Understanding A Gear Reducer

Gears are widely used in numerous industrial applications as well as household appliances. However, a gear reducer is a highly useful piece of equipment that proves to be essential in applications that we use in our daily lives.

From being used in cars to helping generate electricity in windmills, a gear reducer is incredibly vital to our living.

Gear reduction refers to the process of reducing gear speed to maximize torque or minimizing torque to maximize speed. The input speed of a gear can be adjusted to produce a slower output speed while maintaining the same output torque.

The incoming torque from the wheels are transferred to the rotating gears where it can be changed. Normally, the number of gears used in a gear reducer assembly or a reduction gear box is dependent on the speed requirement of a certain application.

The application of a gear reducer in machinery can either be simple or complex. For a ship with high speed turbines to achieve high efficiency, the ship’s steam turbine must operate at a high RPM range while the propeller should work at a relatively low RPM range. This results in gear reduction to change the high speed of a steam turbine into the low speed required by the propeller.

A gear reducer comes in two major types: single reduction and a double reduction gear.

• Single Reduction Gear – This type of reduction gear box is made up of ports where the engine and propeller shafts enter. This refers to the gear set up involving a pinion that drives the larger gear attached on the propeller shaft. Typically, a single reduction gear has a gear that is twice as big as the pinion
• Double Reduction Gear – This gear reducer is ideal for applications with very high speeds. Essentially, a double reduction gear setup entails exactly as the name states. There are two reductions occurring within the setup. A gear with a high input speed meshes with a gear that reduces its speed, which then meshes with another gear that reduces the speed even further.

At Bauer GMC, we offer a range of gear motor products for your industrial application. Whether you’re in the automotive, steel, material handling, or food and beverage industry, our products are designed specifically to improve the operations of your business.