Will this GBX 160 mm planetary box hold the route?
The Schneider Electric GBX1600051084D is a straight-tooth planetary gearbox in the GBX series, sized for a 160 mm outside diameter and built around a 5:1 reduction ratio with a continuous output torque of 450 N.m and a maximum output torque of 720 N.m, which is the load ceiling that decides whether the driven machine can be hand-cycled without the gearhead fighting back. Out here in the grease, what I want to know first is the duty envelope: 96% efficiency at rated load keeps the case from cooking the lube, and 70 dB at 1 m no-load tells me the gear train is straight-cut rather than a quiet helical — the trade is cost and torsional stiffness for that gear-whine signature.
Shaft loads, backlash, and how much punishment the output takes
Torsional rigidity is rated at 38 N.m/arcmin and maximum torsional backlash is 6 arc.min, so the GBX1600051084D sits in the precision end of the planetary family rather than the economy backlash bracket — position-holding on a servo-driven indexer is realistic, while a 1°-per-rev open-loop conveyor would not feel the lost motion. The published load envelope is the figure that drives machine design: maximum radial force Fr is 4200 N at 100 rpm over the 30,000 hour life (rising to 6000 N if the duty drops to 10,000 hours), and maximum axial force Fa is 6000 N under the same 30,000-hour / 100 rpm / 30 °C condition (8000 N at the shorter 10,000-hour life), so belt and pinion pre-load must be calculated against the 100 rpm, 30 °C baseline or the bearing life is consumed early. Service life is specified as 30,000 hours at 100 rpm and 30 °C, and the gearhead is lubricated for life — no grease nipples on the case, no scheduled oil change, which is the decision that usually tips a maintenance planner toward this style of box over a worm unit.
Construction, sealing, and where it will survive
Shaft-output sealing is IP54, which covers dust ingress and splashing water but is not a washdown rating — the GBX1600051084D belongs on a machine where the gearbox sits inside a guarded envelope, not directly in a food-and-bev hose-down zone.
Sourcing posture for an active GBX part
Lifecycle status is current on this GBX-series code, so the part is still being built by Schneider Electric — there is no obsolete-stock urgency, and the procurement decision is a normal BOM line quoted to order through independent distribution with lead time and price confirmed at RFQ.