Gearbox Repair and Custom Gears for OSB, Plywood, MDF and Pellet Mills
Panel and pellet mills run heavy, shock-loaded drives from the log yard to the press. We manufacture replacement gears and shafts for them and rebuild the gearboxes, including units whose original maker no longer supports them.
Mill drives we work on
Wood processing combines shock loads at the front end with heat and continuous duty through drying and pressing.
- Debarker and log-deck drives
- Chipper, flaker and strander drives
- Rotary drum dryer girth gears, pinions and trunnion drives
- Press infeed, forming-line and mat conveyor drives
- Veneer lathe and clipper drives
- Pellet mill main gearboxes and die drives
- Hammermill infeed and screw conveyor drives
- Bin, silo and reclaim drives
Gearbox rebuild
Teardown, inspection against drawing or calculated geometry, replacement of out-of-tolerance gearing, and reassembly with a documented build record.
Custom gears and shafts
Spur, helical, bevel, worm and planetary gearing and complete shafts cut to order, to fit the existing housing.
Obsolete drive support
Mills often outlive their machine builders. We reverse engineer the internals from the worn parts so the existing drive stays in place.
What usually brings a mill drive to us
The front end breaks gearing with shock; the dryer and press wear it out with heat and hours.
| What fails | What we supply |
|---|---|
| Debarker drive gearing broken by shock load | New gear set manufactured to the existing centres |
| Dryer drum pinion worn | Replacement pinion cut to the existing girth gear |
| Pellet mill gearbox with no available spares | Gearing and shafts reverse engineered from the removed parts |
| Chipper drive shaft failure | Replacement shaft machined complete to the original fits |
| Conveyor reducer worn beyond limits | Rebuild with new gearing, journals restored to size |
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 rebuild pellet mill gearboxes?
- Yes. Pellet mill gearboxes run hot and continuously, and many are from builders whose spares are hard to source. We rebuild them and manufacture replacement gearing and shafts.
- Can you make a dryer pinion without the original drawing?
- Yes. We measure the existing girth gear and the worn pinion to establish tooth geometry and centre distance, then cut a replacement to suit.
- Can you work to our annual shutdown?
- Yes. Tell us the shutdown date at first contact 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 do you need from us to quote?
- Photographs of the nameplate and the worn component are usually enough to start. Drawings help but are not required.
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
- 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.
- How to Extend the Life of Your Industrial Gearbox: Lubrication management, operating within specifications, predictive maintenance, environmental protection and professional maintenance to extend gearbox service life.