What problems should be considered in the selection of slew drive?

Slew drive is essentially a supporting rotating device, but due to it has more advantages than slewing bearings, more and more traditional industries are now beginning to use slewing drives to replace slewing rings.

The slewing accuracy and other conditions that the slew drive can provide also enable some mechanical technologies that require precise control to be realized. Choosing a suitable slew drive is an important condition for the normal and smooth operation of mechanical equipment.

When designing the slew drive, many problems should be considered, such as axial load, radial load, tilting moment torque, positioning accuracy, gear ratio, etc. So what are the problems should be considered when selecting a suitable slew drive? Please see the answer of the Unique Transmission.

Equipment performance requirements:

We always talk about cost performance when we buy things, the same goes for slew drives. Under the condition of meeting the performance requirements of the equipment, choosing a smaller slew drive can save cost. For example, the equipment must reach a certain load, achieve higher accuracy and bear greater tilting moment torque. According to different requirements, select the slewing drive that meets the requirements.

Installation form:

slew drive has various shapes, which can be installed horizontally and vertically. Therefore, the style of slew drive should be selected according to the installation space conditions of the mechanical equipment.

Operating conditions:

Consider what environmental conditions is the mechanical equipment being used. The slew drive has open type and closed type, which can meet different working conditions. The enclosed slew drive is protected by a housing and has a higher protection degree. It can be used in harsh environments such as dust, humidity and sand. Open slew drive has a better advantage to the price and can be used in normal environments.

Rotation direction required by mechanical equipment:

The main function of slewing drive is rotation, but if the mechanical equipment needs to rotate in different directions, you can choose a dual axis slew drive to meet the horizontal and vertical rotation. If there is only one azimuth rotation, you can choose single axis slew drive, then choose horizontal or vertical installation to meet single azimuth rotation.

Rotation accuracy required by mechanical equipment:

The slewing drive provided by Unique Transmission has ordinary and precision products. If the mechanical equipment has high requirements on the rotation accuracy, you can choose the precision slew drive. If the mechanical equipment has no requirements on the rotation accuracy, you can choose the ordinary accuracy slew drive.

Power source of mechanical equipment:

When choosing a suitable slewing drive, it is also necessary to consider that the power source provided has sufficient power. If the equipment equipped with a smaller motor and a larger slew drive is selected, then it is very likely that the motor will not move the slewing drive, causing the slew drive to fail to rotate. Therefore, it is also very important to consider the power source of mechanical equipment when choosing a slew drive.

The slewing drive selection is basically to consider these issues, which may be a complicated process for you. In fact, you don’t need to solve these problems by yourself. You can contact us and our engineers will assist you and help you to choose a suitable and economical slew drive.