The Situation
The operator of a wastewater treatment works in North West England had suffered a breakdown on an old gearbox unit used in a sludge thickener application. Prior to its failure, the gearbox was running inefficiently with spares expensive and on long lead
times.
The breakdown had resulted in the site fitter having to manually shovel product out of the tank, to keep the operation moving.
The Solution
A technical specialist from Hayley Drives answered the call to visit the site and suggest a more efficient modern solution. A direct swap-out solution was needed, but this was not easy due to the age of the existing gearbox. Instead, measurements were taken and an alternative 3-stage bevel planetary geared motor was offered. The output flange was made specially to fit precisely in the space where the original had been mounted.
A torque limiter was also fitted to protect against overloading, helping to prolong the service-life of the unit and to maintain operational uptime.
The Result
The downtime experienced by the customer was significantly lower than if a direct like for like replacement had been sought. This was due to the quick work and product knowledge of Hayley Group personnel, with the solution able to be simply dropped-in.
With the new unit being 25% more energy efficient, the customer has been able to enjoy the benefit of lower running costs. Maintenance costs have also been reduced thanks to spares being more readily available and overall reliability being improved.
