Power Efficiency for Compact Versatile Blower

Its design is fundamentally different from other belt driven units. This is because the blower head is cast and machined as a single piece with equally spaced bearings configured specifically to provide even loading from the belt drive which allows the belt to be run at much lower tension resulting in significantly reduced loads on all parts of the assembly.

In addition to fulfilling ACI’s customers’ diverse requirements, it is also at the heart of the company’s own highly successful bottle and can drying systems which are installed in the breweries and soft drinks plants of leading international companies around the world.

An integral component of ACI’s EP10 blower is the motor, which must be reliable and have international backup in order to ensure customer satisfaction plus minimise risk of expensive downtime. The motor chosen is the ‘Progressive’ motor from Lafert.

Lafert’s Progressive motors are designed to give engineers more power for weight/size than conventional comparable IEC frame size machines. This is particularly beneficial for ACI’s bottle and can drying application because it helps to reduce the foot print of the dryer without impairing the blower’s efficiency.

“The Lafert motors help us to achieve our customers’ bottle and can drying needs whilst minimizing the space required, which is always at a premium” said Jason Bean, ACI’s Manufacturing Director. “This is complemented by the reassurance to our customers that being an international company, Lafert can provide a prompt backup response in most places around the world.”

ACI uses both 2 pole 11 and 15kW Progressive motors in 132 frame size. These have similar outputs as 160 IEC machines.

Lafert Progressive motors are available as 2, 4 and 6 pole units. Two pole motors are available in frame sizes from 63 to 180 with powers up to 30kW; 4 pole units 63 to 250 with ratings up to 75kW and 6 pole machines 100 to 132 and 7.5kW.

The increased output from the motors is made possible by extending the internal lamination pack and building in more active material. Some of the motors utilise the class F temperature rise available from class F insulation. The multi-voltage input of 380-420V 50Hz/440-480V 60Hz is unaffected and still available.