Gearboxes are used to shift the speed of rotating components. Planetary gears are the most common type, transferring speed from a sun gear to smaller gears which rotate around it. Reduction drive systems transfer power efficiently and can increase torque. Rubber belts can also be used to transfer torque.
A gearbox is a device used in many types of motors to shift the speed of rotating components. The original drives featured ball bearings mounted around a central bushing, although the most common type of reduction gear is the planetary gear, used in most automobiles. The planetary gear features a large rotating sun gear with several other smaller gears mounted around it. The speed from the sun gear will be transferred to the smaller gears which will rotate around the sun gear. The system is known as a planetary system because the smaller gears revolve around the central gear, just like the planets revolve around the sun.
The smaller gears will then transfer the speed of the sun gear to a bushing, plate or external gear which will spin a component such as a wheel axle. The purpose of this reduction drive is to effectively transfer power to the components without increasing torque which can damage the axles or other components. Many automobiles are equipped with planetary reduction transmission systems in the gearbox; some large trucks will feature a similar system in each axle, as driveshafts in larger trucks tend to produce so much torque that the axles can snap. To counter this, planetary gears are mounted at each end of the axle to help transfer power more efficiently. The gearbox can also be used to increase the amount of torque produced for each revolution of the shaft.
Another benefit of the reduction drive system is how efficiently torque can be applied. There is much less slope between a rotating axis and any component that relies on that axis’ rotation. “Slop” essentially means excessive play or movement between components which can lead to inefficiency or difficulty in tuning. Radio knobs, for example, will use a reduction system to transfer knob movement to the radio’s tuning capacitor. Without the reduction system, it would be very difficult to fine-tune the radio knob to get a clear signal on the radio.
Sometimes rubber belts are used in a reduction drive system to help transfer torque. The belt will usually be notched to work in conjunction with gear teeth rotating on a central shaft. The size of the gears will help provide torque transfer and the toothed belt will help facilitate that transfer as it is wrapped around the largest and smallest gears.
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