Sugar Beet Processor Cuts Downtime with Sumitomo Reducers

Although every processing plant tries to avoid downtime, seasonal plants in particular know that minimizing downtime is the best way to insure a successful season. During the “busy” season, typically from October to February, a plant will run 24 hours, 7 days a week to keep up with demands. To keep this process running as smooth as possible, sugar beet manufacturers are finding it extremely beneficial to have Cyclo® speed reducers running their operations. 
Belts and sheave drives do not last as long as the Sumitomo Drive Technologies speed reducers because under the strain of daily production, the belts slip or break, and shut down the process. “We had trouble with the old belt drives, especially in wet or steam laden areas. Breakdowns and maintenance problems constantly plague us. Sumitomo reducers are the best drives for our operations,” notes one customer.

The Cyclo Drive offered by Sumitomo is reliable, even during the heaviest production months, and requires little attention. “Some of the first units were installed over three years ago, and we’ve done very little with them. With these units, we just change the oil every 2,000 hours or so”, says a customer from the Midwest. Cyclo reducers are designed to eliminate friction that can cause wear and maintenance troubles. The “secret” is no direct metal-to-metal contact. The Cyclo reducer transmits power from the input shaft to the output shaft through a thin layer of oil. As the input shaft turns, attached discs intermesh with matching discs on the output shaft. Viscous drag acts on the oil film to turn the output shaft. The cycloid discs rotate around a fixed ring gear. The discs roll inside the ring gear housing instead of coming into direct contact as in conventional involute-tooth reducers. The result—no broken teeth, less wear, and overload capabilities without slippage for a long, trouble-free life.