First gearless drives for blown film.

Reifenhauser GmbH in Germany plans to display the first gearless permanent-magnet motors used on a blown film extruder at the K 2004 Show in Dusseldorf this October. Reifenhauser, which has U.S. offices in Ipswich, Mass., is building a three-layer coex line using gearless REItorque motors from Siemens AG. The 80-mm main extruder has torque up to 9000 Nm, while two 70-mm coextruders have torque up to 7000 Nm. The gearless motors are water-cooled, exceedingly quiet, and smaller than a conventional geared motor with comparable output. Their compactness is especially handy for coextruders. Tel: [phone] * PTDirect: 911BP