Planetary gearbox with 20:1 reduction
The GBX1600200552F is a Schneider Electric planetary gearbox from the GBX series, sized for applications needing a 20:1 reduction ratio in a 160 mm diameter package. Straight-cut teeth keep the design compact and cost-effective for servo and stepper motor positioning axes where low noise is not the primary constraint. Continuous output torque is 800 N.m at 100 rpm, with a maximum intermittent rating of 1280 N.m at the same speed — the higher figure is for acceleration peaks and emergency stops, not sustained duty. The 94 % efficiency means about 6 % of input power is lost as heat in the gear mesh, which the black anodised aluminium housing dissipates across the -25 to 90 °C ambient range.
Torque, forces, and service life
Rated service life is 30,000 hours at 100 rpm and 30 °C — a common benchmark for continuous-duty indexing tables and conveyor drives. The gearbox is lubricated for life, so no oil-change intervals enter the maintenance schedule. Maximum axial force on the output shaft is 6000 N for the 30,000-hour life target, or 8000 N if the application accepts a shorter 10,000-hour life. Radial force limits follow the same pattern: 4200 N at mid-shaft for the longer life, 6000 N for the shorter. These are the constraints that govern bearing selection in the driven mechanism — a belt drive or pinion pushing radially against the output shaft must stay within these numbers to hit the rated life. Torsional rigidity is 41 N.m/arcmin — the stiffness figure that tells a motion-control engineer how much the gearbox winds up under load before the output position lags the input. Maximum torsional backlash is 10 arc.min, which places this gearbox in the standard-precision category rather than the low-backlash class used in high-end rotary tables.
Sourcing an obsolete GBX gearbox
Schneider Electric has marked the GBX1600200552F as obsolete. If the application allows a different frame or ratio, a parametric search across the broader planetary gearbox class may turn up an active alternative, but that requires a mechanical re-design of the mounting interface and shaft coupling.
IP rating and environmental fit
The output shaft carries an IP54 rating — dust-protected and splash-resistant, but not suitable for pressurised washdown or immersion. In a machine-tool environment with coolant mist, the shaft seal is the boundary; the housing itself is sealed by the anodised aluminium surface. Noise level is 70 dB at 1 m under no-load conditions — typical for a straight-tooth planetary at this size. Under load the noise rises with torque and speed; if the application is in a human-occupied space below 75 dB, the gearbox should be enclosed or acoustically isolated.