A leading company in the sector of equipment for squeezing citrus needed an engineering solution and contacted CLR, through a reference, to find the way to optimize the operation of your equipment. This company is leader in the design and manufacture of products for the hospitality equipment sector and catering in general, so it has an extensive and varied range of products, although it is recognized in its sector by industrial juice squeezing machines.

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Looking for a specific actuator

In your search for meet the needs of the hospitality professional, they needed a solution for one of their products of equipment for hospitality, especially for Zum juicersor. The customer required a specific actuator for an orange juicer for juice, which was small in size and had a low cost. Another problem faced by this appliance was the difficulty of Move on from the AC current to direct current. 

The challenges of a large project

One of the main challenges presented by this project was the possibility of producing a electric current restriction, since it was necessary to switch from alternating to direct current, through an alternator to Change the volts of the current.

Depending on the needs Specific to the movement What you are looking for, such as starting force, torque, power or others, and from the properties of each motor, you can bet on direct current motors (DC motors) or alternating current motors (AC motors).

On the other hand, for CLR it also meant a The challenge is to obtain a solution at a competitive price and always maintaining the best quality of service. All this, finding a device that had a dimension of approximately 200 mm in length and with high performance in the minimum possible space, so that they fit the space that was available to the orange squeezing machines.

The CLR Solution

CLR proposed to the customer the idea of using a device, specifically a custom-designed gearmotor, with which actuator losses could be minimized as much as possible. This would be achieved through the provision of the kinematic chain, thanks to the application of different calculations and studies.

That's how, for solve the customer's problem, was made a custom reducer whose most important characteristic was that it was a epicycloidal gear motor or planetary, but, in this case, with a custom axle with the specified characteristics, to solve the primary need.

Planetary gearmotors are gear trains in which the central gear has around it one or more external gears. Its most widespread use occurs in automobile transmissions. They are very devices versatile, since they are contained in a cylindrical reducer box, making it easy to install in small spaces.

Recommended reading: Advantages of using a planetary reducer in your projects

This type of gearmotors They have the advantage of being very precise and reliable because they present a great rotational angular stability. They have a high radial and axial load speed, which minimizes gear misalignment. It also guarantees high repeatability, its uniform transmission and the low vibration level to the different loads it presents.

Due to its torsional stiffness and better rolling, planetary gearmotors stand out for their long lifespan, in addition to its high level of efficiency, which reflects that Minimize losses a lot when they are working. These devices offer higher torque transmission with a lower noise level, a smooth rolling and Very few jumps.

Project Development: The Phases

In the project, several phases were developed:

• Study of specs and idea generation with the design team.
• Contribution of the cost of developing the project, always trying to make it as tight as possible.
• Design and optimization Of the kinematic chain through calculations and studies of the most optimal materials for this application.
• Design and manufacture of a functional prototype.
• Realization of necessary adjustments and industrialization of the actuator to be manufactured in production.
• Verifications of line and product tooling.
• Realization of Pro-Series (Engineering/Industrialization) and pre-series (Production), as well as delivery of samples of both.
• Carrying out the necessary tests for Check the operation of the actuator.
• Follow-up of the project throughout its lifespan.

All tasks were performed after the prior acceptance Of customer in each one. The result was a customized solution for the customer's new machine, which met the specifications and needs. All this with reduced manufacturing and delivery times and of the best quality.

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The added value of CLR

In addition to receiving a comprehensive tailor-made solution, our client obtained other benefits by developing the project together with CLR. Among these advantages, we can mention:

• Professionalism: The project was assigned to a design team with more than 25 years of experience in the sector.
• Personalization: A solution was obtained that met the specifications indicated by the customer.
• Speed: The customer achieved the solution in the shortest possible time.
• Quality: The constant control processes of the components made it possible to offer the highest quality in the solution.

In CLR We have been carrying more than 40 years manufacturing custom gearmotors and drive solutions. Our team of engineers He works daily to find solutions in the smallest dimensions And with application to different sectors such as automotive, vending, air conditioning, security and Horeca.