Planetary Gear Systems
The planetary gear is a type of gearing system to lower the speed of a rotating shaft. A planetary gear system consists of three main components: a sun gear, several planet gears, and a ring gear. The sun gear is positioned in the middle of the gearing system. The planet gears are distributed evenly around the sun gear and interlocked with an outer ring gear. The input shaft is usually connected with the central sun gear. Surrounding it, the planet gears revolve enclosed by an outside ring gear and are messed to the output shaft through a carrier. The design of the planetary gear system can vary depending on the motion requirement and application.
Applications of Planetary Gear Systems
The planetary gear system has a wide selection of applications including automotive, marine, industrial machinery, construction equipment, turbine engines, pumps, drills, and others.
Usually, planetary gears are speed reducers and are used to minimize the motor’s rpm and increase the torque. It can also provide high transmission ratios with convenient mass inertia ratio conversion. That’s why all automatic transmission systems contain several planetary gear sets that require a firm power shifting mechanism. The compact and robust design of the latest planetary gear system makes it possible to use it in electric screwdrivers, mixers and blenders, hoist drives, and robotics.
Advantages of Using Planetary Gear Systems
The planetary gear systems are very popular as a power transmission solution. It has lots of benefits in a contrast to conventional gearboxes. The advantages include:
- Are versatile, robust, and rugged
- Provide a wide range of speed to power ratios in compact space
- Have lower inertia and high torque transmission
- Provide high efficiency (around 97% of the power input can be converted into output)
- Suitable for a wide range of industrial applications
ASCO sintering is an industry leader specializing in the design and manufacture of sintered planetary gear systems and corresponding powdered metal gear assemblies since 1946. We provide planetary gear systems that are highly customizable with different sizes, reduction ratios, torque ratings, input speeds, and angle arrangements. They are also available with a variety of mountings, mechanical preloads, and housing options. The gearboxes have high power transmission capabilities with very little energy wastage (average efficiencies are between 96% and 98%).
ASCO’s planetary gear sets are specially manufactured for heavy-duty applications. We have entire in-house engineering and manufacturing facilities to produce high-quality and high-precision planetary gear systems that can meet ODM, OEM, ISO, and other international standards.
