Solutions in Motion™

Most often, helical gears are associated with transmissions in the automotive industry. But they can also be used across many different industries, and are a good substitute for the commonly utilized spur gears — especially if noise is a factor.

Noise control is just one of the advantages of using a helical gearbox design in your application, but it's far from the only one. Here are some other benefits of helical gearboxes.

What is a fail-safe brake and when are they most commonly used?

In this video, W.C. Branham's VP of Engineering and General Manager, Chad Randleman, will walk you through the basic functions of fail-safe brakes and their most common applications. Enjoy!

In this video W.C. Branham’s Chad Randleman answers some of the most common questions we receive regarding right angle gearboxes.

If you’re in the market for a right angle gearbox, you need to find a high quality gearbox supplier. But how can you determine whether someone is the “right” gearbox supplier? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Look at their Past Work

Do they have a website? If so, check to see who they’ve worked with in the past and what they’ve accomplished.  If the work they’ve done in the past lines up with the requirements of your application, they might be the “right” gearbox supplier for you. Be sure to also check their reviews online, if they have any!

W.C. Branham was industry-first with right angle hollow bore helical gearboxes that package an all ball bearing configuration in a leak-proof, sealed gearcase with a pre-lubricated design. The immediate benefits were achieving higher thrust and radial loads, lower operating temperature for greater efficiency, no leakage, and longer service life.

Right-angle gearboxes are useful across a broad range of industrial applications. To choose the best gearbox(es) for your design, you’ll need to consider size, capability, mounting, and environmental requirements.

All of these factors affect sizing and selection of right-angle gearboxes:

• Input speed and horsepower
• Target output speed, or output torque (this helps determine gear ratio requirements)
• Service characteristics, such as how many hours per day the gearbox will operate and whether it will need to withstand vibration and/or shock
• Overhung loads, axial loads, and external moment loads should be supported by bearing block supports. Unsupported loads can transfer to the internal gears and push them out of alignment and accelerate wear and tear
• Shaft versus hollow-core input (and output)
• Gearing orientation (shafts can protrude vertically or horizontally, and with a right-angle worm gearbox, the worm can be positioned over or under the wheel. If the shaft will protrude downward, you may want to add redundant seals)
• Special-needs working conditions that require stainless-steel shafts and housing or corrosion-resistant paint
• Mounting requirements

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that certainly rings true in the case of the many different types of gearboxes available on the market. Each gearbox variation offers unique capabilities and serves different applications. Let’s unpack the various types of right angle gearboxes on the market, what they are, and how they're used.

Within the world of gearboxes, there are so many configurations that choosing the right product for your particular mechanical design can be challenging. Nowadays, custom gearboxes are more and more common, chiefly because manufacturing to specification is easier than ever, with newer machine tools as well as design and automation software. So, when determining the right angle gearbox that will work best for your mechanical design, it’s important to identify the key aspects of your design and application.

A Checklist for Selecting Your 

Right Angle Gearbox

Gearing that mounts properly and performs to specification is easier after reviewing the following and answering as many of these questions as possible:

There's a variety of types of actuators available. The energy source that operates an actuator can be hydraulic (fluid-based), pneumatic (air pressure-based), or even electric, and with each energy source comes distinct advantages or disadvantages for use in certain applications. Here’s a summary of the main differences:

All of us at W.C. Branham Inc., value our customers' business. We hope that you, your family and friends are healthy and safe during the continued COVID-19 pandemic.

W.C. Branham Inc. is Open for Business due to our essential designation. While open we continue to monitor the safety of our employees and using best practices to remain healthy.