Newly Re-designed P-Series Gearbox improves Backlash, Corrosion Resistance and Center Distance between Input and Outputs! 

Gearbox Shafts

A gearbox shaft is an important component of the overall transmission that bears the torsion and shear stress. The transmission, or gearbox, is a machine that can be used to control the application of power by increasing torque, reducing or increasing speed, reversing rotation, or changing the direction of the driveshaft.
 
All gearboxes have an input side and an output(s) side. The input shaft is connected directly to the motor and turns at the motor speed. It brings the drive into the gearbox system and withstands the torque generated by engaged gears. The output shaft carries the power from the input shaft and runs at different speeds, depending on the gears and gear ratio.


Designing and Specifying a Gearbox and Gearbox Shafts

The right gearbox design can affect performance, efficiency, reliability, and cost. Each gearbox contains four main components: the input shaft, the output shaft, gears, and bearings. The shafts are supported by the bearing which reduces friction. There can be solid shafts or hollow bore shafts. A gearbox with a hollow bore allows for the use of different shaft lengths, shaft diameters and shaft materials.
 
Gears are an important component of gearboxes because they transmit power from one shaft to another. Depending on the size of the gearbox, the gear ratio, or the ratio between the rates at which the last and first gears rotate, will change. If the gear ratio is greater than one, the output shaft revolves at a lower speed than the input shaft. The opposite is true if the gear ratio is less than one.
 
When designing a gearbox to meet your needs, it’s important to keep these components in mind, as well as the intended application. To get the best longevity and efficiency from your gearbox, consider these criteria:

Main Specifications

Depending on the intended application, the main specs will differ. The specifications that can be designed are ratios and backlash ratings. Most gearboxes have ratios ranging from 1:1 to 120:1, but this can be higher if needed. Similarly, most gearboxes have backlash ratings of less than 1 degree (or 60 arc-minutes). They can be designed with low backlash, or less than 4 arc minutes.

Duty Cycle

A typical full-time duty cycle for a gearbox is 8 to 12 hours for 5 days a week, but this can be altered for application needs. Some applications require a low duty cycle, which would affect the size of the gearbox. Smaller gearboxes can be used in certain situations to allow for low duty cycles without degrading life or destroying gear teeth.

Environment

The temperature and overall environmental conditions that the gearbox will be operating in will affect its construction. Depending on the temperature, special grease or oil may be required. For example, in an environment of -20 degrees Celsius and below, special grease is needed to handle the low temperature. Moisture also affects the construction, and salt-water and wash-down applications will require a gearbox that is better sealed against intrusion.

Input and Output Needs

Bores, shafts, and output rotation can be changed to accommodate your needs. Bores and shafts can be designed in hex, square, D, and Splined, if needed. The output rotations can be created in clockwise or counterclockwise and can even be dual counter rotating shafts.

Ondrives Offers A Variety of Gearbox Shaft Designs

We manufacture gearboxes and gearbox shafts to meet your needs. Manufactured from high-quality materials and customizable with grooves, flats, chamfers and more, our gearbox shafts will be perfect for all of your applications. We offer two gearbox shafts, including:

Worm Box Shafts

Worm box shafts from Ondrives are available in single-sided and double-sided and are designed to be used with P and PF worm gearboxes. We provide the highest instrument quality and manufacture our shafts with corrosion resistant, durable stainless steel.
 
A worm gearbox is designed with a worm that is meshed with a worm gear. A worm is a gear that is in the form of a screw that can easily turn the gear. The worm gear, however, can not turn the worm, allowing the worm gearbox to have a brake function. These gearboxes are useful for industries that include: textile, chemicals, sugar, agitators, mining, small ball mills, industrial equipment, and oil and petroleum.

Cross Axis Output Shafts

The cross axis output shafts from Ondrives are available in single-sided and double-sided to use with E type, right-angle helical gearboxes. Made from the highest quality stainless steel, these gearbox shafts are corrosion-resistant, precisely manufactured, and reliable even in harsh environments.
 
Cross axis gearboxes, also referred to as helical gearboxes, are the most common type of gearbox for vehicle and equipment transmissions. They can generate large amounts of thrust, using bearings to support the thrust load. When mounted to perpendicular shafts, helical gearboxes can be used to adjust the rotation angle by 90 degrees.

Gearbox Applications

Gearboxes are found in a wide variety of applications. These can be stationary uses like wind turbines, as well as agricultural, industrial, construction, mining, and automotive equipment. Popular industrial applications for gearboxes include:
  • Power Generation
  • Petroleum Refining
  • Material Handling
  • Military
  • Marine
  • Pulp and Paper
  • Aerospace
  • Office Machines
  • Conveyors
  • Production Machinery
  • Radar
  • Solar
  • Chemical
  • Water Management
Ondrives offers many different styles and sizes of gearboxes that meet all of your applications requirements. With our range of designs and sizes, we will work with you to find the right gearbox with the best shafts for your needs.

Contact Ondrives for Gearbox Shafts

In addition to our standard shafts and gearboxes, we can also create custom shafts to meet your application needs. Our high precision shafts can be created in a variety of materials, as well as custom features like grooves, journals, flats, tapped holes, and more.
 
Worm gearboxes and our Helical gearboxes are available for immediate delivery. Custom gearbox shafts can be made in any length or material, and the shaft diameter that protrudes from the box can be supplied larger or smaller than the gearbox bore size. These custom gearbox shafts can have threads, grooves, holes, flats or other function to meet the customers’ specific needs.
 
Contact us today to learn more about our gearbox shafts or request a quote today.