But this is prevented from happening by the overhead-belt container stabilizer, which is driven by a Rockwell servo motor and a Model PL-020 planetary gear reducer from Onvio. Like other such reducers, the PL-020 multiplies the torque delivered to the timing pulley mounted to its output end by reducing servo motor speed delivered to its input side. Mounted on the pulley is a belt, and it’s this belt that drives the overhead-belt container stabilizer.
According to Fabrice Othon, purchasing manager at NJM/CLI, the PL-020 is one of the few planetary gear reducers of its kind. Not only is it attractively priced, he points out, but it occupies an abbreviated work envelope. Unlike comparable devices that include an output shaft, the PL-020 has a flange mount (marked A in the photo shown here) and machined housing that make it possible to bolt the timing pulley (B) directly to the reducer rather than to an output shaft. In addition, the belt contact area of the pulley is centered over the reducer’s output bearings, providing higher capacity and more rigidity for high-speed, high-dynamic belt applications. This modular concept allows a machine builder to select from single or two stages of planetary gearing to create four standard gear ratios, from 3:1 to 10:1.
One added benefit gained from the smaller work envelope, says Othon, is that the interface between machine and machine operator is improved. “It’s a matter of ergonomics,” says Othon.
