The Evolution of a Gear Motor

Gear motors have been used for over a century, having been invented in the late 1800s. A gear motor utilizes either an alternating or direct current within its operation and revolutionized motor technology. They’re used in a number of different items, both industrial and household, in today’s society.

When you’re looking for the right gear motor for your industrial application, we at Bauer GMC have a selection of gear motor systems for you!

A huge drawback in old motor technology is the fact that even with just one machine running, the prime mover still has to operate in the same rate as it does to power multiple machines. This is an incredibly noisy operation and safety hazard due to rotating shafts and belts having no guards or covers.

It was for these reasons that a decentralized gear motor system was developed. This technology led to the adoption of motor speed and torque in certain applications. Both were mounted on a common base plate which are attached by a coupling.

However, the combination of these components were incredibly bulky. A good combination of these components allowed the use of individual drives where they were actually needed. This meant that great precision machining needed to be done with those components, which makes finding faults more difficult in the event of a breakdown.

These issues prompted the invention of a countershaft motor with a motor body flange-mounted on the gear unit housing. In the walls of this very same part of the housing, the countershaft was mounted. This setup facilitated the job of establishing a fixed reciprocal and accurate position of the gear, making it possible to have a completely smooth operation.

It wasn’t until years later that further developments were made for a more intelligent gear motor. Advanced processes resulted in improvements to quality and performance. The adoption of variable speed geared motors allowed changes in speed within wide ranges, which led to a success in having nearly unlimited combinations of motors and gear units. This resulted in higher efficiency and improved manufacturing processes!