With the many commercial gearboxes on the market, it’s important to match the proper type of gearbox with the drive, motor, and load. Whenever a machine requires a servosystem (drive and engine), the gearbox type is crucial for accurate and repeatable movement. Planetary gearboxes fit the bill for servo applications.

High-precision helical planetary gearboxes are an excellent choice for applications that need precision and reliability. Planetary gearboxes have very low backlash ratings (typically ranging from one to nine arc-min), so when sized correctly provide a service life of over 20,000 hours with practically no maintenance. Helical planetary gears provide very noiseless and more efficient operation in comparison with competitive products.

Precision gearboxes are carefully machined to high tolerances – think clockmaker, not blacksmith. They offer power densities that translates to small package size and efficiencies of 90% and greater.
Servomotors often drive loads directly with no need for a gearbox, however in many applications it’s beneficial to use a gearbox between the motor and load.

One main reason to use a gearbox is torque multiplication. It lets designers use smaller sized servosystems that consumes less energy. Rather than buying relatively huge servodrives and motors, developer can use smaller components, saving space and money.

Output torque increases in direct proportion to the apparatus ratio, and top velocity of the result shaft decreases. If a credit card applicatoin can withstand the reduced speed, a relatively little servosystem can supply high torque.

Gearboxes may also address inertia mismatches. For powerful servosystems — people that have high dynamic responses or low overshoot, for instance – the ratio between your reflected load inertia and motor inertia should be only practical, preferably under ten-to-one. A precision gearbox decreases the reflected inertia by the sq . of the decrease ratio. For instance, utilizing a 25:1 gearbox reduces the load’s reflected inertia by one factor of 625, a significant improvement.