A direct swap-out solution was needed, but this was not easy due to the age of the existing gearbox. Instead, measurements were taken and an alternative 3-stage bevel planetary geared motor was offered. A bespoke output flange was engineered to fit precisely in the space where the original had been mounted. A torque limiter was also fitted to protect against overloading, helping to prolong the service life of the unit and to maintain operational uptime.
"THE NEW UNIT IS 25% MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT THAT THE PREVIOUS GEARBOX."
The Result
The downtime experienced by the customer was significantly lower than if a direct like for like replacement had been sourced. This was due to the quick work and technical product knowledge of HAYLEY DEXIS personnel, with the solution able to be simply dropped-in. With the new unit being 25% more energy efficient, the customer has been able to enjoy the benefit of lower running costs. Maintenance costs have also been reduced thanks to spares being more readily available and overall reliability being improved.