Powerhouse: Separator with integrated direct drive

The principle of the direct drive is establishing itself on separators. Without a doubt: the integrated direct drive could be the technology of the future. As the first manufacturer, GEA Westfalia Separator Group will be exhibiting a separator with integrated direct drive for the brewing industry at Brau Beviale 2010. The PROFI^® 400i promises wide-ranging benefits, the space requirement, for example, is around a third less than is the case with comparable gear or flat belt machines. The complete technical concept has been simplified, less parts naturally also mean a reduced maintenance requirement which in turn increases the availability of the machine. Since the energy is transmitted with a direct connection from the motor to the spindle and the bowl, the energy losses are lower than with flat belt machines. In conjunction with the likewise newly developed energy-saving centripetal pumps, the energy requirement of the PROFI^® 400i can be reduced in total up to 15 percent.

The integrated direct drive can simultaneously be connected to the online monitoring system Westfalia Separator^® wewatch^®, a Web portal which, as a simple and self-explanatory tool, gives the machine operator early notification of potential faults. A big advantage of the integrated drive is also the fact that the complete bowl can be easily removed from the frame, therefore greatly simplifying access to the motor. The motor can then be dismantled together with the drive as a single assembly. No other machine on the market features this unique configuration with which the downtime for maintenance work is substantially reduced. With the integrated direct drive, GEA Westfalia Separator Group has succeeded in making a major innovative step forward with the integrated direct drive which is unique on the market to date