A customer wanted us to replace the mechanical drive to their capstan which had 10 large, expensive gears on a line shaft driven off the main motor. Concentric designed, manufactured and installed a solution that eliminated 9 of the 10 gears. It also allowed the customer to have an infinitely variable lay length to the capstan which had previously been adjusted in tooth pitch increments by 2 gears. The large number of worn change gears have also been eliminated with this solution. The motor and gearbox is controlled by a Parker 890 AC drive and Parker TS 8000 6″ colour touchscreen.

The design & installation of the electrical control aspects of the project were supplied to the customer by Drives & Controls New Zealand Ltd.