The demands on modern airport baggage handling conveying systems are becoming more complex as the number of passengers and cargo per flight increases, while equipment space decreases. SEW-Eurodrive’s compact and highly productive mechatronic drive system is the ideal solution.
Mechatronics engineering manager, Norman Maleka says that Movigear has been specifically designed for conveyor applications to meet these increasing requirements. “Its design combines the permanent-field synchronous motor, gear unit and electronics into a single housing, meaning that the drive unit can be easily integrated into any conveyor system,” he says.
Movigear optimises the efficiency of baggage conveyors that run continuously and supports varying loads by handling up to 400% overload for five seconds and 200% overload for five minutes. This means that a smaller motor sized for continuous running torque can be used instead of an oversized motor. The result is an increase in the motor power factor, a decrease in power required to drive the system and associated energy savings of 20 to 30% during operation.
This is reflected in Movigear’s internationally recognised super premium efficiency class IE4 rating. Energy efficiency is further enhanced by the integration and co-ordination of its drive components, leading to an extended and reliable service life. “Not only does this increase the degree of system availability, but it also helps to reduce operating costs of the baggage handling system. This is a huge advantage in a system equipped with several kilometres of belt conveyors,” adds Maleka.
Proven success at Gatwick International Airport
This drive technology has for years played a vital role in ensuring high capacity yet cost effective logistics processes at international airports such as Frankfurt, Paris, Hong Kong and Sydney. In the most recent case, London Gatwick Airport launched a £1 billion investment programme to accommodate the ever-increasing number of passengers and raise its passenger capacity to 24 million per year. “The reliability of the baggage handling system was the main focus,” says Maleka. “Other key criteria were energy saving, reduction of installation, startup and maintenance costs, and Gatwick Airport’s operator recognised that Movigear was the only choice for the job.”
Movigear has only four variants, allowing for the development and design of standard handling systems with prefabricated and tested standard modules. The variants are Binary for stand-alone solutions; As-Interface for easy communication connection; SBus for functional integration of the drive system; and Single Line Network Installation (SNI) for simplified installation. “Gatwick chose to implement Movigear SNI as the variant best suited to baggage handling belt conveyors, since it is able to function as a group drive synchronising operation and features soft and defined startup behaviour,” explains Maleka. “It also met the criteria for reducing implementation and system costs through its limited number of components and low effort installation.”
Moreover, the drive is an intelligent device with its own control concept. Its high-quality networking features help to reduce startup time and support monitoring and maintenance tasks. Drive tasks can also be solved quickly and easily using the corresponding application software. SEW-Eurodrive’s innovative drive technology now forms part of Gatwick’s modernised north and south terminals with 300 Movigear drive units ensuring trouble-free operation of the baggage handling system. According to Maleka, this will be increased to 2000 units.
Technical support
With 14 000 employees across 45 countries, Sew-Eurodrive’s after sales and technical support is guaranteed to follow up every installation. “Service assistance and backup is an important focus for us, and a major contributing factor when customers choose SEW-Eurodrive,” notes Maleka.
In terms of support, SEW-Eurodrive offers commissioning as well as service and repairs. “This is in addition to full project planning advice from our dedicated engineers, who assist clients with complete drive packages and custom designed solutions, and training in our advanced training centres. Ultimately, SEW-Eurodrive ensures that downtime is kept to a minimum,” Maleka concludes.
For more information contact René Rose, SEW-Eurodrive, +27 (0)11 248 7000, rrose@sew.co.za, www.sew.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 248 7000 |
| Fax: | +27 11 248 7289 |
| Email: | jklut@sew.co.za |
| www: | www.sew-eurodrive.co.za |
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