I've been around gearboxes for years, and there are plenty of manufacturers building good products. So when something as simple as a little blue bushing catches my attention, there's usually a good reason. Radicon has a feature in its M, C, F and K Series gearboxes that solves a problem anyone who has worked on older gearmotors will appreciate. Getting the electric motor off the gearbox without having to fight it. It's a small piece of engineering that can save a whole lot of frustration down the road.

Here is where things get interesting. Radicon uses a composite bushing between the electric motor shaft and the gearbox input connection. Why does that matter? Think about what happens when a motor has been mounted to a gearbox for a few years. Heat, moisture, corrosion and fretting can cause the motor shaft and gearbox connection to seize together. I've seen motors that seemed practically welded to the gearbox. Getting them apart can become a project of its own. Radicon's bushing creates a nonmetallic interface at that connection, helping prevent the fretting corrosion that makes motor removal so difficult. The motor still transfers power through the designed drive connection. The difference is that when the motor needs to come off, the connection was engineered with that job in mind. It's a simple idea, but a pretty clever one.

Picture a conveyor that's been running for years. The gearbox is still in good shape, but one morning the electric motor gives up. Maintenance has a replacement motor ready to go. Should be a pretty straightforward job, right? Not if the original motor shaft is seized inside the gearbox. Now a simple motor replacement can turn into hours of fighting equipment, potentially damaging a perfectly good gearbox, or having to pull the entire assembly to get it apart. This is the problem Radicon is trying to eliminate. With the composite motor connection, the motor can be removed without fighting a corroded metal to metal fit. The gearbox doesn't have to be sacrificed just because the motor reached the end of its life.

The Blue Bushing isn't the only maintenance feature worth mentioning. Radicon's M, C, F and K Series are designed to accommodate standard NEMA and IEC motors, depending on the configuration. That means you're not necessarily locked into buying a proprietary motor just because the original one failed. Another detail I like is the oil tight gear head design. You can remove the electric motor without draining the gearbox oil. Think about that combination. A standard replacement motor, a connection designed to come apart, and no need to drain a perfectly good gearbox just to change the motor. None of this changes the basic job of a gearbox. It still has to deliver the correct ratio, torque and service factor for the application. But it certainly makes the equipment more maintenance friendly.

If you're looking for a replacement Radicon Blue Bushing, here are the part numbers for several common NEMA motor frame sizes. These sleeves are selected according to the motor shaft size and gearbox connection. I've included the corresponding shaft diameters to help identify what you need. Always verify the motor frame, shaft diameter and gearbox configuration before ordering.

Radicon has a video showing its M, C, F and K Series gearboxes and explaining the Blue Bushing motor connection. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ui8o9zHuo0

When you're comparing gearboxes, it's easy to get buried in horsepower, torque, ratios, mounting configurations and dimensional drawings. All of that matters. But I also like looking at the little details that make equipment easier to maintain years after it's installed. Radicon's Blue Bushing is one of those details. It's not the biggest or most expensive part of the gearbox, but it might be the part you appreciate most when it's time to replace a motor. If you're replacing an existing gearbox, looking for a Blue Bushing, or working on a new application, give me a call. We can take a look at what you have and figure out the right solution.