Gearbox Wear at a Conveyor Belt Reducer

Reducer Failure Case – Monitoring by Vibration Analysis.
I would like to share a relevant case involving the reducer of a conveyor belt, a critical component in the process of receiving and storing soybeans.
📊 Fault Monitoring
Over 4 months, we continuously monitor the vibration in a gearbox responsible for moving the conveyor belt. During this period, a progressive failure in the gearing was identified, associated with a gap in the 2nd intermediate shaft of the gearbox.
🔍 Key Indicators of Failure
Mechanical excitation frequency: 9.37 Hz (related to backlash in the 2nd intermediate axis)
Excited Gear Frequency: 141.21 Hz (Z5-Z6 Gear)
Evident sidebands around the gear frequency
Overall acceleration level: 2.57 g RMS
High presence of metallic particles in the lubricating oil, reinforcing the suspicion of internal wear
🔧 Technical Recommendation
In view of these signs, corrective intervention was recommended for detailed inspection of the gearbox, focusing on abnormal clearances and gear condition.
🔎 Inspection and Finding
During the mechanical overhaul, severe wear was identified on the Z5 gear (15 teeth), as evidenced in the image below. The degraded condition of the gear proved the clues provided by the vibration analysis and oil analysis.
✅ Conclusion
This case reinforces the importance of predictive maintenance based on vibration analysis as an essential tool to avoid catastrophic failures and unexpected stoppages, especially in critical equipment in the agribusiness logistics chain.
📣 Here is the lesson: Investing in early diagnosis is ensuring reliability and availability of assets!

gearbox gear wear conveyor reducer