Sugar mill innovation: new drive system for pulp presses

Sugar mills only operate for 3 to 4 months a year during the sugar production season. In this short period of time it is a non-stop production process with high demands on reliability, such as a required machine availability of 100%. One of our customers in this industry is CSM Suiker BV who are continuously trying to improve their plants. An important issue is for example the maintenance-costs of the gearboxes on the pulp presses. The previous 4-stage gearbox consisted of 6 gear sets (split power) with low safety factors; it subsequently suffered from excessive damage and wear. CSM started to look for improvements in co-operation with Stork Gears & Services. The reason they chose Stork Gears & Services is because of our broad expertise with gearboxes and our experience in the sugar industry. We engineered a new 1-stage gearbox with 2 double helical gear sets. This design resulted in a gearbox that is no longer exposed to internal axial forces and has less rotating parts. This new built gearbox, combined with a frequency controlled hydraulic drive system from Hägglunds, is now able to press more efficiently using higher torque-levels at lower rpm’s. See technical drawings.. » Advantages of the new gearbox: Larger speed range (from 1 to 4 rpm) for the screws. Only 2 gear sets, which reduces the risk of damage and increases the lifespan. Optimized viscosity of the lubrication for gears and bearings. Double helical gears which reduces housing-stress by eliminating internal axial forces. No synchronizing problems because of direct connection between screws via gears. Higher torque at low revolutions, which results in more efficient drying. Simple self-lubricating system that doesn’t need monitoring. By using this gearbox design, it is possible to use relatively small hydromotors, which reduces investment costs.

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