Zest Supplies One of A Kind Alternator Solution to Pilot Crushtec

The Zest Group has supplied a unique solution for a very specific application where quality and reliability formed the foundation for the project.

Long standing customer and leading local manufacturer of crushing and screening equipment, Pilot Crushtec was faced with the challenge of creating load conditions for accurate and reliable testing of its TwisterTrac vertical shaft impact crusher. The company developed a mobile test rig which would do just this.

Dawid Scholtz, design office manager at Pilot Crushtec, explains that the decision to build the test rig was based on the need to test load conditions in a controlled environment which is not always possible on a site as conditions often vary.

The configuration of the test rig necessitated the vertical mounting of an alternator so as to allow it to be connected to the TwisterTrac’s rotor shaft. The rotor shaft is connected with a V-belt system to a hydraulic drive, powered by a diesel engine operating at 2000 rpm. The alternator then, in turn, provides power to a resistive load bank.

Traditionally alternators are horizontally mounted in a generator set configuration and Pilot Crushtec turned to Zest for an appropriate solution.

Gary Daines, sales and marketing manager at Zest, says that Zest has a focused approach to its customer base and is often called upon to provide custom solutions to specific application requirements such as this one.

“In this instance, the entire unit was reengineered for its vertical mounting configuration, and this required an amount of design and engineering to ensure that the performance of the alternator would not be compromised. Both Zest and WEG are satisfied that the custom engineered vertical mount alternator will provide the necessary reliability required for a test rig such as this,” Daines says.

The WEG alternator was manufactured at WEG’s ISO 9001:2008 accredited facility in Brazil.

“Having our own in-house test rig means that all machines are now load tested at our Jet Park facility and this ensures that reliability in the field is not compromised,” Scholtz says. “A further advantage is that the test rig allows the testing of machines where new components such as engines are used.”

“Testing criteria on the test rig was established based on extensive experience in the industry. Once its working temperature is reached, the machine is run under load for between three to four hours.”

Daines says that the relationship between these two market leaders goes back to Pilot Crushtec’s inception some twenty years ago, and this latest project is testimony to both companies’ ability to work together to produce the optimum solution.

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