There are many different factors to consider when choosing the right size and type of gearbox for your application – from gear drive rating and speed variation to thermal capacity and drive ratio. Ignore any of these, and you could end up making costly gearbox repairs.
One key element in selecting the correct drive, and avoiding imminent gearbox repair, is service factor. Service factor is a variable used to calculate equivalent horsepower by combining factors such as longevity, reliability and external load dynamics. Each speed reducer is assigned a service factor rating based on these factors.
When determining what drive is needed for a particular configuration, system designers can refer to the list of applications and their minimum recommended service factors published by the American Gear Manufacturer’s Association; these suggestions are based on field experience. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these are minimums only – if the system has severe or unusual load requirements, a higher service factor (or larger drive) should be chosen in order to prevent a failure and the resulting downtime for gearbox repairs. Once the required service factor is identified, the number is then multiplied by the motor nameplate power to determine the size of drive needed.
Because typical service factor values don’t accommodate repetitive shock loading or serious critical vibrations, the designer must identify these conditions beforehand and customize the drive accordingly.
Here at Mar-Dustrial, our experts have vast experience supplying gear reducers for a vast range of applications. Contact us for help selecting the right drive for your system.
Posted under Machinery Maintenance, Tips and Tricks on Thursday, December 20th, 2012