Problem Solution
A CASE STUDY FROM YOUR FALK SALES ENGINEER
New Falk RAM® Meets Tough Application Task
DULUTH, MN -- When the going gets tough
in hardboard manufacturing applications, many "not-so-tough" mixer drives break
down. Then maintenance managers face the tough question: Rebuild or
replace?
Gary Farell, Superwood Corp. maintenance
manager, had to make this important decision recently when a mixer drive failed
in one of the company's ground-wood slurries.
Problem
After more than a decade of use, one of
Superwood's 28 mixer drives began buckling under the rigorous demands of
maintaining a 6-percent consistency in the ground-wood slurry vat. "The mixer
drive that failed was in our toughest application," Farell explains.
Superwood, a subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific, manufactures up
to 1 million square feet of hardboard a day out of its Duluth plant. Five production
lines, some constructed in the mid 1950s, produce hardboard for use in
automobiles, television sets and garage doors in sizes to 5'x 16'; and
thicknesses from 1 /10 in. to 1/4 in. Superwood also produces hardboard in
Superior, WI, and Bemidji, MN.
Superwood's first plan called for rebuilding the
old gear box. Final numbers on a rebuilt gear drive, however, proved
discouraging. "We quickly realized that we could buy a new unit for less than we
could rebuild the old gear box," notes Superwood Maintenance Supervisor Mike
Lofald.
Indeed, a replacement for the damaged gear came
only as part of a complete gear set. And bearings added further expense to the
rebuilding procedure. On top of these expenses, shipping time ran 10
weeks.
Solution
Instead, Farell had Rice Industrial size
a Falk Model 600 MDX Right Angle Mixer. "Among other things, the Falk RAM drive
looked like a more solid unit than others," Farell notes. "And, one of the
important characteristics I needed in a replacement drive was
longevity."
The gear box has a 39.39:1 ratio, which
reduces an input of 1,750 rpm to 56 rpm output. Completing the package are
a high-speed Falk Steelflex® coupling and
coupling guard, direct interchange adapter mounting base and mating 1/2
coupling, which mates with the existing hub on the mixing shaft.
The replacement drive was installed in
about six hours during a standard eight-hour shutdown. "We never missed a beat,"
Farell is quick to add.
An easily accessible gear drive helped save time. But the
Falk accessories, including motor bracket with coupling guard, also contributed
to time savings and precision installation. The Falk motor bracket and coupling
guard was assembled to the reducer and the
motor aligned prior to installation.
"Having the coupling guard in place when
we received the Falk unit probably saved four or five hours," says Lofald. "We
didn't have to fabricate a new guard."
"Basically, all we had to do was
disconnect the motor wires, remove the coupling, unbolt the old unit and bolt in
the new Falk RAM," Lofald remembers. "The replacement was so simple that a new
shop employee, with no mixer drive installation experience, installed the unit
with no problems."
Ease of operation comes as a welcome
addition to Superwood mixer drives. The RAM gear box already tops the company's
expectations for reliability 'We know Falk drives are reliable. "There are Falk reducers
that have been in operation since before I started here," says Lofald, an
18-year Superwood veteran.
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Superwood replaced a failed mixer drive with a Falk Right Angle Mixer (RAM® ). The new mixer drive was installed in less than six hours during a scheduled
shutdown.
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Falk Ram Line Expanded
Falk's new expanded line of RAM
mixer gear drives includes a wide range of sizes for small, medium, and
large capacity mixing applications.
Additions include the HMX series
for small mixing applications and the high-capacity LBX and LHX mixer
reducers. Like all RAM mixer reducers, these new units incorporate
drywells, long-life bearings, and large diameter output shafts to handle
the unique loading experienced in mixing applications.
HMX mixer reducers have a
hollow output shaft design with output torque capacities to 22,000 in. lbs.
and ratios up to 31.30:1. They are suitable for top or side entry mixing
applications.
Falk's MDX mixer reducers offer a
proven design for medium size new-mixing applications, and a reliable
replacement option for many popular sized Lightnin®, Chemineer®, and Philadelphia® mixers.
New LBX (right angle) and LHX
(parallel shaft) mixer drives are suitable for many high-capacity mixing
applications. They are capable of delivering output torques up to
1,060,000 lb.-in., with ratios ranging from 5.60:1 to 437.9:1.
For more information contact your
Falk sales representative or write: Falk, P.O. Box 492,
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0492. Telephone: 1 (800) 440-3255. FAX:
414-937-4359.
Lightnin®, Chemineer®, and Philadelphia® are registered trademarks of Lightnin
Mixers, Chernineer, Inc., and Philadelphia Mixers Corp.
respectively.
Form 930703
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