Gearbox issues that might result into incidents like the North Sea Crash

Industries keep updating themselves; as such the gearbox manufacturing sector is undergoing, the same phase of transformation.Have you heard the much talked about incident that involved 19 people on board travelling in a helicopter? Luckily all of them were saved in time. This fateful scene happened due to the failure of the main gearbox lubrication system. Along with that, even the emergency lubrication system gave up, resulting in the mishap.

Gearbox is used to change direction, speed or torque of mechanical energy. Gearboxes seal set of gears and are responsible to control or regulate the motion of a motorised vehicle.
Major gears are manufactured out of carburised steels, carbon and low-alloy steels. Gears that are used for food processing are built out of nickel based alloys and stainless steels, as they have high resistance against resistance.

Manufacturers of gearboxes maintain every possible means to make sure the equipment runs perfectly under critical situation. But as we all know accidents are accidents, they happen suddenly. As per the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the 2007-built airframe aircraft had 17 passengers and 2 crew on board. Probably the warning signs were not noticed by the crew, while the lubrication system of the main gearbox failed. Trying to manage the emergency system had resulted in a same kind of situation, as it too gave up.

Proper lubrication in exact amount and time interval is essential to maintain the longevity of gears and gearbox. Mostly manufacturing systems make use of the right angle worm gearbox. The two major facts affecting gearbox failure are improper lubrication and lack of lubrication.