Mining, whether underground or above ground, is recognised as one of the most challenging operating environments for precision-engineered industrial gearboxes. 

SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa highlights its successful supply of conveyer drives capable of operating in an extremely hot and humid environment with frequent heavy downpours of rain, when it was recently contracted by a new copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that required 55 conveyor drive packages and 25 spare industrial gear units for its underground in-plant and above-ground conveyors.

The project required the company’s engineers to develop bespoke solutions to cope with the particular needs of the DRC location.

“One of the key considerations was to ensure cooling was sufficient,” explains company head of department engineering Andreas Meid. “Fortunately, our upgraded X.e-Series gearbox, together with the different cooling fans that we have available, were up to the task.” The enhancements to the series include better thermal characteristics and a longer operating life for the gearboxes. 

The high humidity in the DRC also meant the standard breather was unsuitable. “If we had used a standard breather – where the main consideration is keeping dust out of the gearbox – there would have been a risk of getting moisture inside the unit and reducing the life of the oil and components,” he says. “Our solution was a Des-Case breather that removes the moisture from the air and prevents it from entering the gearbox.”

The company highlights that its offering to the DRC mine included a ‘power pack’, which comprises a gearbox, a motor and high-speed, low-speed couplings, all mounted on a common base plate. 

“We imported the gearboxes from Germany and manufactured the base plates and everything else in South Africa to meet customer requirements. Then we put all of that together and shipped it up to the DRC,” explains Meid. SEW-EURODRIVE extended its capabilities to localise assembly of these products and more in its new Johannesburg facility, earmarked for January 2022.