Our planetary gears
…and what you should know about them
Properties
Ball bearing
Connecting flange
Delivery
Efficiency
Gear backlash
Heat treatment
Installation position
Low-noise gears
Lubrication
Mounting position of gear drive
Operating dynamics
Operating temperature
Output shaft loads
Output torque
Overload torque
Reduction ratios
Sealing modes
Sevice Life
Planetary gears function as their name says: The motor-driven sun gear is in the center. It transmits its movement to three circulating planet gears which form a stage. They are arranged on the bearing axles of a planet carrier. Each of the last stage planet carriers is integral to the output shaft and so assures that the force is transmitted at the output side. On the outside, the planets run in a gear housing with internal gear teeth - the so-called internal gear.
Properties
Input and output shafts are arranged in a coaxial configuration, with the shafts turning in the same direction. Planetary gears are suitable for both left and right hand rotation running, for alternating, continuous and intermittent operation, and they have a high degree of efficiency. Compared with other gear designs, their compact type of construction delivers an immense power density, i.e. high torque transmission in the smallest of spaces.
Limited through assembly conditions; the installation of the ball bearings in the output flange is designed for a fixed bearing compared to the loose bearing on the output shaft. Per your requirement a different design can be conducted.
This is where the PLG's flexibility really shows. The planetary gear drives of IMS Gear can be adapted to any (!) motor, with individual options on the input and output side. Contact us with your specific requirements.
IMS Gear Planetary Gears delivers units fully assembled and tested with the motor of your choice, or individually with motor pinion for assembly at your premises. We’d be pleased to assist you in selecting the motor.
The gearing efficiency takes account of the rolling motion of the toothed gear, whereas the gear efficiency accounts for all the losses of the entire bearing. This is why we always specify the gear efficiency which is necessarily lower than the gearing efficiency. As there are no standardized measurement methods, particular attention is called for when comparing the efficiency specified by different manufacturers.
Gear backlash depends on a large number of factors: type of load, number of stages, bearing, design or material combination. When comparing different manufacturers, please note that there are also no standardized measurement methods. The values specified in this catalogue were measured with no load and with blocked input drive.
The structural transformation taking place when hardening the individual metal components has a positive effect on the strength and the wear resistance of the gear. IMS Gear has its own heat treatment facility. Since we also have the entire metal machining activity in-house, we are free to choose from a variety of different heat-treatable steel grades.
Due to grease lubrication and the various types of seals, the planetary gear drives of IMS Gear can be installed in any desired position.
Achieving the optimum acoustic performance makes higher demands in terms of true running and axial runout of the motor bearing plate, flange and shaft. The helical gearing causes axial forces to act on the motor shaft bearing. Adequate dimensioning of the motor shaft bearing must therefore be guaranteed. To counter the grease conveying effect of the helical gearing, radial shaft O-rings or sealed motor bearings are the first choice.
Our PLGs are lubricated with grease and therefore maintenance-free during their useful service life. Depending on requirements, we select the best possible lubricant from a choice of ten different options.
Mounting position of gear drive
If the output shaft faces vertical additional sealing methods can be implemented per your requirement.
High operational dynamics is achieved with low moments of inertia, ease of running and low wear and tear. Wherever it makes sense, IMS Gear Planetary Gears uses plastic instead of metal for the planetary gears and arranges these in a well-balanced 120° angle array which, in turn, results in low moments of inertia. We achieve ease of running with high-grade needle bearings or favorable friction values between metal and plastic, low wear through a special gearing design for optimum rotational performance and by using plastic wheels. The typical IMS Gear material mix guarantees excellent operational dynamics. q.v. ball bearing
The operation temperature range depends on material selection and choice of lubricant. The temperature range of our all metal versions with standard lubrication is between -30 und +140 °C, the plastic PK series between -15 and +65 °C.
As different manufacturers also use different measuring methods, a comparison is difficult and requires some attention. We'd be pleased to calculate the maximum axial and radial load including all parameters for your specific application. Certain design options also allow higher stress loads.
The most important factor when selecting a planetary gear drive is the output torque. The gear reduction reduces the relatively high motor speed to a lower output drive speed, which increases the output torque in inverse ratio.
The maximum overload torque (impact load) is defined as the brief moment in time during which the admissible output torque is exceeded, e.g. when the motor runs up. Peak load equals overload in plastic PLGs, whereas the overload torque can be as much as 1.5 times the peak load in metal-plastic combinations or all metal versions.
Changing the number of teeth of the sun gear and the planet gears allows different reduction ratios per each stage. IMS Gear Planetary Gears combines the reductions in as many as three stages. Therefore an enormous variety of different combinations can be realized.
The protection categories are defined by DIN EN 60259. If requested, we also supply output and motor side seals which allow you to realize high protection categories.
Depending on ambient conditions and the operational data of the drive system, the useful service life of a PLG is between 200 and 15.000 hours. With the variety of different options in applications and use, no generally valid statement can be given on the useful service life.
