Custom Gearboxes

How Does a Gearbox Work?

Depending on the intended application, gearboxes can be designed with any number of gears linked together, and these gears may vary in shape and size. The mechanisms within the gearbox are engineered to perform a range of specific functions, from decreasing speed to modifying the output shaft direction. The majority of gearboxes are designed to increase torque while lowering the motor shaft’s output speed.

In gearboxes with a reducing ratio, the output shaft is rotating at a slower rate than the input shaft, and the resulting reduction in speed increases the output torque. By increasing torque and reducing speed, low-speed gears enable the movement of heavy objects in lifting and towing operations. Gearboxes with increasing ratios, on the other hand, typically perform overdrive-type functions that enable the output speed to be increased while the torque is reduced. This can be beneficial for moving lighter components at higher speeds.

Industries Served

Superior Gearbox designs and manufactures a range of high-grade gearboxes for power transmission applications. Our standard and custom products support a wide range of industries, including:

• Food and beverage
• Agriculture
• Printing
• Cement and concrete
• Lawn and Garden
• Poultry
• Chemical
• Pulp and paper
• Oil and gas

Different Types of Custom Gearboxes

Superior Gearbox provides spur, helical, bevel, worm gear, and spindle gear drives. With an extensive selection of gears, bearings, shaft materials, and housings, we can tailor each individual element of the gear drive to provide a unique and personalized solution for even the most challenging power transmission applications.

Superior Gearbox products can be engineered to meet a range of specific torque, horsepower, and power consumption requirements. They may also be built to provide additional safety and efficiency in a variety of hazardous environments. Regardless of the specificity required, all our custom solutions are developed with the customer’s desired timeline and budgetary objectives in mind.

Gearboxes from Superior Gearbox

Standard solutions include the following:

Industrial Worm Gear Speed Reducers

• Variodrive: The Variodrive features a durable housing (small sizes are ribbed aluminum and large sizes are iron), two bearings along the input shaft, a hollow output bore design with optional plug-in shafts, and an option of either a standard NEMA motor flange or an IEC motor flange.
• CleanDrive: The CleanDrive features high-strength stainless steel housings, shafts, and hardware. With its smooth surfaces and sound design elements, the CleanDrive is built to facilitate easy cleaning and is compliant with strict food processing requirements.

Helical Gearmotors

• SGR Series: The Superior Gearbox SGR Series inline helical Gearmotor are designed to be low maintenance and provide a long service life in today’s demanding industrial applications. These units are available in a wide variety of sizes/ratios and are designed to be easily interchanged with many European style gear motors.
• SGK Series: Superior Gearbox SGK Series helical-bevel gearmotors contain high torque density with the highest efficiency available in a right-angle design. Instead of losing energy via the sliding friction of a worm gear, the K-series uses much lower rolling friction of helical and bevel gears.
• SGF Series: The Superior Gearbox SGF Series parallel shaft helical gear motor is the ideal drive for tight spaces. This compact drive, with its multiple mounting configurations and shaft designs, is a rugged alternative to right-angle gear motors. Units are available as shaft output or as hollow bore/shaft mount designs.
• SGS Series: The Superior Gearbox SGS Series right-angle gear motors offer helical-worm gearing that combines durability with exceptional performance in a compact design. Its helical input stage provides greater efficiency than a single-stage worm unit. An additional helical gear unit added to the input enables very large ratios.

Low Input Speed Worm Gear Reducers

• V Series: Our V Series features a two-piece aluminum housing, standard gear ratios of 5:1, 10:1, and 20:1 (left and right hand), and a 1″ input shaft/1.25″ output shaft.
• W Series: Our W Series features a two-piece aluminum housing, standard gear ratios of 12.5:1, 25:1, and 50:1 (left and right hand), and a 1″ input shaft/2″ output shaft (1.5″ hollow bore output shafts available upon request).
• I210 Series: Our I210 Series features a one-piece iron housing, standard ratio of 20:1 (left and right hand), and a 1″ input shaft/1.25″ output shaft.
• I260 Series: Our I260 Series features a one-piece iron housing, standard ratios of 25:1 and 50:1 (left and right hand), and a 1″ input shaft/2″ output shaft.
• I280 Series: Our I280 Series features a one-piece iron housing, standard ratio of 50:1 (left and right hand), and a 1.25″ input shaft/2″ hollow output shaft.

Bevel Gearboxes

• 100, 200, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 Series: This gear drives all feature two-piece aluminum housings, tapered roller bearings, and high-strength steel shafts. Each series offers specific shaft diameters and gear ratios. Their intended applications, which differ from series to series, range from turf equipment and mowers to irrigation pumps and conveyors.
• 700 Iron Series: The 700 Iron Series gearboxes feature one-piece iron housings, tapered roller bearings, and high-strength steel shafts. These durable gearboxes are suitable for large rototillers, silage compactors, heavy-duty industrial equipment, and material handling applications. The 700 Iron Series is equipped with a gear ratio of 2.92:1.
• R20A Series: Our R20A Series features a 1:1 gear ratio and a forged straight bevel gear design.
• H130 Series: Our H130 Series features a two-piece aluminum housing, precision-forged gears in a 1.61:1 ratio, and a 1.375″ shaft made of high-strength steel.

Spur Gearboxes

• IP39 Series (Single or Dual Input options): Our Ip39 Series features a two-piece aluminum housing, standard gear ratio of 6.09:1, and an option for either a single or dual hydraulic motor input.

Other Products

• Spindle 240 Series: This series features a two-piece aluminum housing with die-cast, fully machined case halves to enclose and protect bearings. The superior spindles are available with a range of anti-warp devices to enhance durability in mower applications and other medium-duty uses that require a low-profile gear drive with short blade-to-deck dimensions.
• Shaker S10 Series: The Shaker S10 Series features a two-piece aluminum housing, precision-machined ductile iron gears, and high-strength alloy shafts. Common applications include vibratory trenchers, vibrating conveyors, and sorting and screening devices.

Contact Your Gearbox Experts at Superior Gearbox

At Superior Gearbox, our highly experienced engineering and manufacturing teams have been developing market- and customer-specific gear drives for more than 30 years. In addition to our standard product line, we can also work with customers early in the design process to create specially tailored products that satisfy application-specific technical and quality requirements. This can include reverse engineering or modifying an existing product, as well as starting from scratch to develop a completely new design. Our thorough knowledge of gearbox components allows us to customize each feature of the gear drive to make sure the final product perfectly fits the customer’s needs.

Contact us today to see how our standard or custom gearbox products can be used to enhance your power transmission applications.