Gearboxes

Gearboxes, also referred to as gearheads or gear reducers, are enclosed systems consisting of a series of integrated gears within a housing unit. Gearboxes are designed to transmit mechanical energy to operate and alter the torque and speed of a driving device, such as an electric motor.

Gearboxes are used in various applications depending on the type and gear ratio. This includes machine tools, conveyor systems and elevators, as well as industrial equipment and mining industry applications. Right angle gearboxes can be utilized in rotary tables.

At RS, we have a variety of industrial gearboxes, including planetary, spur, and ovoid models from leading industry brands, including Motovario, Oriental Motor, Crouzet, DKM, Maxon, Panasonic, and our own RS PRO brand.

What type of gearboxes are there?

• Spur gearboxes have straight teeth and are mounted on parallel shafts. Spur gearboxes offer a high power transmission efficiency, a constant velocity ratio and have no slip.
• Planetary gearboxes have the input shaft and output shaft aligned. They are particularly suited to high torque and low-speed applications.
• Worm gearboxes are used to transmit power between two non-parallel and non-intersecting shafts.
• Ovoid Gearboxes are highly efficient that combine both spur and planetary gear stages to achieve the desired speed reduction and torque increase.
• L Gearboxes are low gear mode (L) used for situations where low speed and high engine power are needed.

How is the gear ratio defined?

The gear ratio is defined through the number of turns the output shaft will makes when the input shaft is turned once. When the gear ratio is 1:1, the torque and speed are the same. If the ratio is increased to 1:4, the torque is reduced and the maximum speed is significantly increased. If this is reversed to a ratio of 4:1, then the speed is reduced and the torque is increased.