Fun park looks to Brevini UK for drive solution
Brevini Power Transmission has supplied a new motor and gearbox package to a theme park in Essex. The project required a compact drive arrangement to provide power to the rotating ride which could be delivered to a short lead time to suit the tight build schedule.
The Fireball ride, located at The Adventure Island Park in Southend on Sea, Essex, has provided thrills to thousands of children and adults alike. The ride, which stands 9m tall, consists of a tower which holds a rotating hub with eight arms; each arm has a double seat attached to the end of it. It was designed and constructed by the park’s own in-house engineering team, Adventure Island Workshop, who asked Brevini Power Transmissions to supply the main drive unit.
Brevini specified a planetary reduction gearbox coupled to an electric motor which allowed the drive system to fit within the main framework of the design. In addition, Brevini was able to ensure the components were delivered on time to meet the build schedule of the ride.
The gearbox and motor arrangement is mounted direct to the main frame of the ride using the motor foot plate and the drive end flange. This design meant that the drive assembly had to be as compact as possible while still being capable of producing the power required. The drive also had to meet the rigorous safety standards demanded on amusement park rides.
Brevini’s experience in gear reduction units ensured that the specifications were met for the ride speed and drive torque delivery, as well as guaranteeing the whole unit fitted into the required footprint.
Brevini’s planetary range has been designed to give optimal performance with minimum size and has the ability to offer between a 40-60% reduction in terms of size and weight against traditional gear solutions. The result is an extremely robust and yet cost effective solution. The range now spans a torque range from 1kNm up to 2,500kNm, with larger variants available on request.
Brevini planetary gearboxes can provide up to four reduction stages as standard, with both in-line and right-angle versions. Additional reduction stages can easily be incorporated to achieve extremely high reduction ratios while maintaining a high overall efficiency. Output shaft options include female splined, hollow cylindrical, male cylindrical and male splined versions. The gear unit input can incorporate a multitude of different motor adaption’s (electric, hydraulic, etc.); can incorporate a multidisc brake; and can of course be a simple male shaft. A wide range of input and output accessories is also available.
Brevini is also involved in the maintenance and replacement of drive systems in other theme parks, such as the Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, where it has repaired and replaced various gearboxes in many of the UK’s most famous rides. In each case a specialist engineer from Brevini inspected the gearbox and ascertained which should be repaired and which would be more cost effective to replace.
Brevini is one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of power transmission solutions; as such its level of expertise with regards to gearbox maintenance and replacements is exceptional. Brevini is able to service gearboxes of any manufacturer, using OE parts to rejuvenate them to their original specification, or can engineer solutions to replace gearboxes with new products that fit within the original drive’s footprint as well as improve performance and efficiency.
