NORD strengthens partnership with Indian Steel Industry

German Gear Manufacturer established No.1 leadership position in 2013

About one out of every two geared motors newly commissioned by the Indian steel industry in the last year has come from the Indian operation of German drive technology leader NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. NORD has become the major mover in the steel & metals sector, peaking at a record 46% of the total drive sales volume in this segment in 2013. In less than ten years of activity in the Indian steel industry, the NORD brand has managed to rise to its commanding No. 1 position on the strength of product quality, reliability and advanced technical know-how. NORD has now supplied several thousand geared motor units to dozens of OEMs as well as all major plant builders and operators in the business across India. Some notable projects include e.g. over 2,000 drive units for the Universal Rail Mill in the Bhilai Steel Plant, over 1,000 drive units for SMS, Plate Mill, MLSM at JSPL, over 500 drive units for the Section Mill at Jayeswal NECO Raipur, over 200 units for EOT cranes, transfer cars, caster in TATA KPO and many more.

Given the inevitably harsh conditions and demanding requirements, delivering excellent performance at a cost-effective price is no mean feat for drive systems in iron and steel plants. As geared motors are exposed to heavy mechanical and thermal stress, they must nonetheless provide for trouble-free operation in continuous processes, preferably with zero maintenance, all the while achieving an advanced level of efficiency. Offering a versatile range of geared motor types to choose from, NORD can draw on five decades of experience in the steel & metals sector. Industry specialists can provide advice regarding parameters like power/torque requirements, bearing life, and oil temperature in order to enable users to select the most suitable product for a specific steel mill application – from a single system to several thousand units. NORD India has committed a highly qualified and efficient team of experts to a special sector management cell that focuses exclusively on the iron and steel segment.

Comprehensive NORD drive solutions are available for various different areas of the metals processing industry, including applications in coke and iron making, continuous casting, rolling mills, shearing lines, cooling beds, ladle transportation, furnace charging and discharging, roller tables in SMS, casters, section mills, plate mills, HRM, CRM etc., and various other conveying applications all across production processes. An extensive range of industrial gears, parallel shaft gears, helical inline gears, helical bevel gears, and helical worm gears with solid or hollow shafts can be combined with cast iron motors, e.g. ring fin types, as well as with smart decentralized drives that are suitable for applications throughout the industry. Roller table drives are a case in point for highly available, heavy-duty systems featuring superior resilience they must withstand a harsh environment with high ambient temperatures, heavy shocks and vibrations and heavy loads, and have to provide stalling capability. Gears in these applications will often require an especially robust housing material that accomplishes vibration absorption, such as EN-GJL-200 (GG20) or EN-GJS-400-15 (GGG40), reinforced shafts e.g. made from 42CrMo4, special coatings, synthetic lubricants, and special Labyrinth seal designs. Roller table motors must deliver high starting and breaking torques, be able to run at variable speeds, and be capable of instantly reversing direction. Frequent acceleration and deceleration is the rule; operating modes in these applications vary greatly, with S1, S5, and S9 duty most frequently required. Every roller table motor’s load torque must be high enough to reliably handle overload, i.e. cover for a neighboring drive system in case that unit should fail.

These motors will usually be either ring-fin or straight-fin totally enclosed non-ventilated (TENV) types, which NORD manufactures from high-strength cast iron that ensures maximum shock resistance. Featuring a larger amount of material as well as larger bearings and shafts, these systems withstand greater loads and have a longer service life than conventional industrial motors in the same performance range. However, NORD also provides alternative motor solutions featuring various modes of ventilation. Ancillary components such as brakes or incremental or absolute encoders can be supplied as well. While most areas in steel plants are hot and dry, with temperatures reaching 60 °C or more, there are also some like descalers, rolling stands, and sections such as cooling lines where conveyor drives must additionally provide IP66 ingress protection against spray water. Steam can pose a considerable corrosion threat as well. ISO F insulation will suffice for drives in many cases, but class H motors must also be available on request to address particularly demanding conditions. NORD’s extensive range of dedicated drive products and proven metals sector know-how ensure that steel industry OEMs, EPC contractors and end users always have the full range of options at their disposal.

Company background
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS develops, produces and sells drive technologies with around 3.000 employees, and is one of the international leaders in the industry. In addition to standard drives, NORD supplies application-specific concepts and solutions, even for special applications, for example with energy-saving drives or explosion-protected systems. Gross sales amounted to approx. EUR 450 mn in the 2012 business year. The company founded in 1965 now has over 35 subsidiaries worldwide. The closely meshed sales and service network ensures optimum availability for short delivery times and customer-oriented services. NORD produces a wide variety of drive units for torques from 10 to 200,000 Nm, electric motors with powers from 0.12 kW to 200 kW as well as the necessary power electronics in the form of frequency inverters and servo controllers. Inverter solutions are available for classical installations in the switch cabinet and for decentralised and fully integrated drive units.

For more information
Web: www.nord.com