Super-smooth stainless-steel biopharma gearboxes

Super-smooth stainless-steel gearboxes provide an advanced clean-in-place solution for food/biopharma machinery: easy to sanitize, these electric motor gearboxes can be exposed to harsh chemicals

Baldor has launched a range of all-stainless-steel gearboxes for electric motors, providing machine builders with optimal speed-reducing solutions for clean-area automation such as conveyors.

The worm-style gearboxes set a new performance standard for food, pharmaceutical and chemical machinery applications through advanced features that include complete sealing, very smooth 316-grade steel exterior surfaces, and a hollow shaft for direct connection to the load.

The new Baldor 900 Series of gearboxes provides a single reduction with a choice of 8 ratios from 60 to 5 - providing a 29 to 350RPM output from a standard 1750RPM motor for example.

A C-face quill-style input is provided for connection to the motor.

Three sizes are available, spanning centre distances from 1.75 to 2.62inches/4.45 to 6.66cm, supporting continuous duty output torques from 160 to 1074in-lbs/18-121Nm depending on the model variant selected from a range of over 50.

For maximum reliability and ease of use, the gearboxes include an internal compression chamber and expansion bladder.

These features eliminate the need for a breather vent, which can provide a route for contaminants such as water - a major cause of failure in pressure-washdown processing environments.

Additionally, the gearboxes are constructed using all stainless steel materials, with high-grade 316 material used for the exterior casing.

This provides a very high resistance to corrosion, for compatibility with caustic cleaning agents, and even the ability to be used in harsh chemical processing environments.

The casing is cast using a special mould to create a standard surface finish of typically ~6.3Ra.

This smoothness can be enhanced even further with the Baldor optional electro-polishing service.

The protection delivered by these features provides a much more robust and versatile solution than conventional gearboxes made with cast iron or aluminium - which are prone to pitting corrosion and other damage from cleaning solutions.

Another factor in optimising the gearbox suitability for washdown environments is the provision of hollow-bore shafts.

These facilitate direct connection to loads, eliminating the cost and space required for a coupling mechanism, and with it any need for washdown guarding.

Solid shafts are also available.

Baldor offers a range of compatible stainless steel motors to complement the 900 Series gearboxes.

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