At one large theme park located in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, the climax of its popular boat ride is a 15 metre vertical drop down a 24 metre long chute into a plunge pool. The progress of the flat-bottomed boats depends on sophisticated mechanical and electronic control systems, mainly hidden beneath the water\u2019s surface. Around 100 photo sensors distributed around the ride monitor the progress of boats, and 30 or so submersed, powered, rubber wheels propel them from point to point along the route. During the early years of the ride\u2019s operation, its hidden propulsion system proved to be an Achilles heel. Due to water ingress, the original geared motors driving those wheels were failing within 6 months of operation, requiring the ride to be shut down while replacements were installed. The management\u2019s search for a more reliable solution led to Bauer Gear Motor, part of the Altra Industrial Motion Corporation with many years of experience supplying gear motors for fully submerged applications.
\nThe motor selected to replace the failing units was from the Bauer BG series. These compact, economical gear motors use high-tensile cast housings and can be configured to produce torques of up to 18,500 Nm. They comply with major North American and international technical standards, including NEMA, IEC, CSA and CE. The modified BG50 units supplied for the water ride feature IP68 gearbox sealing, shaft seals with stainless steel springs and V4A stainless steel output shafts. A WIMES (Water Industry Mechanical and Electrical Specifications) compliant coating was also added to provide an extra level of corrosion protection. There have been no BG Series failures due to water ingress after more than four years of service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At one large theme park located in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, the climax of its popular boat ride is a 15 metre vertical drop down a 24 metre long chute into a plunge pool. The progress of the flat-bottomed boats depends on sophisticated mechanical and electronic control systems, mainly hidden beneath the water\u2019s surface. Around 100 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6688],"tags":[1038],"class_list":["post-3557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bauer-en"],"openstation_lock":null,"openstation_contributors":[],"openstation_attached_media":[3555],"yoast_head":"\n