DISCOVER WORLD-CLASS GEARBOX REPAIR FROM PHILADELPHIA GEAR^®

With 24/7 gearbox and gear repair service capabilities, our team is standing by and ready to help with your toughest gearbox challenges. Contact our team today with photos of your set to get the process started.

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Onsite or in our facilities, our expert team of specialists will inspect your unit to determine the root cause of the failure. After our teams inspection is over, we’ll provide a detailed report with images.

Our team takes apart and cleans the unit, and schedules manufacturing for replacement parts. For uprating, we’ll make necessary changes and incorporate them into the manufacturing process.

Once the components are finished, we completely rebuild and rigorously test the gearbox, measuring endplay, tooth contact and backlash, temperature, sound, vibration levels, and more.

After the gearbox is reassembled and thoroughly tested, we epoxy paint and preserve the unit for storage. Once dried and preserved, we will send your gearbox along to you with documentation to keep it running smoothly for years to come.

All overhauls performed at our service and manufacturing centers are backed by a best-in-industry three-year warranty. Should any issues arise with your equipment, reach out to our expert gearbox repair team to get back up and running quickly.

Testing the gearbox after repairs is crucial to ensure that the components have been properly restored and are functioning optimally. It helps identify any lingering issues, guarantees the gearbox’s reliability, and ensures its safe and efficient operation in real-world conditions.

Oil is the lifeblood of a gearbox, cooling and lubricating its components. Interruptions to proper pressure, flow, or temperature control within the oil system are the most common causes of wear and failure. Similarly, oil contamination (particulate or chemical) will cause friction, wear, and component damage over time. In the photo above, a lubrication failure led to the catastrophic gear tooth failure shown. To avoid this, gearbox components should be inspected periodically for signs of improper lubrication or oil contamination, and prompt corrective action should be taken if found.

It may seem obvious, but stressing gear systems with forces, weights, torque, or other factors beyond their designed specifications can and will cause gearbox failure. Whether the overload is chronic (think pushing a system a little over its rating every day) or prompt (a single decision to overload a system by a large factor), component breakage can include snapped gear teeth, warped housing, and more.

Similarly, fatigue can also cause gearbox failure over time. And whether that fatigue stems from neglected maintenance, environmental stressors, or routine wear and tear, it will reach a breaking point. Machinery operators are encouraged to check for irregular sounds, vibrations, or heat pattens regularly to head off problems before their gearboxes fail.

Gearbox components are precision-engineered within exacting tolerances, and small misalignments of components — notably gear teeth — can steadily increase friction, vibration, heat, and wear that lead to either gradual or immediate gearbox failure. The photo above demonstrates uneven wear on a gear tooth due to an alignment issue in an industrial gearbox.

As part of routine inspection and maintenance, operators should not just check component alignment against manufacturer specifications, but they should also inspect components like gears carefully for signs of uneven wear or stress that can indicate a misalignment.

Our experts sometimes find the cause of gearbox failure is not within the gearbox itself, but a force or environmental stressor that contributes to misalignment, stress, overload, or contamination. For example, an unsettled foundation under heavy machinery can reduce or skew support for various components. In the photo above, an improper setup from outside the gearbox limited the proper axial movement and created a misalignment and uneven gear wear.

Venting or cleanliness changes in an environment can introduce pollutants or corrosive particles to a gearbox. And of course, unpredictable human error can always result in damage that may not immediately be noticed. Inspections should always account for factors outside a gearbox when attempting to diagnose or prevent gearbox failure.

Contact our specialists today if you are experiencing any of these issues.
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