Hello fans of Hydraulics and Hydraulics-Accessories, Tomas and Megan with Lifco's media team here; today, we figure out what this giant Italian motor is, and why it's so unique.
Megan: You brought up "Calzoni Motor" to me. I have never heard or even seen one of those before. Why is this motor significant/ something you wanted to talk about?
Fraser: Calzoni is an Italian manufacturer of radial piston motors. This type of motor can be very powerful, meaning it takes a high amount of flow and turns at a lower RPM. Lifco is very familiar with it because it was part of Denison Hydraulics, and then was included in the purchase by Parker. However, just in the past year it has become an independent company. These motors can become very large (the largest, the MRTA series, is 5000 lbs). The radial piston motor is very similar to a radial piston engine, like ones you see in aircraft.
Tomas: Why are they so large? We've seen Low speed high torque motors on our channel before, and those were tiny gear motors…
Fraser: It is going to be an application that has more room to fit radial pistons and requires higher performance. The top Calzoni motor can handle 6000 psi, while the top LSHT's would be around 3500 psi. They are more likely to be an industrial application, or at least something stationary and it runs continuously. While an LSHT's are often on mobile equipment that has intermittent use.
Megan: What type of applications would these motors be found in?
Fraser: Lots of injection moulding machines, like the ones we have in the upcoming video at a Magna car plant. Others are drill heads, or propulsion. You know the San Francisco Cable Cars? They have a cable that runs through the city and the cable cars clutch it and it pulls them up hills. It is powered by Lifco-supplied radial piston motors.
Megan: Oh that's really cool! We haven't had a video on them so I wouldn't know but do these ever come in for repair or do they need to be serviced alot or are these one that don't need much maintenance?
Fraser: We were an Authorized Calzoni Service Center when Denison owned that division. We still have the staff and equipment 20 years later. But the reason Parker sold them is that they are a bit of a specialty item, meaning not as common.