Planetary Gearbox Bearing Series for Flexible Load Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for heavy-duty planetary gears that can be manufactured in a simple and cost-effective manner to meet increasing demands for performance and economy in various technical applications, including wind turbines and industrial uses.
Innovation Solution
A series of planetary gears is designed with sub-series featuring roller bearings of consistent widths, allowing for optimized bearing arrangements and modular production, where roller bearings with the same bearing width are used to achieve a desired total bearing width, reducing component variety and enabling easy adaptation to different stress levels and production processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different planetary gears of varying widths are used for different planetary gearboxes, then the gearboxes can be adapted to different load levels and applications, but the component diversity increases and manufacturing complexity rises
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing width is segmented into discrete standard sizes (e.g., 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, 30mm). By combining different numbers of these standardized bearings, a wide range of total bearing widths can be achieved, allowing adaptation to different load levels without requiring custom-designed planetary gears for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing width parameter is standardized into a discrete series of values. This parameter change allows the same planetary gear design to be adapted to different applications by simply changing the bearing width through combination, rather than redesigning the entire gear system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If rolling bearings with different bearing widths are used to achieve desired total bearing width, then various load levels can be accommodated, but the number of different bearing types increases production costs
Solution Approach 1:
A small set of standardized rolling bearing types serves multiple functions across different planetary gearbox configurations. The same bearing types can be combined in different quantities to achieve various total bearing widths, eliminating the need for custom bearing types for each application and reducing production costs through economies of scale.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing width requirement is segmented into combinations of standardized bearing units. Instead of manufacturing bearings with every possible width, the system segments the total width requirement into discrete standard bearing sizes that can be combined arithmetically to meet different load and space requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a wide variety of bearing arrangements are designed to meet different application requirements, then customization is improved, but the design time and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing width standardization is established in advance as a preliminary design decision. This preliminary action creates a framework of standardized bearing types that can be quickly combined to meet different application requirements, eliminating the need for time-consuming custom design iterations for each new application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies the production of planetary gears, reduces costs, and allows for a wide range of bearing combinations, enabling efficient and flexible adaptation to various applications while maintaining economic efficiency and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one planet gear is mounted on at least two rolling bearings arranged axially one behind the other
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
The invention relates to a series (50) of planetary gearboxes (10) comprising a plurality of sub-series (51, 52, 53, 54) of planetary gearboxes (10). Each sub-series (51, 52, 53, 54) has at least one planet carrier (12) in which at least one planetary gear (14) is mounted on at least two rolling bearings (20). According to the invention, the at least two rolling bearings (20) of a first sub-series (51) have a first bearing width (24) throughout. Furthermore, the rolling bearings (20) of a second sub-series (52) have a second bearing width (26) throughout. The invention also relates to a wind turbine (60) comprising a drive train (67) which has a planetary gearbox (10) composed of a corresponding series (50). The invention also relates to an industrial application (90) equipped with a planetary gearbox (10) composed of a series (50) according to the invention. The invention also relates to the use of single-row rolling bearings (20) in planetary gearboxes (10) which serve to support planetary gears (14) and have the same outer diameter (22, 23) and the same bearing width (24, 26, 27, 29). At least two rolling bearings (20) are combined for each planetary gear (14).