Gearbox Repair, Custom Gears and Shafts for Manufacturing Plants
Production lines often run on drives older than the product they make. We manufacture replacement gears and shafts for them and rebuild the gearboxes, including units whose original maker has gone or no longer supports them, for manufacturing plants in Canada and the United States.
Plant drives we work on
Manufacturing plants differ in what they make but share the same kinds of power transmission. These are the drives we are most often asked about.
- Production-line and assembly conveyor drive reducers
- Single- and twin-screw extruder gearboxes and thrust assemblies
- Mixer, agitator and kneader drives
- Mechanical press, forming and stamping-line drive gearing
- Transmission, axle and engine test-stand gearing
- Overhead crane, hoist and transfer-car gearing
- Indexing, turntable and transfer drives
- Rotary dryer, cooler and kiln drives
- Bucket elevator and bulk-handling drives
- Worm, bevel and right-angle reducers across the plant
Gearbox rebuild
Strip, clean, inspect and report. Every gear and journal is measured against drawing or calculated geometry, out-of-tolerance parts are replaced, and the unit is reassembled to specification with a documented build record.
Custom gears and shafts
Spur, helical, double helical, bevel, worm and planetary gearing cut to order. Input, output and countershafts machined complete, including splines, keyways and tapers.
Obsolete drive support
When the OEM has discontinued the unit or the machine builder no longer exists, we reverse engineer the internals from the worn parts so the existing housing and installation stay as they are.
What usually brings a manufacturing drive to us
The failure itself is rarely the hard part. The hard part is that the spare is no longer made.
| What fails | What we supply |
|---|---|
| Line conveyor reducer worn beyond limits | Rebuild with new gearing, bearing journals restored to size |
| Extruder gearbox from a machine builder that has closed | Gearing and shafts reverse engineered from the removed parts |
| Agitator or mixer output shaft failure | Replacement output shaft and gear set |
| Test-stand gearing with no drawings on file | Replacement gear set manufactured from measured geometry |
| Worm set wiped on a right-angle reducer | Worm and wheel manufactured as a matched pair |
| Crane or hoist gearing found worn at inspection | New gearing manufactured to the existing centres and housing |
Working from no drawings
Most of the drive components we are asked for are no longer manufactured, and the original drawings are long gone. We reverse engineer from the worn part itself: the component is measured, the tooth geometry and fits are established, material is confirmed, and a replacement is cut to suit the existing housing, shafts and bearings so nothing else in the assembly has to change.
Where a gear has failed because of a design limitation rather than wear, we will say so and propose the change rather than reproduce the fault.
Shop capabilities
- Gear hobbing and grinding up to 3 m (118 in) diameter; components up to 6 m long
- Custom-built gearboxes up to 200 tonnes
- High-speed gearboxes up to 20,000 RPM for blowers, compressors and pumps
- Spur, helical, double helical (herringbone), bevel, worm, internal and planetary gearing
- 4-, 5- and 9-axis machining, mill-turn, wire EDM, cylindrical and centerless grinding, thread whirling
- Heat treatment: hardening, tempering and surface treatments
- Inspection: CMM, gear geometry and profile verification, surface finish, hardness (Rockwell, Brinell) and non-destructive testing
- Test bench reports on refurbished and upgraded gearboxes
- Materials: carbon and alloy steels (4140, 4340, 8620), stainless and duplex, tool steels, bronze, titanium and Inconel
We repair all major gearbox makes, including Flender/Siemens, SEW-Eurodrive, Nord, Sumitomo, Falk/Rexnord, David Brown, Hansen, Lenze, Bonfiglioli, Brevini, Renold and Philadelphia Gear.
Quality and documentation
Euro Gear holds ISO 9001:2015 certification (certificate 14144280, issued by QA Certification, valid to September 2029; verifiable at www.irqao.com), covering engineering, reverse engineering, custom design and R&D for gears, gearboxes and industrial mechanical components; custom manufacturing, precision machining and fabrication; inspection, repair, rebuilding, upgrades, anti-wear coatings and testing of industrial equipment; technical consulting, maintenance support and reliability solutions. Material certification, dimensional reports, traceability records and test bench reports are supplied as specified in the quote. Euro Gear is a member of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA).
Where we work
From our engineering and manufacturing facility in Saint-Hubert, just south of Montreal, and our US operation in northern New York, we serve plants across Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States, and ship across North America. Service is available in English and French.
Lead times
Standard gearbox repairs typically take two to four weeks, depending on parts and the extent of the damage, and we plan around shutdown and turnaround dates. When a drive fails without warning, our 24/7 breakdown response dispatches technicians to plants across Canada and the United States, and our field team also handles on-site inspection, alignment, installation and commissioning.
Common questions
- Do you only work on large gearboxes?
- No. We work across the plant, from right-angle reducers on a conveyor to large extruder and mill drives. Send a photograph of the nameplate and the worn part and we will tell you whether it is something we can help with.
- Can you make a replacement gear without a drawing?
- Yes. We measure the worn part and its mating components to establish tooth geometry, fits and material, then manufacture a replacement that fits the existing housing. Most of the parts we make start this way.
- Can you schedule work around a planned shutdown?
- Yes. Tell us the shutdown date when you first contact us and we will tell you honestly whether the part can be ready for it.
- Do you attend site for breakdowns?
- Yes. We provide 24/7 emergency breakdown response across Canada and the United States, with technicians dispatched to site, as well as on-site inspection, alignment, installation and commissioning. Call 1-866-702-3126.
- What material certification do you provide?
- Euro Gear is ISO 9001:2015 certified (certificate 14144280, QA Certification). Material certification, dimensional reports and traceability records are supplied as specified in the quote.
Send us the part
A photograph of the nameplate and the worn component is usually enough for us to tell you whether we can help. Drawings are welcome but not required.
Further reading
- Types of Industrial Gears: A Complete Guide: Spur, helical, bevel, worm and planetary gears: how each type works and where it is used.
- Gearbox Failure: Common Causes and Prevention: Common causes of industrial gearbox failure (inadequate lubrication, overloading, misalignment, thermal issues and contamination) and how to prevent them.
- 5 Signs Your Industrial Gearbox Needs Repair: Warning signs to catch before an unplanned shutdown: unusual noises, excessive vibration, temperature increases, oil contamination or leaks, and reduced performance.