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Gearboxes and Gearheads

Gearboxes and Motion Solutions

A gearbox, also called a gearhead, allows better utilization of a motor’s power to do work, providing more torque when needed. Much of the industrial market for gearboxes is for power transmission applications, where a gearbox is typically mounted to an induction motor or brushed motor to drive a fan, conveyor, or pump.

Cross Company specializes in motion solutions which require high accuracy and precision and use a different type of gearbox. These generally require a gearhead which is mounted to a servo motor for superior accuracy, zero maintenance, and high performance motion capability.

If these sound like appealing features to you, we’d love to hear about it. Contact Cross Automation today and we’ll devise a solution for your operation.

Planetary and Helical Gearboxes

Servo rated gearboxes have two main configurations: planetary and helical.

Planetary gearboxes are well suited to servo applications where precision, aggressive motion, constant duty, and low maintenance are required although they can be relatively noisy at high speeds.

Helical gearboxes have an offset gear design, which is typically less expensive to produce and allows for larger frame sizes.

They are also known for their smoothness and are a bit less noisy during operation. Both have their advantages depending on the application. That’s why it’s so important to work with experts who can partner with you to fully optimize your industrial processes. Cross Company can help you select the appropriate gearbox based on the requirements of your application.

Precision

Aggressive Motion

Constant Duty

Smoothness

Durability

And more

Partnering With the Best

There are many manufacturers of gearheads and Cross works with five of the best:

Stober: A German company with manufacturing in the USA. This means high quality German engineering but with some of the shortest lead times in the industry due to their large factory inventory in the US. Stober also features a large product breadth, great customer service, and quick response times. Their K series can be a very efficient and cost effective solution for many gearbox applications.

Wittenstein Alpha: High quality German engineered products with US manufacturing as well. They offer a large product breadth but with somewhat longer lead times.

Apex Dynamics: A more value-priced offering that still has great quality. Their five year warranty is unique in the industry and has readily accessible support out of their New York sales office. Apex’s spiral bevel gearbox series can provide a unique solution for certain machine applications.

Nabtesco: Their gearboxes feature a cycloidal design with large output faces and cast housings. These create extremely strong gearboxes capable of supporting high payloads and moment forces. They are generally used as indexing tables or in the joints of robots where other designs couldn’t support the weight.

Parker Bayside: An original US-based manufacturer of motion components including linear actuators, servo motors, drives & controls, and gearboxes. Parker gearheads are a good choice when incorporating into a complete Parker solution made in the USA.

Leading Partnerships

We make all of our manufacturing partnerships strategically to maximize the value we offer to our customers.

Quick Turnaround

Due to the breadth of our partnerships, we’re typically able to provide products at a lower lead time than others

Ongoing Support

We provide all of our customers with continuing support to ensure that the component we’ve provided is right

Tangible Benefits Of Using A Gearbox

Optimize your motor – A gearbox allows you to right-size the servo motor which provides equipment cost and energy savings.

Reduce your risk of downtime – A correctly sized gearbox and motor will be more reliable allowing your process more uptime. Many of the gearboxes that Cross sells are lubricated for life from the factory and therefore require zero maintenance. However should something fail, our engineers and customer service folks are ready to assist to get you up and running in the shortest time possible.

Optimize your production process – Having the right components is critical to any industrial operation. At Cross, we work with you to ensure that you’re getting the right products for your production process.

Stober K Series

Featured Brands

Why Cross Gearboxes and Gearheads?

Cross’s engineers have decades of experience specifying the right gearbox/motor combination for applications. Because of this experience, we can likely determine the parameters of your application quickly and concisely with only a few basic questions, and present you a solution tailored to your needs. Whether it is a new application or upgrading an existing machine with new gearboxes, controls and motors, we specify the right combination of products to achieve the desired result.

Whether you need a single motion controller or a full precision motion system, Cross Company works with you to understand your requirements and provide the best possible solution. We take the best brands in the automation industry and combine them with our engineering expertise and experience to create a high quality, long lasting precision motion system.

cross automation loray mill location

Related Motion Control Components

At Cross, we offer much more than just gearboxes and gearheads. We can also provide the products our OEM and other manufacturing partners need to succeed. Check out our other precision moton control products and see for yourself.

See How Our Automation Team Can Help Improve Quality, Increase Efficiency, And Reduce Risk In Your Operation

Contact our Team

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In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts…

Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.