Are your gearboxes failing prematurely? Timken may have the explanation and solution.

12/13/2010 1:00:00 AM | Bearing Applications | Comments | Gary Doll |

Brittle flaking, micropitting and smearing may be causing your wind-turbine gearbox bearings to fail prematurely. These are serious symptoms of a deeper problem -- thin lubricant films and roller/raceway skidding. Timken's advanced engineered-surface technology may be the answer. Our solution uses a combination of isotropic superfinishing and a wear-resistant coating applied to rollers to produce exceptionally good wear resistance.

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Bearing Solutions for Planetary Gearboxes

7/19/2010 10:00:00 AM | Bearing Applications | Comments | Chris Marks |

Machine reliability is a major challenge for the wind energy industry, especially as turbines become leaner and more integrated. Timken's 110 years of engineering expertise and technology leadership are helping drive innovations -- including technological advances with gearboxes as well as gear and bearing reliability. Much of the focus on how this factors into the design of speed-increasing gearboxes is related to the planetary stage. The latest standards for IEC and ABMA recommend two candidates for bearing solutions at the planet position: cylindrical roller bearings or tapered roller bearings. Get the detail you need about Timken's approach to bearing solutions for planetary gearboxes by reading more. Read More+

Using integrated flexpin technology to help increase gear box reliability

3/16/2010 4:00:00 PM | Bearing Applications | Comments | Jerry Fox |

I spend a lot of time thinking about gear box technology for wind turbines. In my position, I’ve had the opportunity to review engineering layouts of many conventional and new gear box designs – some of which are still on the drawing board. Modern day innovation is at work in the wind energy industry, no doubt, but virtually all designs continue to include some form of a planetary gearing system. While there are some really good gear box designs that still adhere to conventional practice, there are also advanced concepts that are pushing the envelope. These designs incorporate new technologies that are intended to attack failure modes to help increase reliability and performance. One example of this is flexible pin technology.  Read More+

Optimizing parallel-shaft system performance through reliable bearing designs

2/18/2010 11:00:00 AM | Bearing Applications | Comments | Jerry Fox |

I recently read a report about an offshore wind farm project and how poorly performing gearbox bearings used in the intermediate and high-speed shaft positions resulted in unplanned work, negatively impacting O&M costs. Corrective actions were made but the example reinforces how important correct gearbox bearing designs can be to an investment. Tapered roller bearing designs used in the locating positions of the gearbox can help to maximize the bearing’s load carrying capacity, center the shaft for improved sealing and gear contact and eliminate opportunities for roller skidding or raceway smearing. Read More+