The Bison Blog

Bison Gear Adds 562 Series to FlexTorq™ Hollow Shaft Gearmotors

Versatile design offers opportunity to replace less efficient right angle worm gearing, while offering higher torque in a compact package.

Gearmotor and electric motor manufacturer, Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. has added 46 models of its 562 Series of hollow shaft offset gearmotors to its growing FlexTorq™ line of products. With a slightly larger footprint than a conventional right angle worm reducer gearmotor, the FlexTorq™ units provide from two to nine times more output torque, depending on the gear ratio utilized.

 

The 562 Seriesof FlexTorq™ gearmotors is offered in seven 115 volt, single-phase 1/20 hp (37.3 watt) versions and thirty nine DC versions with 12, 24, 90 and 130 volt inputs and powers of 1/8 and 1/20 hp (93.2 and 37.3 watts). Continuous output torques range from 66 to 1100 in-lbs (7.5 to 124.3 N-m), with corresponding fixed output speeds from 65 to 1.3 rpm.

 

"We find that special machine builders and OEMs really like the unique FlexTorq™ design because its offset parallel shaft configuration fits into a lot of tight spaces and it has exceptional torque density," said John Morehead, Bison Gear's vice president, strategic planning and marketing. "The fact that the hollow shaft units can be optioned with single or double output shafts in any of three diameters or fitted with one of our TightDrive™integral speed controls makes them truly versatile."

 

The FlexTorq™ gearmotorsare manufactured in Bison Gear's suburban Chicago facility to Bison's high quality standards in order to ensure a short supply chain and reliable, long-life operation. All the models of the FlexTorq™ gearmotors are supported by Bison's In-Stock, Instant-Ship (ISIS) program, which ensures immediate delivery of standard products. In addition, Bison's Innopreneurial™ application and design engineering capabilities to customize standard models to meet specific OEM needs are readily available.

Innovation Highlighted in Bison Gear Video

Manufacturer's "Innovate or Evaporate" message to be keynote presentation at 2009 National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers Conference.

 

Innovation and education are key elements in today's advanced manufacturing environment, where companies like Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. function as an extension of their customers' engineering and product development departments. A new online video highlights how the gearmotor manufacturer's innovation is driven by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education skills, yielding new products and processes to keep globally competitive.   "We define innovation as what happens at the intersection of invention and commercialization," said Bison Gear chairman, Ron Bullock. "We have a Bison innovation process that seeks the voice of the customer and delivers products that add value." Bullock will deliver a keynote address, "Innovate or Evaporate: the Skill Set Imperative for Success in Advanced Manufacturing" at the 2009 National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers Conference to be held September 30-October 1 in the Chicago area at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort and at the state-of-the-art Technical Education Center at College of DuPage.   Jim Parejko, Bison Gear vice president, engineering and continuous improvement, adds, "We're combining the power of innovation with continuous improvement and those two are natural companions."   The three minute video, titled "How Innovation Helps Bison Gear Grow", can be viewed at BisonGear.com.

About the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) Advanced Technology Centers (ATCs) are located throughout the U.S. and are normally associated with community colleges and universities. All ATCs share a commitment to serving the training needs of business, industry and individuals with state-of-the-art technical education programs meeting the ever-changing needs of today's workforce. ATCs also play a proactive role in economic development. Founded in 1988, NCATC has over 170 member institutions and represents a network of higher education resources that advocates and promotes the use of technology applications that enhance economic and workforce development programs and services. www.ncatc.org

10 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Custom Gearmotors

White paper details key considerations in making standard vs. custom decision with emphasis on maximizing overall lifetime value for electromechanical machinery and equipment designs. 

 

With heightened focus on budgets and time to market, engineers continue to face a quandary when designing new electromechanical machines and equipment: whether to design "around" a standard off-the-shelf gearmotor or to specify a custom gearmotor meeting their exact requirements. In response to growing concerns on this issue, Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. has analyzed its customer interactions and relationships and produced a new white paper covering the "10 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Custom Gearmotors".

 

"We've taken a non-Bison-specific approach in this white paper so that design engineers as well as OEM purchasing authorities will find it helpful, no matter what size or type of gearmotor they may use or who their supplier may be," said John Morehead, Bison Gear vice president, strategic planning and marketing. "The most important finding, drawing on nearly 50 years experience, is the necessity to involve one's gearmotor supplier's application engineers as early as possible in the design process. Inevitably, that ensures the best overall machine performance, durability and cost position."

 

Some of the other key issues covered in the white paper include the value of proprietary gearmotor specifications, reasonable lead time expectations for custom engineered prototypes, benefits of an expanding product portfolio, production scalability and value-added opportunities.

 

The new four-page white paper can be downloaded at BisonGear.com. 

Lean 2.0 Journey Highlighted in Bison Gear Video

Manufacturing scalability while maintaining customer satisfaction goals featured in new online video.

 

Rapid growth raises the specter of manufacturing scalability which, if not properly addressed, can quickly negate top line successes. A new online video highlights this challenge and how Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. responded to it to ensure that desired customer satisfaction metrics were achieved.

 

In the video, the gearmotor manufacturer's executive vice president, George Thomas, comments on Bison's "Lean 2.0" journey, which includes integration of demand planning and master scheduling to achieve level loading of the Illinois manufacturer's increased production capacity.   "At Bison, PRIDE means People Relentless in Delivering Excellence. To ensure customers receive that excellence, Bison developed a three-element PRIDE rating to measure customer satisfaction," said Thomas. "We're focused not only on overall on-time delivery percentage, but also the customer-centric metrics of change order acceptance rate and product approval rating in the field."

 

The three minute video, titled "Changes in Manufacturing Raise the Bar", can be viewed at BisonGear.com.

Bison Gear's IEC Gearbox Blowout

75 models of European standard right angle, hollow shaft gearboxes to 2487 in-lbs (281 N-m), priced from under US$50.

 

Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. is offering closeout pricing on 75 models of hollow shaft right angle gearboxes that are designed to mate to IEC standard electric motors in frame sizes from 50 to 100. Utilizing hardened steel worms and forged bronze gears with reductions from 7:1 to 444:1, the lifetime lubricated gearboxes are rated for input powers from 1/20 to 4 1/3 hp (.04 to 3.2 kW), with continuous torque ratings up to 2487 in-lbs (281 N-m).

"These high quality, European-manufactured gearboxes are available in eight different sizes and Bison has 'blowout' priced them, starting from less than US$50," said John Morehead, Bison Gear vice president, strategic planning and marketing. "We have over 1200 units in stock and the specifications are in the 'closeout' section of BisonGear.com. If you pair them with one of the IEC motors also in our closeouts, you get an unbeatable gearmotor value -- however, this is on a first-come, while they last basis."

The Bison IEC electric motors closeout offering includes over 35 models of AC motors from 1/8 to 1 1/2 hp (.09 to 1.1 kW) in single and three phase configurations for 115, 230 and 460 volt inputs. Both the closeout IEC gearboxes and closeout IEC electric motors are supported by Bison Gear's In-Stock, Instant-Ship (ISIS) program that offers same day shipment for orders received before noon (CST).

 

Bison Gearmotor Plays Pivotal Role in Raising Funds for Charity

Windmill playhouse raises $10,000 at auction to help rehabilitate low-income and elderly housing

 

An elaborate playhouse featuring a Bison gearmotor powered windmill sold for $10,000 at auction, with one hundred percent of the proceeds used to provide free home repair services for the elderly and low-income homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area. The "Molina of La Mancha" playhouse was designed by Topos Architects of Palo Alto, California, who selected a Bison Gear gearmotor to power the windmill on still days. The gearmotor Bison donated to the project is from the VWDIR23 series of right angle, variable speed drives.

The Don Quixote-inspired windmill was sold at the Dreams Happen auction which is the primary fundraiser for the Rebuilding Together Peninsula charity that provides free home repair services for those in need. The primary recipients of their services are senior citizens, single parents, grandparents raising grandkids, the disabled, low-income families with children, veterans, children caring for ailing parents and the sick or poor in health.  

 

"Bison Gear is always happy to support such worthy causes with product donations," said Sylvia Wetzel, Bison Gear chief learning officer and president of BisonCares. "After all, we're soliciting product donations for the silent auction portion of our 4th Annual Jeffrey Bullock Memorial Golf Tournament which benefits the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation and Lazarus House serving the homeless." 

"Although we sell gearmotors for special applications in the wind power industry and we also make permanent magnet dc motors that can be used as very small generators, I must say this is an application we did not anticipate," said John Morehead, who is Bison Gear's vice president strategic planning and marketing. "It's only one gearmotor, but the satisfaction everyone at Bison Gear received knowing the good work that will be done by Rebuilding Together Peninsula is as great as having sold thousands to an OEM."

 

Bison Gear Significantly Increases Torque Range of Verdant Duty™ AC Gearmotor Line

Continuous torque ratings to 717 in-lbs (81 N-m) achieved with addition of 650 Series to 3-phase inverter-duty AC gearmotor line.

 

Following the successful introduction of its 100 in-lb (11.3 N-m) inverter-duty AC gearmotor line, Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. has increased by seven times the output torque capability of its Verdant Duty™ 3-phase AC offering with the introduction of the new 650 Series variable speed gearmotors. Driven by 1/4 or 1/2 hp (186 or 373 W) three phase 230 volt TEFC AC electric motors, these specially constructed inverter-duty gearmotors are designed for long life variable frequency drive operation with continuous duty torque outputs from 148 to 717 in-lbs (16.7 to 81 N-m).

 

"These new Verdant Duty™ AC gearmotors are ideally suited for equipment designs that can benefit not only from higher efficiency three-phase input, but also variable speed to suit load conditions as in conveying and other dynamic load applications," said Bunnyray Larmond, Bison Gear regional sales manager. "Of course, Bison also offers matching AC drives in both open chassis and NEMA 4X enclosures to accompany these gearmotors." 

The 650 Series Verdant Duty™ standard product offering is made up of five models with gear ratios from 27.6 to 214.5:1. Like all of Bison's standard and Verdant Duty™ products, they are supported by Bison's In-Stock, Instant-Ship (ISIS) program and available from Bison distributors and direct from the Bison website. Complete specifications and CAD drawings for these units are also available at Bison Gear's new website.

 

The Verdant Duty™ gearmotors are manufactured in Bison Gear's suburban Chicago facility to Bison's high quality standards in order to ensure a short supply chain and reliable, long-life operation.

 

In addition, Bison's Innopreneurial™ application and design engineering capabilities are available to assist OEMs in their product development and improvement initiatives.

Bison Gear Adds AC Offerings to FlexTorq™ Hollow Shaft Offset Gearmotor Line

Single and three-phase AC motors to 1/2 hp (373 W) added to efficient gearing for face or foot mount, hollow or stub shaft, speeds to 1 rpm and 2500 in-lbs (283 N-m) torque output.

 

Designed as high torque, tight space drives, Bison Gear's new FlexTorq™ 762 series hollow shaft offset AC gearmotors feature either a 1.25" (31.75 mm) I.D. hollow shaft or a 1.25" diameter solid shaft in either the u-shaped or s-shaped configuration. Driven by 1/20, 1/4, or 1/2 hp (37, 186, or 373 W) single and three phase 115 and 230 volt AC electric motors these versatile fractional horsepower gearmotors operate with fixed output speeds from 60 to 1 rpm and offer continuous duty torque outputs from 430 to 2500 in-lbs (48.5 to 283 N-m) respectively.

 

"These new FlexTorq™ AC gearmotors are a nice complement to our DC

FlexTorq™ offering and are ideally suited for a variety of conveying, foodservice and athletic equipment applications," said Jim Parejko, Bison Gear vice president continuous improvement and engineering. "We have added 15 standard models to our In-Stock, Instant-Ship (ISIS) program to support our distribution partners and can readily design variations to meet specific OEM needs." 

The AC FlexTorq™ standard product offering includes two dual voltage (115/230) models, nine 115 volt models and four energy saving Verdant Duty™ three-phase models for use with variable frequency drives. Complete specifications and CAD drawings for these units are available at Bison Gear's new web site.

 

The FlexTorq™ gearmotors are manufactured in Bison Gear's suburban Chicago facility to Bison's high quality standards in order to ensure a short supply chain and reliable, long-life operation. In addition, Bison's  Innopreneurial™ application and design engineering capabilities are available to assist OEMs in their product development and improvement initiatives.

10 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Custom Gearmotors

A custom gearmotor is one that meets your particular application specifications. It has the correct mechanical and electrical interfaces, fits within the envelope available, meets your performance, maintenance, lifetime and aftermarket criteria while it also fits within your budget. There are many questions and considerations involved in specifying the correct gearmotor for your application. They run the gamut from AC or DC, single or three phase, PSC or split phase, PMDC or BLDC, TEFC or TENV, cord or flying leads, parallel shaft or right angle, stub or hollow shaft, keyed or splined, grease or oil lubrication, face or foot mount, just to mention a few! Determining your torque requirement, output speed, overhung load, duty cycle and environmental criteria all add up to a real design engineering challenge. You could spend days perusing catalogs and web sites in search of just the standard product that meets your needs and your "needle in a haystack" search may still not reach a successful conclusion. Of course, if your requirement is for only one or two or a few dozen gearmotors annually and you have some design latitude that will allow you to specify a close, but "good enough", standard product solution yours may be like thousands of other applications that can be fulfilled with an off-the-shelf, catalog gearmotor. However, if you're designing equipment that will likely require thousands or gearmotors per year then you should be working with a gearmotor supplier who can give you a truly custom solution that meets all your needs and for which you don't have to pay extra for features or performance in excess of your engineered requirement. To help you successfully specify and procure the best custom gearmotor solution, here are ten things you ought to know:

1. Involve the Gearmotor Supplier Early in the Design Process: To the extent that you engage your gearmotor supplier's application engineers early in your design cycle, you will ensure that you meet all of your specifications as well as your budget target. Skilled and experienced gearmotor application engineers can literally save you months of time. If brought in early, they can understand, and possibly even help you design, your test protocol. The time and expense savings are significant if you are then able to avoid gearmotor iterations that may be required when you and the gearmotor supplier are not able to work together early in a team environment. A skilled gearmotor application engineer can also help improve your machine's performance, lifetime and profitability based on what he and his company have learned from thousands of other successful custom gearmotor applications.
2. Expect Custom Engineered Samples in a Reasonably Short Timeframe: It's not unusual to see "next day samples" touted in marketing materials. On reading the fine print, though, that only applies to a limited variety of standard, catalog products. If your application only requires slight modification to a standard item, such as shaft detail, cord or connector, gear ratio change, etc. it is not unreasonable to expect such prototypes can be turned around in a matter of a couple weeks or so. Changes to motor windings or designs, new gearheads, castings, or other truly custom solutions will take appropriately longer. However, a good gearmotor supplier will have the resources to significantly reduce leadtimes for prototypes. With today's rapid prototyping capabilities, it is no longer necessary to wait 16 weeks or more for a custom engineered gearmotor prototype.
3. Can They Scale-Up to Meet Your Volume?: If you are considering changing gearmotor suppliers on an existing high volume project, you need to know if they have a track record of successfully ramping up new, high volume business. They should also have the capability to quickly and effectively "reverse engineer" your existing gearmotor designs. A really good gearmotor supplier is capable of engineering and delivering more than a dozen different gearmotor models that a customer may require to replace his old supplier and ramp up to thousands of units per month production within just a couple of calendar quarters.
4. Value-Added Capability Adds Value: Your gearmotor supplier should be capable of working with you to provide more than just a gearmotor. Increasingly, companies are finding they can increase productivity, reduce inventories and facility requirements by working together with their gearmotor supplier to provide engineered sub-assemblies or assemblies. Your gearmotor supplier should be willing to work with you to supply your needs to level of value add you desire.
5. Get to Know Your Gearmotor Supplier Team: Your gearmotor supplier will be an important element in your company's supply chain and they should welcome a visit by you and your team. Take this opportunity to assess your gearmotor supplier's facilities, personnel and quality procedures. In addition to their sales and marketing executives, you want to get to know their engineering, operations and other key executives and managers who will become an important part of your own extended team.
6. It's Your Specification and Your Business: Your gearmotor supplier should be willing to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with your company to protect the confidentiality of your work. You'll find that the best gearmotor suppliers often dominate a particular market segment and continue to do so because of their discrete handling of confidential information while working for several competitors in a given market. In addition, the custom gearmotor specification you develop with your gearmotor supplier is your specification that is not to be offered to others in your market, nor to your customers in the aftermarket.
7. Take Lead Time Out of the Picture: A customer-focused gearmotor supplier should be able to work cooperatively and creatively with your supply chain team to develop processes that will ensure that product lead times become a non-issue for you by employing Kan-Bans and other systems.
8. How Customer Continuity and Loyalty Play a Role: You will probably want to do business with a gearmotor supplier that is not only well-established and respected, but also one that builds long-term customer relationships. Keeping customers over periods of five, ten or twenty-five years or more signifies not only the ongoing viability of the gearmotor supplier but also his commitment to continuous improvement and performance excellence. In today's business world, multinational companies expect long-term supplier relationships that offer ongoing productivity improvement and insulation from erratic commodity markets.
9. The Benefits of an Expanding Product Portfolio: While your short-term focus with a gearmotor supplier may be very well-defined and limited, you will undoubtedly want to align yourself with a supplier whose business model is based not only on performance excellence, but also an expanding portfolio of new products resulting from their own voice of the customer research. Such a gearmotor supplier is more likely to have the more sophisticated, energy efficient gearmotor solutions you may need for your own next generation products.
10. You Deserve a Gearmotor Supplier Who Shows Appreciation and Expresses Thanks for Your Business: The best customer and gearmotor supplier relationships are based on knowledge and understanding of each other's businesses. The gearmotor supplier should build a strong, personal relationship with the customer that fosters open creative and constructive dialogue that helps ensure long-term success for both parties. The customer should expect to be able to call on any member of the gearmotor supplier team to solicit input, discuss issues and work on joint projects without reluctance.

Bison Gear Launches New Web Site With Expanded Functionality and Content

Immediate visibility of entire product range complemented by videos, white papers, new closeout specials and worldwide In-Stock, Instant-Ship capability.

 

The new Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. web site offers immediate home page visibility of Bison's extensive line of fractional horsepower AC and DC gearmotors, electric motors, gear reducers, drives and accessories. Bison Gear's expanding video library has been added to the new site, along with white papers, featured new products and an ever-changing special "closeouts" section.

 

"In response to our web customers and channel partners, we've made it much easier to quickly find Bison products through linked summaries of our entire product range on the new home page, as well as our parametric search tools that enable visitors to find products based on type, voltage, speed, power, torque or gear ratio in any combination," said Brenda Thiessen, Bison Gear marketing supervisor. "In addition, we have included global web ordering capability for over 550 standard Bison products which are supported with same day order fulfillment through our In-Stock, Instant-Ship (ISIS) program."

 

Visitors to the new BisonGear.com can now easily link to Bison's Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube social media sites and also sign up to receive Bison's "Driving Force" newsletter.