Being located in Northwest Iowa, Groschopp understands the harsh environments of the agriculture industry well. They partnered with a manufacturer to build automated hopper motors that could be retrofitted onto grain trailers and wagons. The greatest concern for this manufacturer was finding a motor that could stand up to dirt, grain, heat, cold, water, and vibration.
Groschopp knew this customer was on a tight budget, so they worked with them to find a motor that would meet their specifications, but not be more than they really needed. Groschopp’s MOTORTEC software allowed them to determine the exact specifications the application really needed, and the intermittent duty cycles allowed Groschopp to fit the customer into smaller sized motor than if the motor would have run continuously.
The customer ended up with a 12V DC planetary gearmotor that stayed within their 100A current limit. In order for the motor to produce enough torque, Groschopp modified the design of the gearbox to improve the strength of the output gears. To make sure the motor could hold up against the environmental challenges, Groschopp increased the protection of the motor to IP66, added a corrosion-resistant protection, and performed a submersion test up to one meter.
Challenges
- High torque and high vibration for intermittent loads
- Meet or exceed IP66 protection
- 12VDC, 100A power supply limit
Solution
- PMDC 12V motor designed within 100A current limit
- High efficiency planetary gear reducer with strengthened output gears
- Corrosion and IP66 protection