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DRIVES, CONTROLS & MOTORS


FEATURE


DRUM MOTORS: A RELIABLE SOLUTION FOR DEPOSIT RETURN SYSTEMS


With reliability essential for Sielaff’s deposit return systems, powerful drum motors from Rulmeca have been specified to drive the belt conveyors


S


ielaff deposit return systems are designed to meet the highest quality standards. Above all, fast removal of the


individual bottles is essential for delay-free acceptance of the empties. To achieve this, the company relies on drum motors from Rulmeca. Thanks to their double-ball design,


two conveyor belts can be driven with one motor. This increases the capacity of the systems, increases their availability and reduces costs compared to the option of using a single drum motor for each belt.


HIGH AVAILABILITY The aim of Sielaff’s high-quality production is to ensure high availability of the machines with no, or as little as possible, downtime and a long service life in order to maximise customer satisfaction. The deposit return terminals are mainly


installed in supermarkets, but also in canteens and other public places such as event venues, sports facilities, hospitals and educational establishments. In the food retail sector, the aforementioned reliability is of central importance. If, for example, the motor for transporting the empties to the bottle


Belt conveyors driven by a Rulmeca drum motor are used to transport the bottles to the end of the bottle table, where they are accumulated for removal


table fails, the entire machine comes to a standstill. This results in waiting times for customers and the return process no longer works. The reliability of the components used in the two modular return systems MonoSort and DualSort is therefore essential. The complexity of the system begins behind


the acceptance opening. Once the deposit bottle has been inserted, the one-way bottles are compacted. Bottle crates are also ejected right at the beginning and then temporarily stored on Euro pallets until collection. What remains are the returnable single-use bottles made of PET plastic or glass. At the end of the receiving terminal, these run onto a so-called bottle table, where they are sorted into crates by store employees. Belt conveyors are used to transport the


bottles to the end of the bottle table, where they are accumulated for removal. Sielaff uses a drum motor solution from the manufacturer Rulmeca to drive this belt.


THE SOLUTION Thanks to the powerful motor, which can drive not just one but two belts simultaneously, the company saves on one drive. Together with the space-saving design of the drum motor, this also makes the system more compact and less susceptible to faults. The high protection class also contributes to the robustness. The motors are available in


IP66 or IP69, which means that liquids from leaking returnable bottles cannot interfere with their operational safety. Sielaff’s decision to work with Rulmeca in the motor sector was, however, primarily due to the flexibility in the design of the drive. The OEM was particularly impressed by Rulmeca’s openness to realise the special design requested by Sielaff, with a two-ball design of the drum motor. This doubles the capacity of the bottles that can be picked up. The empties can be separated by the two belts according to container type and thus automatically pre-sorted – into cups on one belt and bottles on the other, for example. As a result, the second belt not only increases throughput, but it also makes downstream handling faster and more efficient.


THE BENEFITS • Reliable delivery capability • Increases the capacity of the systems • Reduces system downtimes thanks to motors with IP66 / IP69


• Increases the availability of the production machine • Reduces costs compared to the option of using an individual drum motor for each belt.


Rulmeca www.rulmeca.com


JUNE 2024 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 41


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