Drum motor design is on a roll

Interroll is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of drum motors specifically designed for belt conveyors and associated material handling equipment. Over the past 50 years, the company has provided drive solutions designed to be quick and easy to build into maintenance-free, hygienic and energy efficient belt conveyors for hygienic food processing and other demanding industrial applications.

The company's latest Synchronous Drum Motor is claimed to be the most powerful, energy-efficient generation of drum motors ever developed, enabling one drive system to suit all needs and speeds (0.01 m/s up to 4.5 m/s). At 80mm diameter it offers a space-saving, easy-to-install drive solution for food processing belt conveyors, that meets stringent hygienic and material handling demands and is available at up to 0.44kW. Unlike externally mounted geared motors with secondary transmission, the Synchronous Drum Motor easily integrates within a conveyor thanks to its all-in-one design and compact size.

High energy yield

The combination of the energy efficient synchronous motor and drum motor technology results in an extremely high energy yield. The planetary gearbox transfers 92-95% of the available electric motor power directly linear to the conveyor system, providing a total output efficiency of up to 82%. This means that the mechanical power loss in comparison to other drum motors or conventional motors with secondary transmission is dramatically reduced.

This eco-friendly energy saving drive solution is reported to offer excellent torque at all speeds, a maximum acceleration/braking performance, optimum energy-savings, low operating temperature and excellent start-stop performance.

The power loss of the sensor-less, all-in-one synchronous units has been significantly reduced and, therefore, the motors stay cool and thus have a longer life cycle. With a maximum drum temperature of approximately 45°C it also makes them ideal for handling temperature sensitive processes such as chocolate coatings, dairy, egg products or perishable goods like fish can be transported at significantly lower temperatures. This also reduces the risk of bacteria propagation.

For food processing and pharmaceutical applications, Interroll has designed the Synchronous Drum Motor according to EHEDG recommendations using only materials accepted by FDA and EC regulation 1935/2004. Furthermore, with its standard IP66 or optional IP69k hermetically sealed design, the component requires zero maintenance and is the suitable for use in for wet and high pressure wash down applications.

According to  Niels Bødstrup, technical manager, Food Hygiene at ISS Facility Services: "When it comes to cleaning and disinfecting, food processing plants are very demanding and have very specific standards and rules. Machineries, belts, motors, everything has to be cleaned and sanitised meticulously several times a day in the most hygienic and accurate fashion.

"The Interroll Drum Motor fulfils our demand for hygienic design: it doesn’t need any special extra care, it can be sprayed upon from all angles, we can use any kind of food safe detergent and its design allows fast and thorough cleaning. And we can use less water and less detergent."

The Interroll Drum Motor's optimum 'cleanability' provides for the lowest possible levels of salmonella, listeria, E. coli and other harmful microorganisms in the production environment.

The chemical resistance of the materials used for Interroll Drum Motor has been validated in real environmental tests. Cleaning specialist Ecolab, world leader in premium cleaning, sanitation and service solutions, has certified a 5-year minimum lifetime of materials when exposed to typical cleaning and sanitation procedures using the Topax range of products.

Flexibility in operation

The Interroll sensor-less synchronous Drum Motor can accelerate from zero to 100 percent in milliseconds and when fitted with a servo drive and feedback system, acceleration of up to 151 m/s2 can be achieved depending on the motor type and load. Clocked processes with stop and go operations can thus be significantly shortened.

Intermittent movements on conveyor systems for pick and place, filling or cutting as well as discharge operations or automated check-in terminals can be significantly speeded up.

Whether conventional rubber, PVC or PU belts, plastic modular belts, steel wire belts, chain drives or timing belt applications, Interroll offers the drive system to suit all applications.