Gearbox repair by industry
We repair, rebuild and remanufacture industrial gearboxes and gear reducers for plants across New Jersey, the northeast and beyond. The machining behind every repair is done in our own shop in Hillsborough: housings line bored, shafts and gear blanks made new, and worn parts restored. The industry changes the duty a gearbox sees and the way it fails. The discipline of the repair stays the same.
Extruder gearboxes are where this shop started. We repair single-screw and twin-screw extruder gearboxes and the drives on downstream equipment. We are Zambello specialists, trained at the Zambello factory in Italy, and we supply new Zambello gearboxes to replace legacy boxes that can no longer be supported. See extruder gearbox repair.
Clarifier, aerator, mixer and flocculator drives run around the clock in wet, corrosive conditions. Seal failures let water into the oil, and bearings and gears wear from years of continuous duty. We rebuild these drives and make the shafts, sleeves and housings that are no longer available from the original maker.
Mixer and agitator drives carry heavy overhung loads from the shaft and impeller, so the output bearings, seals and shaft take the wear. We repair mixer gearboxes for food processing, chemical and compounding plants, and machine replacement output shafts in the stainless and alloy steels these applications call for.
Crane and hoist gearboxes see shock loads, frequent starts and long idle periods. We strip and inspect them, restore worn housing bores and bearing fits, and replace damaged gears and shafts so the drive goes back into service sound.
We repair marine reduction gearboxes and machine the shafts, couplings and housings that go with them. Worn bearing journals and seal surfaces are restored to size, and parts that cannot be bought are made from the worn originals.
Paper machine, winder and converting line drives depend on smooth, accurate gearing. We rebuild these gearboxes and machine the rolls, shafts and journals around them, from single parts to complete drives.
Mill drives carry high torque and heavy shock loads. We repair steel and rolling mill gearboxes, line bore damaged housings to 20″ diameter, and machine large replacement shafts and gear blanks in house, with lifting to 10 tons.
We also take gearbox work from construction and heavy equipment. The process is the same as for any industrial gearbox: strip it, measure it, find out why it failed, and make what cannot be bought.
Single-screw extruder gearbox after its overhaul, restored and repainted.
Twin-screw gearbox opened for inspection, gear train and bearings in the housing.
Gear train reassembled and re-timed before the case is closed.
Inspection, housing bore repair and a finished rebuild from our shop. More photos and videos are in our gallery.
Whatever industry the drive comes from, these are the gearbox types we work on.
Parallel and right-angle helical units, the workhorse drives in most plants.
Worm and wheel sets, bronze wheels and the bearings that carry their thrust.
Compact high-torque drives with sun, planet and ring gears and their carriers.
Large parallel-shaft and right-angle industrial gearboxes and speed reducers.
Single-screw and twin-screw extruder drives, including Zambello.
A failed gearbox stops production in any industry. Tell us the line is down when you call. We review the nameplate and photos quickly, and if a shaft, sleeve or bearing housing is the cause, that part can often be machined in days while the rest of the repair is planned.
If a part is obsolete, we measure the worn one and make a new one from it. See emergency machining and reverse engineering.
Bearings and seals — 1 to 2 weeks.
A full rebuild — 6 to 10 weeks.
If gears have to be cut new, the job can run longer, and we tell you that when we quote rather than when it is late. If your line is down, say so on the call — see emergency machining.
The work that happens here, and the one step that goes to a partner.
| Gearbox types | helical, bevel-helical, worm, planetary, parallel-shaft and right-angle gearboxes and reducers, single-screw and twin-screw extruder drives |
| Industries | plastics and extrusion, water and wastewater, food processing, chemical mixing, cranes and hoists, marine, paper and converting, steel |
| Housing line boring | in house, to 20″ diameter over roughly 50″ |
| Lifting | to 10 tons |
| Made in house | gear blanks, shafts, housings, adapters and mounting plates |
| Gear teeth | cut by our gear-cutting partner from blanks machined here |
| Checks on reassembly | runout, tooth contact and backlash, among others |
| Turnaround | bearings and seals 1 to 2 weeks; a full rebuild 6 to 10 weeks |
Plastics and extrusion, water and wastewater, food processing, chemical mixing, cranes and hoists, marine, paper and converting, and steel mills. We also take gearbox work from construction and heavy equipment.
Yes. Helical, bevel-helical, worm, planetary, parallel-shaft and right-angle gearboxes and reducers, from small units to large industrial drives.
Yes. We repair mixer and agitator gearboxes for food processing and chemical plants, and machine replacement output shafts in stainless and alloy steels.
Yes. We measure the worn part and make a new one. Gear blanks and shafts are machined here, and our gear-cutting partner cuts the teeth.
Bearings and seals take 1 to 2 weeks. A full rebuild takes 6 to 10 weeks. It runs longer only if gears have to be cut new, and we say so when we quote.
No. Send the complete unit or just the component that failed. We work from either.
All of New Jersey and the northeast are our home ground, and we take gearboxes from anywhere in the country. Most customers arrange the shipping to our shop in Hillsborough.
The repair process, the Zambello work and the machining behind every rebuild.
Email the nameplate, photos and a description of the fault to sales@zalamachine.com or use the quote form. For the full repair process see industrial gearbox repair.
