POWER TRANSMISSION
Force to reckon with
To ensure power transmission systems run in the most cost-efficient way a wide range of gear
technology is available in many types and sizes. Colin Carter reports
DIRECT DRIVE motors, both mechanical
and electrical, are used where a steady
load or fixed speed is required. But for
applications such as the car — which
relies on a power transmission system
based on gears, linkages and a clutch — a
more complex solution is needed.
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Without some kind of gearing
system the rotational speeds required
to move a car at any speed beyond the
average for London traffic would be
so high as to be inefficient and would
probably shake an average SUV apart in
a matter of months.
Even if an internal combustion engine
could be manufactured to produce a
suitable output — a typical engine runs at
between 600 rpm and 7,000 rpm — the
car’s wheels typically revolve at
around 0–1800 rpm.
The same problems apply to
industrial applications where large
forces need to be transmitted.
South Africa-based David Brown
Engineering, for example, has received
an order from F L Smidth Minerals to
supply a gear weighing some 65 tonnes
as part of a contract for Armenia. The
gear is so big it will have to be
‘Speed matching was becoming an increasing
problem for the roller tables that conveyed
steel from the furnaces’ Jim Cossar, Corus
transported in four sections to the
republic.
The steel industry needs to move
huge pieces of metal around and,
subsequently, many of the motors
driving these moving ingots and billets
require transmission systems
to operate effectively. One such
installation is that provided by
Siemens Flender at Corus’ Clydebridge
works, which makes continues 40 ➜
the EnGIneeR 14–27 JULY 2008
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