THE AVAILABILITY OF DRIVE TECHNOLOGY IN PACKAGING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
Less technology, longer service life
Hygienic design: KOLLMORGEN reduces componentry and cabling
Only what's important: Direct drives such as the Cartridge DDR motors from KOLLMORGEN are one way to
achieve drive technology in packaging machines with less variance and fewer components. Fewer components
ultimately means greater reliability in terms of MTBF calculations.
The right designs, appropriate materials, and certified coatings prolong the service
life of the technology in applications in the food and beverage industry. If the meantime between failure (MTBF) is also drawn on for assessing technical equipment, then
the risk of failure as a whole is improved for every saved component. It really is very
simple: Something that is not there cannot break down. With regard to drive and automation technology, this is ultimately why smart architectures, highly functional degrees of integration, and frugal employment of installation technology ensure that
availability is increased. And finally, it is also about saving time and money on repairs
and spare parts.
© 2015 Kollmorgen Corporation. All rights reserved. KM_WP_000272_RevA_IN
Specifications are subject to change without notice. It is the responsibility of the product user to determine the suitability of this product for a specific application. All trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
THE AVAILABILITY OF DRIVE TECHNOLOGY IN PACKAGING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
One cable instead of two: In hygienically challenging areas of application in the food and beverage and
pharmaceutical industries in particular, the halving of installation technology between a servo controller
and servo motor brings with it three
very tangible benefits. Firstly, the
hygienic cleanliness of the machines
is better maintained, because the
danger of build-ups of dirt is halved.
Secondly, the omission of cables
saves valuable installation space.
The third benefit ultimately impacts
on production areas with strict deDirect drives without housing from the KBM series have been
designed as variably configurable motor building blocks. They mands on protection class; directly
are mounted directly into the machine frame.
affecting the availability and service
life of the technology. One less cable specifically means that correspondingly fewer connections are necessary. It is precisely
these that can quickly lead to stoppages due to faulty installation or damaged seals. Aside
from notorious "faults in the system", the reasons for unwanted moisture in the actuators and
the electrical installation technology may also be physically induced. For example, if steaks
or schnitzels are being cut in a meat processing plant, this work is usually performed with
product temperatures at close to freezing point. The goods can then be better processed
due to the firmer meat characteristics. This established practice ensures that the production
facilities have a similarly low temperature as the product itself at the change of a shift or after completing an order. The processing of frozen foods is organized with even more delicacy.
The cable provides pressure balance
If cleaning is now performed with high water vapor temperatures, the pressure inside the
motors increases with the same volume. This difference results from the high variance in
temperature of a full 135 K, with a temperature jump from minus 15 to over 120 degrees
Celsius. This physical connection ultimately increases the risk that moisture may get inside
the motors from the immediate production environment, due to the great differences in
pressure, if the motors cool down again significantly during the next phase of production and
there is negative pressure as a result; which seeks ways to be canceled out by the
surrounding humid atmosphere. For this reason, Kollmorgen uses a hybrid cable that is just
15 mm thick with an integrated pressure equalization system. In practical application this
detail significantly reduces the risk of moisture ingress, which would negatively impact
© 2015 Kollmorgen Corporation. All rights reserved. KM_WP_000272_RevA_IN
Specifications are subject to change without notice. It is the responsibility of the product user to determine the suitability of this product for a specific application. All trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
THE AVAILABILITY OF DRIVE TECHNOLOGY IN PACKAGING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
service life in the medium term. KOLLMORGEN has tested that this simple and ingenious
principle still works seamlessly with cable lengths of 15 meters. Of course, holes in motor
housings also serve as an alternative for pressure equalization. They are, however, an
uncontrollable nesting place for germs.
And it all works as it should
Kollmorgen provides hygienically clean single-cable connection technology both for stainless
steel motors in the AKMH range and for the AKM servo motors equipped with an FDAcompliant coating. This protects the compact drive units from water and corrosive cleaning
agents and ensures that fluids cannot stick to the surface at all due to the so-called "lotus
effect" With the motor-gear units specially developed for "food and beverages", Kollmorgen
has even gone so far as to have the gear surface guide undergo a hygienic design. There
are no corners assisting the build-up of dirt. Curves also support the flow of media. Nameplates are either inserted into the motor surface areas directly or are included in the Washdown Food coating so they cannot be removed. Also of great value with respect to hygiene,
the AKMH range does without a terminal box and instead places the connections below the
motor's B bearing shield. Everything is sealed off by a conically shaped cover with an internal thread. This smart detail makes the motor contours smoother on the one hand, because
no screws are required, and allows motor replacement without changing cabling on the other. With Kollmorgen, hygienic design can be achieved even without special coatings or
stainless steel. The direct drives of the KBM series offer so much freedom of design that
they can be designed straight into the frame of the machine. As a result they become an integral component of the construction and are protected at the same time. Since direct drive
technology works without a gear unit, this very component can be done away with, meaning
© 2015 Kollmorgen Corporation. All rights reserved. KM_WP_000272_RevA_IN
Specifications are subject to change without notice. It is the responsibility of the product user to determine the suitability of this product for a specific application. All trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
THE AVAILABILITY OF DRIVE TECHNOLOGY IN PACKAGING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
wear and tear and maintenance issues are reduced. Rotary direct drives also have the advantage that, in the same vein, expensive food-certified lubricants become unnecessary. In
addition, the omission of a gear unit increases energy efficiency due to reduced mechanical
losses.
Direct driving means space saving
Kollmorgen's KBM product range has been
designed as a construction kit for this area of
application. Therefore, with 14 model sizes, up
to five different model lengths per model size,
and more than 150 prefabricated motor windings, amongst other things, the scope for solutions is correspondingly broad. As the whole
scope for free design is standardized throughout, solutions are also available quickly and
machines are therefore quicker to market. The
torque motors in the KBM series reveal their
full strength when it is tight in machines. Since
they are mounted directly onto the drive axles,
it is not uncommon for them to save 75 percent on installation space which is otherwise
required. Weight, too, plays a role if drives – in
robots or portal systems, for example – have to
be moved or weighed at the same time.
Customer-specific drive solution for a packaging
machine in the food industry. Motorgear combination with Washdown coating.
Autor:
Dr. Petr Osipov,
Produktmanagement Motoren,
KOLLMORGEN, Ratingen
About KOLLMORGEN
KOLLMORGEN is a leading provider of integrated automation and drive systems along with corresponding components for machine builders all over the world.
With over 70 years of motion control design and application expertise and deep expertise in constructing standard and custom solutions, Kollmorgen always
delivers solutions which are characterized by performance, quality, reliability and ease-of-use. Customers can therefore gain an irrefutable marketplace advantage. For further information please contact think@kollmorgen.com or visit our website www.kollmorgen.in
© 2015 Kollmorgen Corporation. All rights reserved. KM_WP_000272_RevA_IN
Specifications are subject to change without notice. It is the responsibility of the product user to determine the suitability of this product for a specific application. All trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.