How retrofit stopped motor grinding to a halt

After 40 years' service, the spindle motor on the thread grinding machine at Westin Engineering was showing signs of failure with increased vibration.

As the finish quality of ground components was at risk, the engineers consulted the team at Westin Drives. 

The motor was removed from the machine and inspected at our service centre, where it was found the aluminium inside the bearing housings had begun to perish. 

Given the extent of the wear and age of the now obsolete unit, a repair was not economically viable and the decision was taken to retrofit the motor. 

A WEG electric motor was taken from stock and a new SKF taper lock pulley fitted. 

As the motor was much smaller and more compact than the original, an aluminium mounting plate was drafted up and machined on Westin Engineering's milling machine. 

The replacement high-efficiency motor ran perfectly first time. 

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