Best Practices for Gearbox Assembly and Disassembly

In most applications, gearbox reliability is critical to the productivity of the overall plant operation. So it follows that when industry is looking at the best ways to increase efficiency, reduce downtime, and increase profitability, gearbox performance and reliability are key factors. Designing for repair, and writing effective repair procedures, can speed the service time, and provide a quality refurbishment. The best practices listed in this article are proven, effective methods used to install and remove bearings, seals, gears, couplings and shafts within a gearbox.

Introduction When industry is looking at the best ways to increase efficiency, reduce downtime and increase profitability, gearbox performance and reliability are key factors. In most applications gearbox reliability is critical to the productivity of the overall plant operation. Repair is often required with a swift turnaround, as down time is very expensive. Designing for repair, and writing effective repair procedures, can speed the service time, and provide a quality refurbishment. Minimizing down time and extending service life will contribute significantly to achieving the lowest overall operation costs. The best practices listed below are proven, effective methods used to install and remove bearings, seals, gears, couplings and shafts within a gearbox. These techniques are not new, and are usually obtained by hard-won experience. Collecting them in one location is an attempt to document the best practices and provide a reference for design engineers. Engineers write the procedures for assembly and disassembly, they also dictate to the rest of the design team the design intent. Including features to facilitate disassembly, minimizes repair cycle time and helps to prevent damage to components that could radically compromise their design life or performance.