Planetary gearbox for a servo axis that needs real torque margin
The Schneider Electric GBX1600251084D is a planetary gearbox in the GBX series, 160 mm frame, straight-tooth construction, with a 25:1 reduction ratio, so it steps a high-speed servomotor input down to the low-rpm, high-torque output a conveyor, indexing table, or winding reel actually needs. Continuous output torque is rated 700 N.m, with a maximum output torque of 1120 N.m — the gap between continuous and peak is the overload headroom an integrator budgets for accel/decel cycles on a moving load.
Torsional rigidity, backlash, and the signals that ride through it
Torsional rigidity is 41 N.m/arcmin, so the gearbox resists wind-up under load — relevant where the downstream controller is closing a position loop through the gearbox and any twist between motor and load shows up as following error. Maximum torsional backlash is 10 arc.min, which keeps the dead band between direction reversals small enough that point-to-point moves on a packaging or pick-and-place axis settle without hunting. Moment of inertia at the input is 5.81 g.cm², low enough that the gearbox does not dominate the motor's inertia ratio — the servo drive sizing math stays tractable.
Service life, lubrication, and the loads the output shaft tolerates
Service life is rated 30000 h at 100 rpm at 30 °C, and the gearbox is lubricated for life, so it ships sealed and is intended as a fit-and-forget drop-in — no scheduled oil change window to plan around during the machine's design life. Maximum radial force Fr on the output shaft is 4200 N at 100 rpm over 30000 h at 30 °C, stepping to 6000 N if the duty is held to 10000 h; maximum axial force Fa is 6000 N under the same 30000 h envelope, 8000 N at 10000 h — the choice between the two load envelopes is what drives the bearing-life calculation for a given application. Shaft material is C 45, housing is black anodized aluminium, and the shaft output seals to IP54, so the gearbox tolerates indoor industrial atmospheres with dust and light splash but is not specified for hosedown or outdoor exposure. Mounting position is any position, and ambient operating temperature runs -25...90 °C, giving flexibility on where the gearbox sits in the machine envelope without forcing a thermal derating below the rated torque.
Efficiency, noise, and the footprint a maintenance tech actually hears
Efficiency is 94 %, so roughly 6 % of the input power lands as heat in the housing — worth budgeting into the enclosure thermal calc if multiple gearboxes share a cabinet. Noise level is 70 dB at 1 m, no-load — a straight-tooth design trades quieter helical operation for simpler, lower-cost construction; in a sound-rated cell this baseline is the figure the integrator derates upward once the load and surrounding structure are factored in.