Gearbox-cardan drive test bench

The bench is used for run-in and acceptance testing of underfloor generator gearbox-cardan drives after repair — both drives from the middle of the axle and drives from the axle end. It checks smooth running, bearing heating, vibration level and the absence of oil leaks in every mode prescribed by the repair procedure.

The gearbox under test is clamped on a mandrel that simulates the wheelset axle and is rotated by an induction motor through a frequency converter. The gearbox output shaft is connected via a cardan shaft to the loading unit — a dynamometer running in generator mode and returning energy to the mains. Shaft torque, speed, bearing temperature and casing vibration acceleration are recorded continuously and displayed on the operator screen; a test report is generated when the cycle is complete.

The bench comprises a bed with guideways, drive and load modules on sliding carriages, a set of mandrels and adapter flanges, an interlocked guard around the rotating zone, a control cabinet with the frequency converter and an industrial PLC. The carriage pitch allows drives with different center distances to be mounted without changing the bed.

The test program is selected from a library of templates: no-load run-in, stepped loading, reversal, run at maximum speed. Optionally we supply an oil station for filling the gearbox before start-up and a leak sensor in the bed drip tray.