The latest technology unveiled by German drive engineering specialist SEW-Eurodrive at Hannover Messe 2019 has finally made its way to South African shores. Raymond Obermeyer, MD of SEW-Eurodrive, personally attended the launch of the Generation X.e series at the world’s largest trade fair for industrial technology.
Generation X.e represents the latest iteration of the highly successful X Series of industrial gear units, which has gained significant traction globally in industries as diverse as mining, cement and sugar mills, and power generation. “It was decided to introduce the latest series to South Africa in response to the overarching industry need for energy efficiency and optimisation,” Obermeyer explains.
The specific client requirements addressed by the new series are maximum drive utilisation in the event of continuous operation under specified conditions; peak load, in the case of an irregular travel profile, frequent start-up, or occasional blocking; temperature and environmental factors such as the permissible surface temperature, degree of protection, permissible noise level, accessibility, and serviceability; minimum service life; and extended service intervals.
Such is the quality of the new Generation X.e series that it is particularly suited to harsh operating environments such as mining and general industry. Here an increased thermal saving of 32% has been achieved, mainly by reducing the periods between oil changes. Other advances include an improved bevel pinion housing, optimised bearing preload, a non-contact sealing system, a universal cover with a fan system and optimised gearing topology.
Obermeyer highlights that the main benefit of the Generation X.e is that it introduces a customer-orientated focus into the tried and tested X Series solution. This has been achieved by enhancing the hardware, together with an entirely new computation suite, embracing simulation, which means that a standard product can now be matched to specific modifications and settings for different client requirements and operating conditions.
This smart combination of separate measures and networked software tools now allows users to configure their own customised gear units. It means that all industrial drives supplied by SEW-Eurodrive now have the full potential for specific optimisation – a key factor considering the constraints, rising costs and tight margins faced by many industrial sectors globally.
The Generation X.e is suited to a temperature range from -40 up to 50°C, and is available with a torque rating from 65 to 500 kN. The industrial gear units will be assembled in Nelspruit for the entire African market, which guarantees a fast turnaround time and readily accessible parts support and service backup.
“It is no longer sufficient to merely sell products to customers. We must look at their holistic requirements, and how best we can provide a complete solution that optimises all of their processes, as well as allowing for the introduction of our ancillary technologies and value-added services,” Obermeyer concludes.
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