All-stainless, hoseproof motor is `unique`

AEG claims to be offering the UK`s only hoseproof IEC motor with an all-stainless-steel body. The company has set up a special division, Marlin Stainless, to market the new motors to the food, pharmaceutical and process industries.

The motors have been developed over the past 18 months at AEG`s Italian headquarters. Every external part, including the shafts, is made from 304 stainless steel. They have smooth exteriors with no cooling fins or nameplates to collect dirt or bacteria. Each motor`s data is etched into its body.

The IP66 motors are designed to withstand high-pressure washdowns, including the use of chemical cleaning agents. They have double seals and their stator windings are double vacuum and pressure impregnated. They use sealed bearings, origianlly produced for snowmobiles, which have a wide operating temperature range.

To overcome the problem of condensation caused by differences in temperature between the outside and the inside of the motor, there are four ports at either end which can accept drain plugs. This design ensures that there is always a drain plug at the motor`s lowest point.

The motors are being offered in TEFC (totally enclosed, fan-cooled) versions in ratings from 0.18-7.5kW, in frame sizes 90-132. There are also smaller TENV (totally enclosed, non-ventilated) versions up to 0.75kW, in frame sizes 63-80. The motors are being produced in two and four-pole versions, with six- and eight-pole models available as options.

Brian Bannister, AEG`s Marlin motor specialist, reckons that this range will satisfy 95% of the food industry`s needs for hoseproof motors. Although the motors cost up to five times more to manufacture than standard machines, Bannister says that the prices that end-users will pay to distributors will have a much smaller premium.

According to Bannister, the only other all-stainless motors on the UK market - from the US manufacturers Baldor and Leeson - are Nema machines with metric shafts.

The Marlin motors will be available with square or round terminal boxes - an option added by the Italian factory following a request from AEG in the UK. The motors are interchangeable with standard IEC motors. As an option, they can be fitted with flanges to fit the most widely used gearboxes in the food industry.