Visitors to this year’s Electra Mining Africa exhibition in Johannesburg will be spoilt for choice as drive component manufacturer SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa unleashes more technology to drive productivity and efficiency.

Addressing growing demand for reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa will launch its DriveRadar solution for remote condition monitoring and maintenance forecasting.

An extensive package of sensors captures all operationally relevant physical parameters including vibration behaviour, oil level, oil temperature, ambient temperature and input speed.

Gear unit data is digitally recorded and automatically assessed. Results can be used to evaluate the unit’s condition and predict future changes in condition, providing a firm basis for predictive maintenance.

Also on the Electra Mining Africa launch pad is the single-stage M1 series industrial gearbox, for high speed and high-power applications – relevant to pumping duties in mining as one example.

“We will be demonstrating our girth gear capability, with a 3.5-m-diameter static model specially imported for the show,” says national sales and marketing manager Jonathan McKey.

“Visitors can experience how the model reflects both the mill and kiln application.”

Four of these girth gears have already been supplied to a large mining operation in Limpopo province.

At the SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa stand will also be the company’s purpose-built gearbox solution for air-cooled condensers (ACCs) used for driving fans in power stations.

“Our SEW MACCs will be locally assembled, which differentiates us from competitors,” he says. “No-one else stocks these components, and we will be able to slash the lead times of other OEMs by a multitude of weeks.”

The company’s new Aeroton production facility could deliver at a rate of three units a week, McKey adds.

High efficiency IE3 SEW electric motors will also be on show, as examples of the extensive range from 0.75 kW to 335 kW rating.

“An important benefit of our electric motors is that SEW-EURODRIVE designs and supplies the add-ons, such as encoders and braking systems,” he says. “Customers can source add-on accessories from us, which ensures them world class quality and accountability.”

McKey notes that customers will also appreciate the different ways that SEW-EURODRIVE strives to reduce TCO on its motors.

For instance, unlike competitors, the motor casing design features a detachable foot. If this is broken, it can be easily replaced, rather than forfeiting the whole casing or motor.

In addition, the company’s MOVIGEAR mechatronic drive system will also be there, comprising motor, gearbox and variable speed drive.

This is designed for flexible use across various communication infrastructures, making it ideal for decentralised applications in the field. MOVIGEAR is especially tailored for efficient use in the general materials handling sector.

Customers will be exposed to SEW’s new electronic drive – the MOVI-C – which will soon be one of the key product lines to be locally assembled.

This suite of modular products will allow SEW-EURODRIVE to offer better-than-ever capabilities to control the speed, acceleration, position and torque of multiple motor-driven axes of control systems.

“Another exciting innovation is our automated guided vehicle systems (AGVs), which we will also exhibit at Electra Mining Africa,” says McKey. “These are valuable assets in any automated process, and they are typically used for logistics and in the automotive industry.”

He says they can be programmed by a SEW mechatronics engineer to perform many different tasks of a frequent and repetitive nature. These AGVs will be able to be locally assembled, supplied and supported from the new Aeroton factory, he explains.