2nd Quarter 2019Electrical switching & drive systems & components
BMG has extended the supply of Varvel gearboxes and variators for small and medium power applications to include customised worm gearboxes for installation in photovoltaic (PV) solar tracking systems. Customised Varvel worm gearboxes – designed to minimise efficiency losses associated with the energy conversion process – are incorporated in PiA Solar’s ContouR+ single-axis trackers. These compact gearboxes, which are maintenance-free and sealed for the life of the unit, maximise efficiency by ensuring solar panels are always in the optimal position to track the sun.
The PiA Solar tracker solution consists of a horizontal single-axis tracker that is capable of contour tracking the sun, both along and between rows of solar panels The modular design requires no cutting, drilling or welding on-site and forms a mass-balanced system, reducing wear and self-consumption of the PV plant. The spring structure eliminates deviations in tilt within the rows, reduces peak power requirements of the electrical push-pull drive system that provides a constant tension drive beam and also protects against oscillation of the system at low tilts.
BMG’s lightweight Varvel worm gearboxes are installed on solar panels to ensure that they are constantly in an optimal position to be able to effectively track the sun. They have numerous advantages for PV installations, including an ingress protection rating of IP66. Other features include a high ratio of 1 120:1 and the non-back driveability design for locking the solar panels in place to resist external forces from moving the panels off their stopped position.
Hydraulic pumps deliver high flow, convenience and precision Bearing Man Group T/A BMG
Hydraulic systems & components
BMG’s range of high-performance hydraulic electric Enerpac E-pulse pumps is critical to all 700 bar operating hydraulic systems. These portable E-pulse pumps have intelligent auto-cycle functionality and an efficient power-to-weight ratio to ensure dependable operation and high productivity in challenging industrial applications.
Read more...Advanced solutions for valves Bearing Man Group T/A BMG
Shaft power components
BMG delivers state-of-the-art valve solutions to diverse industries across Africa, in collaboration with InterApp, a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality valves.
Read more...Understanding standby, prime and continuous gensets WEG Africa
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The increasing reliance of South African businesses on generator sets to mitigate power disruptions highlights a crucial need for proper selection based on specific operational demands. Despite their growing usage, there is still widespread confusion about how to choose the appropriate genset, often leading to inefficient and costly decisions.
Read more...PC-based control for advanced hydrogen storage technology Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The proportion of renewable energies from solar, wind and water is rising continuously. However, sufficient storage options are of the essence to use these energies as efficiently as possible. GKN Hydrogen offers a particularly compact and safe option, low-pressure metal hydride hydrogen storage systems with PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...Axiom reaches new heights Axiom Hydraulics
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
When Rula Bulk Handling could not source a cable tensioner large enough for a new cableway, the engineers knew they had to come up with an inventive solution. After discovering that no such tensioner was immediately available, Rula approached Axiom Hydraulics and ifm to assist with building their own.
Read more...Local range of planetary units SEW-EURODRIVE
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
s SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa actively extends its offerings to customers, the SEW PPK and SEW P2.e industrial gearbox ranges are good examples of solutions that are well suited to the local business environment.
Read more...At least 60 million strokes Horne Technologies
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Designing and constructing compact automation systems is one of the core activities of the Austrian machine manufacturer, STIWA. Its modular LTM-CI system has been optimised for small parts assembly. Linear and rotating micromotors from Faulhaber perform key tasks in these systems.
Read more...Innovative five-axis laser precession scanner
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Motion control specialist, Aerotech has launched the AGV5D, an innovative five-axis laser precession scanner specially developed for laser micromachining. This makes it possible to create high-precision bores, contoured slots and other complex geometries with dimensional tolerances in the sub-micrometre range.