Gearmotors for Changing Environments
Packaging Machine
Case sealers are packaging machines that drive an open card board box between two vertical conveyors while tape is wrapped around the box to close it. An OEM customer uses two Bodine type 42R-FX (AC) parallel shaft gearmotors to drive the conveyors.
When this customer developed a new machine for use in areas where water might be sprayed on the equipment, naturally they used the same Bodine gearmotors. However, while these gearmotors worked flawlessly for years in the old design, they didn’t work as well in the new machine. The problems obviously stemmed from the splashing water.
Bodine engineers recommended replacing the fan-cooled gearmotor with a standard product that combined a totally enclosed motor with the gearbox that was currently used in the application. As a rule of thumb the horsepower rating of a fan-cooled motor must be cut in half if the fan is removed. The original 1/6 HP rated fan-cooled motor was switched to a 1/3 HP model (derated to 1/6 when the fan was removed).
Application Insights
The Design Requirement
An OEM customer of Bodine Electric Company found motors that worked flawlessly in equipment designed for dry environments were not working as well in a new machine designed for use in areas where liquids might be present.
The Solution
Bodine engineers determined that water was seeping into the gearmotors through their cooling fans. The motors were replaced with totally enclosed models that did not require cooling fans.
