How gearbos bearings work?

Large reduction gearboxes are designed to transmit high torque by reducing high input speeds to desired output speeds. This is why gearboxes are widely used and are common equipment in heavy industry to drive conveyors, mills, crushers and pumps.

The gears of the entire gearbox are manufactured with high precision and require trained technicians to assemble and install. It is not uncommon for a simple reduction gearbox to have many stages, which may include bevel and pinion gears for drive/input direction changes, as well as multiple helical gears of different ratios to achieve the desired output.

The goal is to make the transmission run as quietly as possible. To help with this, helical gears are often preferred over spur gears (or crosscuts) to reduce audible gear meshing noise. Do we all remember the "wheeze" of our manual cars when we reversed? In these cases, reverse gear is a spur gear.

Bearing loads can be purely radial, purely axial or a combination of both. Typically, most applications have a combination of the two. Bearings are designed to withstand different loads and most are able to accommodate load combinations. For example, a ball bearing is designed to carry radial loads, however, it is capable of supporting some axial (thrust) loads and is therefore ideal for use in electric motors as this bearing will positively position the rotor. In this example, there will also be some axial thermal growth. To eliminate the risk of "cross-locating" bearings, cylindrical roller bearings can be used. Bearings of this type are available in a variety of configurations. It can be used because there are configurations that allow axial movement within the bearing itself, while still maintaining radial loads.

Some bearings are also designed to allow misalignment. This may be beneficial in situations where the housing may be inaccurate with the shaft or the shaft may be skewed. Similar to helical gear designs, these bearings have advantages and disadvantages.

For spherical roller bearings, the eccentricity capability is excellent while allowing rotation without compromising load carrying capacity. These bearings are an excellent design for conveyor pulleys as precise alignment is always difficult to maintain and the applied radial loads are often high. In addition, these bearings are also capable of "positioning" the shaft by taking small axial (thrust) loads.

How do I know if the gearbox bearings need to be replaced?

Here are two main 2 signs your gearbox could be failing caused by bearings:

1. Unusual sounds

You may have a problem with your gearbox if it starts making a sound you’ve never heard before, or if you hear clunking, whining, humming or buzzing.

Your gearbox comprises hundreds of moving parts. If just one ball bearing is faulty, for example, such unexpected noises may result.

Manual transmissions tend to "clunk" while automatics often hum or buzz.

Beware that such noises may also be caused by problems with the exhaust, drive shaft or engine, and may not mean that your gearbox is faulty - but either way, it's important to get the vehicle checked out by a trusted mechanic.

2. Shaking, jerking or grinding

With a vehicle with a gearbox bearing failure symptoms, you may experience shaking, jerking or grinding while behind the wheel.

Automatic gearbox issues often involve hesitation, slipping, or trembling during gear changes. Manuals are more likely to "grind" when suffering a gearbox fault.

Engine and transmission mounts are often the source of jerking and clunking.

If you suspect a problem with your transmission, take your car to see a transmission specialist. Our vehicle technicians have all the expertise needed to repair, replace and service manual and automatic transmissions, so you can be back on the road safely and in no time. For more information or to make an appointment, please call or visit our website today.

Sunspeed offers good quality wheel bearings with the most competitive price. Learn more or inquiry, please click Sunspeed Sales Center.

Any questions, please do not hesitate click Contact Sunspeed to let is know. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

More about Sunspeed:

Sunspeed was established in 1996 and is a large bearing enterprise in China. The company focuses on 10 categories of bearing products, with a total of more than 5,000 kinds. Products include: deep groove ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, self-aligning ball bearings, self-aligning roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, angular contact bearings, thrust ball bearings, thrust roller bearings, needle roller bearings, spherical plain bearings, etc. Bearings are widely used in motors, machine tools, automobiles, wind power, mining and other fields.

Sunspeed bearing production personnel have undergone strict technical training, are familiar with every production process of bearings, and are proficient in various production equipment to ensure the normal production of bearings.

Sunspeed has various types of testing equipment for bearing size testing, noise testing, vibration monitoring, etc. After the bearing production is completed, each bearing must undergo strict quality inspection to ensure that each bearing product delivered to the customer meets the customer's quality requirements.