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Girth Gear Inspection PDF
Girth Gear Inspection PDF
Girth Gear
Email your question—along with your name,
job title and company name (if you wish to
remain anonymous, no problem) to: jmcguinn@
geartechnology.com; or submit your question by
Inspection —
visiting geartechnology.com.
Response No. 1 provided by HMC Inc.: ◊ Mesh test between gear and pin- oils and the heavier, open-gearing
There are many quality control require- ion (contact pattern). lubricants are very similar, thus
ments involved with girth gears. The • During installation and alignment: inviting employees to potentially
–– Over the years, HMC has seen mis- use the wrong lubrication materi-
process begins in manufacturing and
alignment cases where companies als. This could prove to be a disas-
continues through installation, run-off get in a hurry and/or have a lack of trous situation for the operating
and ongoing monitoring. proper supervision and instructions. quality of your girth gear. Proper
The girth gear driving pinion ends selection and continuous inspec-
Manufacturer perspective: up getting aligned to the reduc- tion of the girth gear’s lubrication
• During manufacturing: er, causing a misalignment issue selection falls in parallel to both
–– Raw material: incoming checks and between the girth gear teeth and the proper alignment of the gearing
inspections driving pinion teeth (Fig. 1). and start-up monitoring/inspec-
◊ These include, but are not limited –– Proper alignment should consist tion, as mentioned above.
to, material certifications with full of: axial and radial alignment of ◊ By routinely inspecting the qual-
reports from forging and plate the girth gear to the center line of ity of the oil lubricating the girth
vendors, dimensional inspection kiln/mill; center line of the driving gear system an effective ‘dou-
and hardness testing upon arrival, pinion is aligned to the center line ble-check’ on proper alignment
and ultrasonic inspection of the of the girth gear; center line of the would be created. In the event
forgings. reducer output shaft with coupling of an improper initial alignment
◊ Dimensional reports. is aligned to the center line of the inspection, the results from a
◊ NDT hardness testing and verifi- girth gear driving pinion; finally, the girth gear oil sample inspection
cation. center line of the
–– Fabrication (welding) motor is aligned
◊ Stress-relieving oven; digital to the center line
charting (thermal reports). of the reducer
◊ Dimensional checks. input shaft with
◊ Magnetic particle testing; ultra- coupling.
sonic testing of welds. • Run-off and ongo-
◊ CWI (certified welding inspector) ing monitoring
visual checks. –– Proper oil inspec-
–– Machining/tooth inspections tion and selection
◊ In-process dimensional, run-out ◊ Oils and other
and surface finish checks for any lubricants are
significant process. often stored in
◊ On-board lead, pitch and pro- the same area.
file checks on the teeth are per- And often the
formed. numerical and
–– Final inspection alphabetical
◊ During the final inspection every- identification
thing is dimensionally inspected numbers that
and thoroughly reviewed to make identify the Figure 1 Example of girth gear misalignment: girth gear driving
sure all items and inspections are pinion end is aligned to the reducer, causing misalignment
different gear/ between the girth gear teeth and driving pinion teeth
up to the specifications. transmission (courtesy HMC).