When Heavy Duty Calls

With a rich history spanning 60 years and 80 countries, Bonfiglioli is a leader in the design, production and distribution of gearmotors, drive systems, planetary gearboxes and inverters.

Taking an Innovative Approach

During a recent project, two of our heavy-duty gear units were combined to deliver a robust solution featuring high torque ratios with the development of the 3/H or Combo Unit. Servicing the local market, this project was designed and assembled at Bonfiglioli's production unit in Sydney.

“This particular project was for an apron feeder which typically requires low speeds to transport heavy materials. In mining, apron feeders ensure smooth operations and increased uptime. The durability and reliability of the products used in an application like this are crucial,” comments Martin Broglia, Managing Director for Bonfiglioli ANZ. 

Heavy duty applications require special care largely due to the high cost of downtime and maintenance which sometimes requires technicians to get into hard to reach, dangerous places. “Thanks to the sheer size of these units, special equipment may be needed for maintenance; and although planned maintenance is key and companies are equipped to deal with breakdowns, unexpected stop in production needs to be avoided”.

A Winning Combination

Bonfiglioli has proven ourselves as leaders in heavy duty applications with developments such as our Combo Unit which consists of the reliable HD Series combined with the robust design of our top selling Planetary geared motor, the 300M series.

The Bonfiglioli apron feeder makes use of this Combo Unit as a cost effective and lightweight solution when compared to traditional methods of power transmission. “In-house service and spare parts for these units are available locally,” notes Martin. “These tried and tested solutions have been refined over the last couple of years through continuous improvement and product development”.

Our 300M Planetary Series is an outstanding solution for all heavy-duty applications where compactness is not an option. Thanks to its modular design, the 300M Series can be customised to match an extremely wide range of applications. 

In addition, our expertise in planetary technology ensures high-quality product design and manufacturing procedures. ”The 300 Series can withstand the harshest environments without the need for downtime. This planetary gearbox achieves top-class flexibility thanks to several outputs, as well as input configurations available for all 20 sizes”. 

The 300M Series can be completed with a wide range of electric motors entirely manufactured by Bonfiglioli. “Asynchronous motors (BN-BE-BX/M-ME-MX) can be coupled with 300M Series gearboxes, providing our customers a complete solution,” explains Martin.

With a torque range of 1,250 to 1,286,700 Nm and ATEX certification this high output torque unit is perfectly suited for explosive environments. It is highly shock resistant and has a built-in cooling fan. 

Further to this, the HDx Series is the heavy-duty range of geared motor and is available in helical parallel shaft (HDP) or the bevel option (HDO).  Thanks to high quality materials and an optimised design, the HD Series can operate in the harshest environment, as well as in explosive atmospheres, with low maintenance costs and long service intervals. 

“The output shaft can be chosen both in the parallel (HDP) or right angle (HDO) configuration to ensure minimization of mounting space. It can also be customized thanks to a number of options and a wide accessories portfolio”.

Martin concludes saying: “Bonfiglioli is well placed to assist customers with their heavy-duty applications. We have seen more orders for these units as market confidence has grown”.