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FEATURE GEARS & GEARBOXES


NEW SERVO GEARBOX UPGRADES GUILLOTINE PERFORMANCE


With the gearbox on its high speed guillotine heading towards obsolescence, a manufacturer of process systems for the food and confectionary industries turned to Apex Dynamics’ KF180 high precision planetary gearbox series


ratio selection we required on the gearbox, and Apex assisted us with the flexibility for us to test the different ratios,” explained Oddy. “However, with Apex’s help we modified the previous design, implemented the unit, and tested the new capability, which then allowed us to choose the correct ratio to meet our requirements.”


PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS The company is delighted with the results of the new design, with the KF180 Gearbox proving to be a robust unit that can deal with the high speed long running service required. “In overall performance terms we have been


able to increase our guillotine cutting speed to 600rpm and also achieve better cutting accuracy on the length of 2mm, compared to 5mm previously. These performance improvements are very significant,” commented Oddy. BCH chose the KF180 due to two critical


elements: good torque retention and continuous running capability, and have not been disappointed with the performance of the unit.


“In overall


performance terms we have been able to


increase our guillotine cutting speed to 600rpm and also


E


stablished in 1835, BCH of Rochdale (www.bchltd.com) has a worldwide reputation as a manufacturer of high-quality


process systems for the food and confectionary industries. The company specialises in turnkey systems for the manufacture of products including starch gel-based liquorice, 100% fruit products, caramel, syrups, jams and preserves. In addition, it serves the food sector with process systems for the production of soups, sauces, sweet and savoury fillings, and a range of dips and dressings. Recently, however, the company realised the servo gearbox on its high-speed guillotine machine – which features as part of its extrusion systems and is also supplied as a stand-alone option for other industries including pet food – was becoming obsolete. The gearbox is a critical product as it has a profound impact on the speed and cutting accuracy of the guillotine. Faced with the need to find a new solution, BCH


took the opportunity to undertake a fundamental design review and target a solution which


56 DESIGN SOLUTIONS FEBRUARY 2023


would result in a guillotine with an upgraded performance and provide more versatility for smaller cutting at high line speed rates. “The need to change this gearbox and servo unit was due to the existing option we used becoming obsolete. Therefore, it pushed us into finding alternative options. This opened the opportunity to have more control over our cutting capability,” explained BCH project manager, Marc Oddy. “We knew that loss of torque under intensive working conditions would be a major challenge for the chosen solution and could have stopped us achieving our targets for speed and cut length accuracy. When we looked at the torque and accuracy elements required for a servo gearbox, we noticed that most gearbox manufacturer’s products lost a lot of torque when you reduce the ratio.” The company therefore decided to specify


Apex Dynamic’s KF180 High Precision Planetary Gearbox series. “The only roadblock we ran into in


implementing the new design was finalising the


achieve better cutting accuracy on the length of 2mm, compared to 5mm previously”


Commenting on his experience working with


Apex Dynamics, Oddy said: Throughout this project we have had excellent technical and logistical support from Apex Dynamics, and its local manager Malcolm Hillary has been very active in enabling us to test out the options we wanted to try. Hillary has also been proactive in alerting us to innovative machine control solutions and keeping us up to date with servo technology which may be of interest for other machines in our range.”


APEX dynamics www.apexdynauk.com


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