Introduction to the main causes of gearbox failure
December 10, 2024
Due to increased competition and market requirements, almost all factories are trying to reduce costs and machine downtime, this article brings you the main causes of gearbox failures, knowing this will help you save money and valuable time, and in the event of a gearbox failure, you will be able to quickly identify and solve the problem as follows.
I. Calibrating the Gearbox on the Application
The first cause of gearbox failure is purely mechanical, the gears are designed to operate in a specific configuration and backlash setting for each tooth, when misaligned this can lead to load concentration on the gears, housing, bearings or other weaker parts of the gearbox and cause premature failure. Misalignment can be recognised during maintenance throughout the life of the gearbox, a healthier way to deal with it before failure occurs is to ensure that the gearbox is fitted correctly during installation on a new application or after servicing some parts of the machine, and we also recommend that an external service company controls the alignment of the gearbox on a regular basis.
II. Gearbox Lubrication
Most gearboxes are supplied with a high quality lubricant suitable for the type of application, environment and mounting configuration. Manufacturers calculate the correct amount of oil and define the correct type of oil to ensure ideal lubrication of gears and bearings. Bath and splash lubrication configurations allow the oil to spread correctly through the gearbox, allowing the oil to form a film on the gears, this thin layer of oil prevents metal-to-metal contact between the gears during mesh.
During the life of the gearbox, oil quantity and quality may vary depending on the application and regular maintenance intervals, sealing and preventing external contaminants from affecting the oil quality is the best way to ensure the health of the gearbox, it is recommended that the oil is changed annually for optimum lubrication, a quick analysis of the oil quantity, colour and the presence of external components during draining reveals the key indicators of the gearbox's health and condition. Gearboxes operating in harsh conditions can lose significant amounts of oil over their lifetime, leading to lack of lubrication and irreversible damage to the main gear.
III. Overloads and operational errors
Gearboxes are often exposed to harsh working conditions and overloads and operational errors can also occur, gearboxes are initially supplied with the correct configuration and service factors to provide optimum working and enhanced performance, however, the working conditions at end user facilities can vary from day to day and sometimes progress to the extremes of gearboxes, for example, water treatment plants, bulk material producers, and recycling companies, these are often applications that impose the The toughest working conditions are imposed on gearbox applications, exposed to external conditions, and these operators are often forced to stop operations in emergency situations due to rain, power outages, feeder overloads, etc.
During these emergency stop events, output shafts, torque arms and backstops are subjected to heavy loads. A fully loaded conveyor, mixer or shredder requires extra effort from the geared motor until the required operating speed is reached, and a soft-start device and proper automation can reduce the overloads and lighten the workload on the gearbox. Unfortunately it can be difficult to recognise a damaged gearbox in such a noisy environment, whilst gearboxes rarely show a difference in noise or vibration until a failure occurs, at this stage the operating temperature of the gearbox is still a good factor in identifying potential failures, which can sometimes take years to appear.
Henan Bocheng Import & Export Trading Co.
