What is a Planetary Gearbox? Where is it Used?

As Şahin Rulman, our weekly blog post this week focuses on planetary gearboxes. In this article, prepared for those seeking information about planetary gearboxes, you will find answers to fundamental questions such as “What is a planetary gearbox?” and “What is a planetary gearbox used for?” We hope you find this article useful and wish you a pleasant read.

What is a Planet Reducer?

Among the types of reducers, the planetary reducer is a machine designed to meet high torque requirements, optimizing relatively low torque values during operation to increase efficiency, and is widely used in many industries today. It is called a planetary reducer (planetary gear reducer) because the pinion gears, which resemble planets in shape, rotate around a fixed ring gear.

What Does a Planet Reducer Do?

Planetary gearboxes that can operate in conjunction with servo motors consist of pinion gears placed in equal proportions on a ring gear, rotating concentrically between a gear with teeth on both the inner and outer surfaces. Their structure is designed for high efficiency. Planetary gearboxes also facilitate movement and power transmission between shafts, create different rotation directions, and provide movement independence between two rotating elements.

Planetary Gearbox Advantages
The main benefits that planetary gearboxes offer to users can be listed as follows:

• It distributes the load across different gears.
• It promises high efficiency under low-speed conditions.
• It is used as a differential reducer.
• It is a type of machine that can be widely used in many fields and sectors.
• Its structure is not complex, so it is extremely simple to use.
• Provides maximum output with minimum power consumption.
• They can be used for a long time because they age slowly.
• They do not create noise pollution because they do not make much noise.
• Maintenance costs are extremely low.
• It is highly reliable in terms of strength because it is made largely of steel.
• Being an integrated system eliminates the need for coupling. Additionally, it prevents potential alignment problems.
• It minimizes engineering costs by eliminating the need to design and assemble engines separately with gears.
• As the number of gears increases, so does the torque force. This is because an increase in the number of planetary gears means that the load is distributed over a larger area.

Where is the Planet Reducer Used?

As mentioned earlier, planetary gearboxes are suitable for use in a wide range of different fields and sectors. They are particularly common in applications requiring high power to move heavy products or change the position of objects. The main areas where planetary gearboxes can be used are as follows:

• Cement
• Metal processing
• Mining
• Power distribution
• Railway
• Plastic

What to Consider When Choosing a Planet Reducer?

The main points to consider when purchasing a planetary reducer are as follows:

• How many hours per day can he work?
• Application type (Conveyor, mixer, etc.)
• Whether it has the desired output speed and torque power
• The extent of both the power and speed of the engine
• How much is the thrust load?
• What is the diameter of the cylinder?
• Number of starts and stops
• The level of heat generated during the machine’s operation
• Warranty period
• Whether or not the service is easily accessible

We have come to the end of our blog post prepared by Şahin Rulman for those considering purchasing planetary reducers and wanting to learn more about them before making a purchase. Throughout the article, we have tried to address questions such as what planetary reducers are, what they are used for, and what features should be considered when purchasing them. For more information on the subject, you can submit your questions via the Şahin Rulman question forum or contact us at 0212 549 94 81.