What’s a change?

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A gearbox is a mechanical method of transferring energy from one device to another and is used to increase torque while reducing speed. Torque is the power generated by bending or twisting a solid material. This term is often used interchangeably with transmission.
Located at the joint of a drive shaft, the gearbox is often used to create a right angle change of direction, as seen in a rotary lawn mower or helicopter. Each unit is made with a specific purpose in mind and the gear ratio used is designed to provide the required level of force. This ratio is fixed and cannot be changed once the box has been built. The only possible retrospective modification is an adjustment that allows for an increase in shaft speed, together with a corresponding reduction in torque.

In a situation where more speed is needed, a transmission with more gears can be used to increase torque by slowing the output speed. This design is commonly found in automotive transmissions. The same principle can be used to create an overdrive gear that increases output speed while reducing torque.

A wind turbine is an example of a very large gearbox. The turbine moves at a low rotational speed with a large torque. The transmission translates this power into the faster but lower torque rotational speed of the electricity generator. Due to their size and the amount of energy they can generate, wind turbines have multiple gears and stages. This feature is necessary to ensure that the electricity generator can deliver a constant output even if the rotational speed of the turbine fluctuates.

There are three types of transmission in a car: automatic, manual or continuously variable. A vehicle with a manual transmission provides the best example of a simple shift. In both automatic and continuously variable transmissions, gearboxes are closed systems, requiring very little human interaction.

The manual transmission comes in two different systems: sliding link and constant link. The sliding link system uses straight cut spur gears. The gears spin freely and require driver manipulation to synchronize the transition from one speed to another. The driver is responsible for coordinating engine revs at the required road speed. If the transition between the gears is not timed properly, they collide, creating a loud grinding noise as the gear teeth collide.

The constant mesh system has diagonally cut helical or double helical gears that are permanently meshed together. Friction cones or synchro rings have been added to the gears to create a smoother transition when shifting gears. This type of transmission is usually found in racing cars and farm equipment.

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