With regards to the industrial gearbox industry, there are also new products being developed to assist with energy saving. Historically, worm gearboxes have been installed in many different types of applications because of their compact design and low purchase cost. However, despite these initial advantages, this product has a major disadvantage which is their low efficiency. High friction between the worm and worm gear increases energy losses and decreases efficiency. With increasing ratio between the worm and worm gear, efficiency decreases even further. At high ratios, because of low efficiency, half of the motor power can be lost. The cost of this loss can be very high, especially with 24 hour running applications.
Yilmaz UK European production facility, Yilmaz Redüktör, started serial production of high efficiency bevel-helical K0 series gearboxes in 2013. The K0 series gearboxes have all the advantages of a worm series gearbox such as compact body and low purchase cost. This ensures the K0 series gearboxes are considered as a genuine replacement option for worm gearboxes. They are Monobloc design, 2 and 3 stage gearboxes which can have high ratios in their compact body. All K0 series gears are cut using profile grinding machines. This ensures the production of high quality, high efficiency, and low noise gearboxes.
Advantages:
• High efficiency (92-96%)
• Low working temperatures
• Compact body
• Low purchase costs
• Wide ratio range (2-3 stages)
• Rigid body (GG25 material)
• Low noise
Specifications:
• Direct coupled motor connections
• B5/B14 IEC motor flanges
• Connection flanges for servo-motors
• Output shaft options with shrink disk
• Output shaft options with splines
• Output flanges and connections with torque-arm
Yilmaz UK are coupling the K0 series gear units with IE2 efficiency ELK Motors which are also manufactured in Europe. If customers require IE3 efficiency class motors, they are also available in the ELK Motor product range and held in stock in the UK.
Performance comparison
Please see the comparison example table between K0 series and worm series gear units.
Conclusion
As shown in the example, only a 0.75kW motor is required for the K0 series gearbox to produce the same output torque as a 1,1kW motor being used with a Worm gearbox. If the application runs 4,000 hours annually, there would be an estimated saving of £262 (per gearbox) using the K0 series gearbox. The payback period on a K0 series gearbox investment is therefore relatively short, especially if the annual working hours are higher than 4,000 hours or if several gearboxes are installed. Furthermore, K0 series gearboxes have a higher nominal torque value when compared to the same size, similar ratio worm gearbox which means the service life will be much longer.
High power density and Monoblock design
Yilmaz Redüktör are designing all their gearboxes according to high power density principal and because of that Yilmaz gearboxes are Monobloc design. Featuring a Monobloc housing, all axes are machined in a single operation to achieve high precision in their production. Noise levels are low due to the positioning of bearings and gears in these Monobloc housings. Finally, oil leakage problems encountered because of screw connections are solved with the help of Monobloc principle.