Gearbox shows no appreciable wear after 14 million cycles

After nearly 14 million starts and stops at intervals of just five seconds, the Zeitlauf Performax 42 gearmotor on the company's in-house endurance test rig is still performing to specification - and it shows no noticeable signs of wear. The motor has been operating continuously for well over two years driving a conveyor system handling nine dummy loads, each of which weighs 50kg, in an arrangement that is designed to simulate, as accurately as possible, arduous real-world working conditions.

Chris Robinson, Managing Director of Zeitlauf Gearmotors UK Limited, comments; "All Zeitlauf gearmotors are designed to have very long reliable service lives, but it is always reassuring, for us and for our customers, to be able to demonstrate conclusively that this design objective has been achieved. That is the job of our endurance test rig and the results to date have already fully met – and, in fact, greatly exceeded – the life claims we make in our product data sheets."

The gearmotor fitted to the Zeitlauf endurance test rig was taken direct from the production with no special selection or modification. It incorporates a motor with a nominal running speed of 5960rpm and a starting torque of 0.14Nm. The gearbox is standard Zeitlauf unit with a reduction ratio of 13.2:1. It has hardened steel planetary wheels running on needle bearings, and internal gears made from high-quality engineering plastic.