Active production — no LTB clock ticking
The GBX0400050402D: For a procurement planner freezing a BOM, this removes the urgency of a looming discontinuation — the part can be specified into new designs and supported for the foreseeable future without chasing surplus stock.
5:1 planetary reduction with 96% efficiency
This is a planetary gearbox with straight teeth and a 5:1 reduction ratio, housed in a 40 mm diameter black anodized aluminium body. The 96% efficiency figure is the headline mechanical performance metric — it means only 4% of the input power is lost to friction and windage inside the gear train, which keeps the heat rise low and allows the gearbox to run cooler under continuous duty. For a motor-gearbox pair on a conveyor or indexing station, that efficiency directly reduces the motor current draw needed to deliver the output torque.
Load ratings and service life at 100 rpm
The service life is specified as 30,000 hours at 100 rpm and 30 °C ambient. At that same speed, the maximum axial force Fa is 200 N for a 10,000-hour life or 160 N for the full 30,000-hour window; the radial force Fr at mid-span on the output shaft follows the same 200 N / 160 N split. These are the numbers a design engineer uses to check whether the gearbox survives the overhung load from a pulley or sprocket, or the thrust from a lead screw, over the target machine lifetime.
Backlash and torsional rigidity for positioning
Maximum torsional backlash is 30 arcmin — this is the angular play between input and output when the direction reverses. For a simple speed-reduction conveyor drive, 30 arcmin is acceptable; for a servo-driven rotary table or pick-and-place axis where the controller expects zero lost motion, a lower-backlash gearbox (e.g. the GBX series with <10 arcmin) would be the correct selection. Torsional rigidity is 1 N.m/arcmin, meaning the gearbox twists 1 arcmin for every N.m of applied torque — stiff enough for most indexing applications but not in the zero-backlash harmonic-drive class.
Environmental fit: IP54, temperature range, lubrication
The shaft output seal carries IP54 protection — splash-resistant but not submersible, so the gearbox suits indoor conveyor lines, packaging machinery, or light wash-down zones where it is not directly hosed. It is lubricated for life, which eliminates the need for periodic grease changes and the risk of running dry after a missed maintenance cycle — a practical advantage for MRO planners managing a large fleet of drives.
Noise and inertia — acoustic and dynamic profile
Noise level is 55 dB at 1 m under no-load conditions — roughly the sound of a quiet office, not silent but unlikely to push a machine past typical 85 dBA shop-floor limits. Moment of inertia is 0.019 g.cm², a low figure that allows the gearbox to accelerate and decelerate quickly when paired with a servo motor; the reflected inertia at the motor shaft is the gearbox inertia divided by the square of the reduction ratio (5² = 25), so the motor sees under 0.001 g.cm² from the gearbox alone.