Understanding The Various Types Of Geared Motors And Their Applications

Combining an electric motor and a gearbox saves design cost and complexity, especially for motors designed for high torque and low-speed purposes. Furthermore, gearboxes can be employed to reorient the output shaft in a different direction.

In this website, we’ll get a better understanding of the different types of geared motors and their advantages, along with the common applications of geared motors.

What Are the Various Types of Gear Motors?

Right-angle gear motors, which utilize worm, bevel, or hypoid gearing, and inline gear motors, which employ spur gears or planetary gear systems, are the two most prevalent forms of gear motors. Worm, spur, and planetary gear technologies are the most commonly utilized in Gearmotor designs.

Gear motors are offered with a choice of AC or DC motor types and reduction ratios to accommodate a broad range of applications such as automated door operators, food and beverage machines, and robotics.

Spur Gears

Spur gears, the most frequent form of gear used, are made with straight teeth cut or placed perpendicular to the shaft of the gear on a spherical (i.e., cylindrical) gear body. These gears use the parallel axes arrangement to transfer motion and force when joined in pairs. They can be coupled with a different spur gear, an internal gear (e.g. in planetary gear) or a gear rack (such as in a rack and pinion gear pair) depending on the application.

This sort of gear is utilized in a broad range of mechanical applications, including clocks, pumps, irrigation systems, power station machinery, material handling equipment, and clothes washing and drying machinery. Several spur gears can be utilized in a gear train to offer higher gear reduction if required for an application.

Advantages

    Low cost
    High gear ratios and torque output
    Compact

Bevel Gears

Bevel gear sets feature crossing axes that are frequently but not always perpendicular. They mate by using teeth with angled edges. Straight or spiral teeth are both possible. Straight bevel gear teeth are utilized in low-speed applications, whereas spiral teeth are employed in high-speed and performance applications.

There are numerous varieties of bevel gears available, which are distinguished primarily by their tooth design. Straight, helical, and Zerol® bevel gears are some of the more popular varieties of bevel gears.

Advantages

    Right-angle configuration
    Highly durable

Worm Gears

Worm gear sets are made up of a worm wheel (usually a cylindrical gear) and a worm (a screw-shaped gear). These gears are being used to transfer motion and power across shafts that are not parallel and do not intersect. They have huge gear ratios and the ability to reduce speed significantly while remaining quiet and smooth.

One contrast between worm gear pairs would be that the worm can spin the worm wheel, however, the worm wheel might not be able to turn the worm based on the direction of the worm. This feature is used in equipment that requires self-locking mechanisms.

Advantages

    High precision
    Maintenance-free
    Low noise
    Right-angle configuration

The Most Common Applications of Geared Motors

Many industrial gear motors are generally fixed-speed AC-powered devices, while variable-speed fixed-gear-ratio motors offer more control. DC gear motors are most commonly used in vehicle industries such as truck power cranes, windscreen wiper motors, plus power seats or power window motors. On the other hand, gear motors are utilized in a variety of industrial applications, including jacks, cranes, elevators, clamping, automation, transportation, and mixing.