Product category:
Industrial Motors
News Release from: Leroy Somer | Subject: Open frame motors
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 27 October 2000
Floor cleaner motor cost cut by open
frame design
When rotary floor cleaning machine manufacturer Truvox was developing its new Orbis range, the company turned to Leroy-Somer for the heart of the machine - the motor.
When rotary floor cleaning machine manufacturer Truvox was developing its new Orbis range, the company turned to Leroy-Somer for the heart of the machine - the motor The Truvox Orbis single-disc rotary machine represents a technical breakthrough in hard floor cleaning
Designed entirely on the 3-D CAD system Pro Engineer, the Orbis is simple, robust and more economical to buy and operate than any previous generations of similar equipment.
Truvox Design and Development team leader Pete Ward explains.
"When we set out to develop the new Orbis we wanted an economical unit that would still retain the quality of our existing machines," he says.
"Our strategy was on two fronts - the machine body and the motor." The first major change made for the Orbis was to move away from die-cast aluminium castings.
Instead, the new model uses high quality plastic injection mouldings that provide rugged protection for the motor and are easy to clean.
But the motor is the single most expensive item in a rotary cleaner, and Truvox challenged Leroy Somer to develop a more cost effective yet powerful unit.
"We use Leroy Somer motors in our other machines, and they have always proved extremely reliable," says Mr Ward.
"But in the past we have always used enclosed motors with a fan on top and a casing around the rotor and stator.
This was unnecessary, as we always put a case around the motor anyway." Leroy Somer's solution was to develop a new 1.1kW motor with an open frame, which improved cooling, efficiency and power output while reducing the cost by one third.
Simon Dodd is Leroy Somer's regional sales manager.
"Truvox were looking for maximum power from a motor that had to be flat and compact to reduce weight and improve the aesthetics," he says.
"We discussed the customer's requirements with our factory engineers and they came up with a unit to meet their needs." The Orbis motor is based on a similar design to those developed for use in lawnmowers, a market in which Leroy Somer has considerable experience of volume production, and Truvox was able to share the cost advantages of these economies of scale.
"The decision to adopt an open frame construction was made, to retain the efficiencies of cooling and increased power from a compact motor," says Mr Dodd.
"Leroy Somer specialises in adapting standard products for individual customers, and we were able to come up with suggestions and ideas on shaft length and motor mountings to suit Truvox's application." Truvox and Leroy Somer worked together to select the optimum "vibration tuned" rubber mountings to minimise the transmission of vibration from the motor to the machine body.
"To optimise the mountings we used Leroy Somer's extensive test facilities to try the machine with a range of mountings," says Mr Ward.
"Together we were able to determine which rubber mountings produced the minimum vibration." A 3-D Pro Engineer CAD drawing of the motor was supplied by Leroy Somer to Truvox to enable the rest of the machine to be designed entirely in CAD around the motor.
There are three models in the new Orbis range: an 187 RPM machine for scrubbing and other tough cleaning jobs; a 400 RPM machine for polishing; a twin speed 187 or 400 RPM dual purpose machine.
The 187 RPM machine uses a 4-pole 230V motor turning at 1500 RPM, with a system of pulleys and belts to reduce the speed of the cleaning disc.
The 400 RPM machine uses a two pole 230V motor turning at 3000 RPM, again with a pulley and belt system reducing the speed.
The dual speed model uses a pole-change motor with four poles that can be switched to use only two in high speed polishing mode.
A 110V version for the US market is currently under development.
By combining their long experience in this field Leroy-Somer and Truvox developed a new approach to rotary cleaning, and the new Orbis offers higher standards of design, construction and durability, at lower cost than previous models.
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