Planetary gearbox, 160 mm, 40:1 — torque and backlash limits
The GBX1600400552F is a straight-tooth planetary gearbox from Schneider Electric's GBX series, with a 160 mm housing diameter and a 40:1 reduction ratio. It delivers 700 N.m continuous output torque at 100 rpm, with a maximum intermittent torque of 1120 N.m under the same speed and temperature conditions. Torsional backlash is rated at 10 arc.min maximum — this sets the positioning repeatability floor for the driven axis. The torsional rigidity of 41 N.m/arcmin means the gearbox winds up about 0.024° under full continuous load, which matters for servo or indexing applications where cumulative error stacks across multiple stages.
94 % efficiency, 30000 h service life, lubricated for life
Efficiency is listed at 94 % — roughly 6 % of input power is lost as heat inside the gearbox. For a 700 N.m output at 100 rpm (about 7.3 kW mechanical), that's roughly 440 W of thermal dissipation that the black anodized aluminium housing must sink to ambient. The operating range is -25 to 90 °C ambient, so forced ventilation or a larger mounting surface may be needed if the duty cycle is high in a warm enclosure. Service life is 30000 hours at 100 rpm and 30 °C ambient running at rated torque — that's about 3.4 years of continuous operation. The gearbox is lubricated for life, so no oil-change interval or breather port to maintain. Noise output is 70 dB at 1 m under no-load conditions — typical for a straight-tooth planetary of this size; helical or ground-tooth versions would run quieter but are a different product line.
Shaft loading limits — axial and radial force budgets
Maximum axial force Fa is 6000 N for the full 30000-hour service life at 100 rpm, or 8000 N if the application only needs 10000 hours. Radial force Fr at mid-span on the output shaft is 4200 N for 30000 hours, 6000 N for 10000 hours. These are the bearing life limits — exceeding them shortens service life faster than torque overload does. The output shaft is C 45 medium-carbon steel, and the shaft output seal is rated IP54 — splash-resistant but not submersible. The housing is black anodized aluminium, 160 mm diameter. Mounting dimensions and input flange pattern are standard for the GBX series; the gearbox is supplied as a single unit.
Obsolete — sourcing through independent channels
Schneider Electric has marked the GBX1600400552F as obsolete. The part is available through independent surplus and broker channels — quantities are lot-specific and confirmed at RFQ time. For a BOM that needs this exact reduction ratio, torque class, and 160 mm frame size, the GBX1600400552F is the only direct fit. A replacement would require re-engineering the mounting interface, input adapter, and output coupling.